Date : 25 August 1997 Occasion : Krishna Janmastami Discourse

The Goal of Human Life
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The chief aim of human life is to realise the latent divinity within and having experienced it, to propagate its greatness in society.

As oil contained in til seed, ghee in milk, fragrance in a flower, juice in a fruit and fire in wood, so does God stand witness in all mobile and immobile objects of this vast universe. This indwelling divinity in everything in this apparent world cannot be described in concrete terms. It is awareness, spirit, Atma or Brahman that pervades all over the universe, as the thread that ties together many precious gems.

What is meant by human life, and what is its goal or significance? No man seems to be interested in knowing these. He is too obsessed with his food and comforts to pay any attention to the essential and eternal proof behind them. The chief aim of human life is to realise the latent divinity within and having experienced it, to propagate its greatness in society.
Even to write a small letter you spend a lot of time thinking deeply as to what, who, how and why it is written. So we have to think about the nature of divinity before we experience it. The Vedanta says, the knower of the Brahman becomes Brahman. As you think, so you become. You assume the very form you contemplate on. The robber Rathnakara became noble. Though he had no idea of divinity, by strictly following the advice of a saint, he contemplated on the name and form of Rama. He, as Valmiki reflected the brilliance of Rama. The tiny tot Prahlada, by continuously thinking of Narayana bore the effulgence of Narayana on his face. Darwin identified in Henslow an ideal teacher with sacred thoughts. He took his teacher as a model for emulation and followed him in his thought, word and deed. As time passed by, Darwin resembled his teacher Henslow. Therefore to become a true human being, you think of good thoughts, do good deeds and enquire into the nature of goodness. In the Vedantic parlance it is said, "O man, you are not the product of the five elements. You are not merely a human being. You are the spark of Divinity." In order to realise Divinity, you should have divine thoughts. Many pious people know this truth. Yet they feel they are passing through anxieties, difficulties and problems. God has none of these.

We are all sparks of the divine, but very few of us have realised it. Every one should recognise and conduct himself in full knowledge of his own latent divinity. In the absence of this knowledge, his life degenerates into that of an animal. Once he realises himself as part of the divine, he stands in prospect of experiencing eternal bliss or supreme happiness. Divine thoughts originate in the human heart. Krishna acted as the charioteer to Arjuna at the battlefield of Kurukshetra. Suddenly Arjuna was possessed by despair. He asked Krishna, "If I lose all the friends and relatives, what kind of kingdom am I likely to come by? I always think of you. Why should I have these difficulties?" He wanted to turn back from the battlefield. Krishna then counselled him to think of the Lord at all times and in every place. Smarana is the process of thinking at a specific period of time and at a particular place. Anusmarana is thinking of God always. Krishna wanted Arjuna to think of God without the limitations of time and place. He said, "Think of me continuously. Even in the warfare, think of me. That is the only thing that will come to your rescue."

However, it is not easy for everyone to know the divine within. A Principal holds responsibility for all the things - furniture, equipments, etc. - in the college. He takes care of them. The moment he is transferred he is no more concerned with any of them. They belong to society. The Principal is only a guardian. He takes care of them as long as he is the Principal. They do not belong to him. This kind of possession is called Marakam.

The same Principal collects his personal belongings and takes them with him when he is transferred. He doesn't leave behind even old slippers or broomsticks. Such a feeling of personal possession is called Tharakam.

Human life is spent between these two- Tharakam and Marakam. We can experience all; but nothing truly belongs to us. All things are God's gifts. We hold responsibility for them until we leave. Each of us can take care of them as my family, my children, my wife, etc. It is part of our duty, but we cannot identify ourselves with them. We often consider them erroneously as the basis of life.

Arjuna made Krishna be seated as a charioteer. No. God should be seated in the altar of our heart. We are only the Yantra, machine or instrument. God himself is the Mantra. We should practise Anusmarana, chant continuously the name of God. The effect of the Mantra chanted within should be reflected outside. All that we see outside is only the reflection of the inner being. When Krishna explained this to Arjuna, Arjuna pleaded ignorance as an ordinary human being to comprehend such an exalted philosophy. Krishna is not just the figure of 6 feet height. Arjuna, who represents human nature requires more inner experience to realise the true nature of God.

There was a time when Gopala was just a playful boy of 6 years in Gokulam. Once it rained heavily; no one could withstand the rain. There was no shelter nearby. Gopala said, "I will lift this hillock, let all of you come under it." All those who had faith in Krishna's divinity assembled there. They had no doubt that whatever God says will happen. There were a few who doubted Krishna. They felt that he was after all a small boy, the mountain was so big. How could he lift and bear the weight of the heavy mountain. Those who doubted remained frustrated and they suffered.

On another occasion, Balarama resorted to a trick to make his mother Yasoda understand the divinity of Krishna. He complained to his mother that Krishna had eaten mud. Yasoda caught hold of Krishna's hand and started enquiring why he had eaten mud. She asked, "Don't you find butter and lots of other eatables in the house? Then why did you eat mud?" To educate his mother on his true nature, Krishna said, "Am I a foolish child or mad to eat mud. You consider me no more than a child." With this, he opened his mouth and revealed all the worlds there. She took fright at the sight and started wondering if she was dreaming. She had such strong feeling of maternal attachment. So long as we have body attachments, we have doubts of divinity.

The body is really the temple of God. Relying too much on the temple, we have forgotten the presiding deity within. A car can never run on its own. It needs a driver. God is the driver; and our body is the car. With exclusive body feeling we can make no progress. Body itself is only the gift of God. It is only the instrument of the indwelling divinity. This feeling of oneness with God is indispensable for any spiritual advancement.

Gopikas remained enjoying this spirit of oneness with God. They could not bear the separation from their Lord. Krishna sent Uddhava as his messenger to them. He went to them and requested them to listen to the message he had brought from Krishna. Gopikas replied, "Uddhava, our heart is full of love for Krishna. His name dances on our tongue, our eyes are eternal witness to his divine powers. Every part of our body is charged with him. We have only one mind, one thought and one love. We cannot diversify; we cannot modify. Better you return." Such was their single-minded devotion.

There is no place where Krishna is not there. All words are Mantras. Once in Brindavan, when Krishna was singing and playing with them, he suddenly vanished. Gopikas rushed to every flower and tree, bush and brake and enquired of them, "The one of dark complexion, with eyes like lotus flowers, who showers compassion, who adorns peacock feathers on his hair and who is full of love, has he hidden behind you?" All objects in nature are familiar with Krishna. Of this Gopikas had no doubt.

Krishna had drawn the hearts of Gopikas to himself. The heart of a Gopika resembles the butter that is soft, sacred, pure and sweet and so capable of giving great joy. Therefore Krishna stole the hearts of Gopikas. Mother Yasoda once asked Krishna, "Krishna, you don't eat what is served at home. You visit the houses in our neighbourhood and steal butter from the houses. This creates problems and sometimes even fights. Don't you relish butter at home?" This episode has an inner significance. Butter stands for the pure sacred hearts of the Gopikas , who have no body attachment. They have the form of Krishna imprinted in their hearts. They are at peace, though their mothers and husbands object to their devotion to Krishna.

Yasoda on the other hand had only the attachment of a mother to Krishna. Attachment and possessiveness lead to ego that is capable of ruining man as a treacherous enemy.

Unfortunately man does not make efforts to understand his true divine nature. He ruins himself because of too much attachment. He is carried away by the things in the ephemeral, external world. Therefore, he remains grief-stricken. Once he develops the strong feeling that he is the spark of the divine, he will cease to be sad. His faith in God should be total and holistic.

In Italy, there was one Antony, a great devotee of God, who was rightly famous for making perfect violins. He took one full year to make one violin. His friends wanted him to speed up with his manufacture, to manage a reasonable living. He never felt it that way. He said, "God is perfect. Whatever I do must also be perfect. Then only God will be satisfied." Every activity should be done to perfection, with the sole intention of pleasing God. That is the right attitude to work.

When we pray to God, it should be free of seeking fulfilment of our personal desires. We should never pray for curing us of diseases, or for wealth or position. The world is full of these things. We should pray for something that we don't have. We don't have Peace. Peace is with God and no one else has it. He is the embodiment of peace. So let us pray to God for peace. Again, we have only momentary happiness. We don't have permanent happiness or bliss. God is the supreme master of it and he can give it to us. Let us pray for bliss. Antony was such a devotee who craved for the peace and bliss of God and nothing else.

Thyagaraja's devotion to Rama is well known. He lived his life in constant contemplation of the name of God. When his sufferings became unbearable, he was sorely tested. He doubted his own devotion and his Lord, Rama's power. On further enquiry he reached clarity of mind and regretted his despair. He got reaffirmed in his faith in Rama. He was convinced that his devotion was not wavering. As for Rama, if there was no power in him, could that monkey cross the ocean at a single jump by chanting the name of Rama? Would Lakshmi, the Goddess of wealth adore him? Lakshmana and Bharata are intelligent. They serve Rama sacrificing every imaginable pleasure. He concluded that the name and form of Rama are indeed mighty. He prayed forgiveness of his Lord, for his moment of hesitation. Disbelief follows a devotee like a shadow. He has to strengthen his faith to escape from its evil influence.

Sri Krishna revealed his divinity through his innumerable miracles and expressions. God responds to the sacred thoughts and feelings of a devotee. The Ganges flows to the full always. But we can collect water only to the capacity of our container. If you carry with you a small tumbler, you can fill that. If you take with you a big vessel, you can collect more water. Therefore, we must widen our hearts, which are like vessels.
Divinity cannot be comprehended by the practice of worship and rituals. Meditation, penance and worship are good deeds and we do get results from these practices. But these in themselves do not constitute spirituality. True spirituality is connection of Atma to Atma. Atma is the eternal truth and we will realise eternal bliss by concentrating on it. It is permanent, free of birth and death. There is neither a beginning nor an end for it. It neither kills, nor gets killed. It is an eternal witness in everyone.

Human life is given to an individual to realise the divinity within, and not to relapse into animality. While singing Bhajans we change tunes; but do we undergo any change in our feeling? Without elevated thoughts and feelings, recitation of Bhajans are of no avail. They are as mechanical as the playing of a tape recorder. Only when the mind and heart are transformed, the aim of singing bhajans is achieved. When you sing a bhajan, you should enquire whether your singing will make anyone feel happy. It should melt the hearts of the listeners. Bhajan singing should never be undertaken for boosting one's own image as a singer. Tunes and drum beats are external activities. But the aim of bhajan singing is the transformation of the mind, realisation of God, Madhavatwa.

Community singing was first started by Guru Nanak. The entire gathering joined in chorus with one feeling. This spirit of oneness is absent in bhajan singing now-a-days. Do not sing in your own way or for your own sake. Study the nature of the assembly and the occasion and sing appropriate songs. Every such good activity carries with it the life sustaining principle. In the absence of this principle, the activity is useless.
So we should grow more and more in perfection, as God is in our own hearts. Saint Kabirdas said, "Rama, I can't meditate or practise japa. But I have love; with that one principle I shall bind you." God submits himself only to love. Without love, all forms of worship are useless.

Love is life. Therefore, we should develop love which is our life. Gopikas said, "Oh Krishna, our hearts have become a barren land. Play on your Murali so that seeds of love may germinate and the rain of your love may irrigate our hearts." Radha said, "Krishna, sing with words full of nectar, and talk to us sweetly so that our hearts will be full of love. Collecting the essence of the Vedas, transforming it into sound, pour it though your Murali."

Now, what is that Murali, the divine flute? It is our body with nine openings. It has no obstacles. There is no matter inside the flute. "O God, make our body your flute, without any desire inside." Thus did Gopikas pray to sanctify their hearts.

Our sincerity and devotion should be totally turned towards God. We have sacred thoughts on festival days. The following day we have none. Every moment is sacred. If we have sacred thoughts always, we can lead a sacred life. God is all pervasive. He is present everywhere. When you see a man, remember God is in him. You normally see the form of a man in front of you, but you don't see the God within him. You must learn to identify God in everything.

Air is all around you. But you don't see it or catch it. Can you deny its existence? Without air how can you live? There is air, even if you are not able to see or catch it. Likewise, there is God all around you, though you neither see nor catch him. How to attain him? Once you have a pure heart God will step in. So develop a sacred heart. The feeling of oneness that God is present in all is sacred. Whoever you accuse, it amounts to accusing God. The love you bestow on anyone is the love you bestow on God. This is a pious life.
God said, "I have incarnated to protect the pious people." Who are the pious people? They are in terms of dress, for instance those who wear ochre robes? A true Sadhu is one who has a sacred heart. Change of heart, not dress, is the criterion of sacredness.
What is the meaning of KRISHNA? The name suggests three different connotations. The first one is Krishyati iti Krishna. Ploughing the land is Krishi. The heart is the field full of weeds of bad thoughts. They must be weeded out, and then, the heart should be filled with love and, and sowed with seeds of God's name. The second is Karshyati iti Krishna. Krishna is the one who attracts. Krishna attracts everyone by his word, play and music. The magnetic power of attraction is in everyone.

All are the forms of Krishna. And the third is Kushyati iti Krishna. He is the embodiment of happiness and he radiates that happiness to all. All are forms of Krishna and so, God wants us to be happy. We are thus the embodiments of bliss, and yet we do not know that. We should make every effort to realise the bliss within us. Bliss is the natural quality of man. Therefore when we find our friends happy, we don't ask the reason for it. But when we find any of them sad we enquire the reason for it. So we should always be happy. When worry or sadness confronts us, we should remember that God is never sad. We are the sparks of God and so we will have nothing to do with anxiety, worry and sadness. When we entertain sacred thoughts, we will become blissful.

We should practise in this direction to reach the goal. Wearing talismans and turning the beads of japamala on the hand, we allow our mind to wander. Such observances are useless. We should make our minds sacred. Every work we do must be considered as God's work, must be offered to him and done to please him. Nothing should be considered as mine or thine.
Everything belongs to God. As a Principal or Headmaster on transfer leaves all the things in his campus without any sense of belonging, so we should treat everything in the world. We have not brought them when we came, nor can we take them back when we leave this world. God gives them to us in the middle. He wants us to discharge our duty, putting the available things to optimum use. This is the message of God, to be strictly followed. Once we have this feeling we can experience divinity.

Embodiments of Love! God is love. God gives it to human beings. Rightly did Gopikas say, "Oh God! We offer to you our hearts that you gave us. What else can we bring to be offered at your feet?" That sacred thought is the true offering. Never think that you have given so much to God. A man often boasts of his charity. He says, "I fed 500 people; I distributed 500 saris and 500 dhoties to people." All these accounts need to be stated to the Income Tax officials, not to God. God sees the spirit behind the offerings. With strong feelings of love, if you offer nothing more than leaves of Tulsi, that is enough. Love is the true value. Things offered without love serve no purpose. Offer things wholeheartedly to God. You should become the embodiment of love, the Brahman.

As you think, so you become. Darwin, Prahlada, Narada and Valmiki thought deeply and reached great heights. Chanting the name of your favourite deity, dedicate your life to God. You need not give up anything. You do your work, thinking it as God's work. Krishna wanted Arjuna to do battle, taking the name of God. Only when your thoughts are pure and sacred, you can truly be human. If you are full of cruelty and animality, you are human only in form.
If a tiger steps into a cowshed, the cows will not survive. Pious thoughts are like the cows that get destroyed at the onslaught of tiger-like wicked thought. So don't give scope for any wicked thought. Then only pious thoughts and noble feelings will grow. You fix a door to a house, to permit your relatives and friends inside the house and ward off donkeys and pigs from entering it. Likewise, if bad thoughts seek an entry into your head, drive them out immediately.

The Sanskrit word for man is Manava, which means one who has faith. Faith is basic to all human experience. When your good safari suit is worn for sometime, you give it for a wash. You should have faith in the washerman. When you have a haircut, you have faith in a barber. You trust your goldsmith to make your jewels. You have faith in the market as a safe place to transact. But you have no faith in God that he will protect you. This is the human weakness. But where is God? He is in you. That means you have no faith in yourself. If you have no faith in yourself how will you have faith in others? If you don't have faith in others, it does not matter. You must have faith in God. Other relations will come up to the burial ground. Only God's name will follow you here and hereafter. Only God protects you as he is always in you, with you, around you and above you. Even in different times, God protects you. Other relations stay with you as long as you have money to spend on them. Lives of all great men reveal how God protects people in times of difficulties.

Sometimes, in times of difficulties, we tend to blame God and criticise him. Ramadas of Bhadrachalam serves as a good example. With the money Tanishaw gave him for the purchase of horses, he constructed a temple and bought jewellery for the idol of Sita and a crown for Rama. Tanishaw imprisoned him for misappropriation of funds. So Ramadas languished alone in the jail. Once in his despairing mood Ramadas was provoked to blame God Rama. He started accusing Rama: "I have constructed a temple for you. I made a necklace for Sitamma at 10,000 varahas. Another 10,000 I spent in getting a crown for you. Now, you are shining to great advantage. But, whose contribution is it that makes you so impressive?" He soon realised his folly in blaming God and begged his forgiveness for allowing his personal sufferings to overpower him. After all, they come and go as passing clouds. Though we love God intensely, sometimes we hate him.

Jaya and Vijaya were the door-keepers of Narayana at Vaikunta. Because of a curse, they had to leave their lord and take birth as demons. They prayed to Narayana to help them regain their service to him. Separation from their Lord even for a moment was unbearable to them. Narayana counselled them to keep on accusing and criticising him to expedite the process of their getting back to Narayana. They were great devotees, they could follow that path.

But criticism is not the right path to reach God. Thinking of God with love just once, is more efficacious than thinking of him with hatred a hundred times. God descends on earth to teach the lesson that we should accept whatever he gives us. He incarnates to raise us to the level of God and to guide us in the right path, so that the rare gift of human life is used to realise the goal of life.

Sacred festivals like Krishna Janmastami and Rama Navami remind us of our responsibilities. Cows graze in the pastures speedily and when they retire they masticate their food. Similarly on sacred occasions devotees witness many sacred things taking place at the Mandir. When they go back to their places, they should recall the teachings of Bhagavan and put them into practice. It is important that they practise what they have listened to from Bhagavan. Every human being is divine. Whatever is done is God's work. Sing the glory of God and sanctify the time.