A
skilled tongue entices even the goddess of wealth,
A sweet tongue wins family and friends,
Tongue it is that ties your life in knots,
A vicious tongue begets instant death.
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(Sanskrit
Verse)
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Embodiments
of Love!
Having been endowed with such a sacred power of speech, man is unable to
make proper use of it. No other form of life has the mighty intellect and
capacity for inner peace but the human kind. In this world every object
has five aspects, namely, Sath, Chith, Ananda, Rupa and Nama
(being, awareness, bliss, form and name). Being, awareness and bliss are
the three core attributes of a man. They are true and eternal. Name and
form are transitory. The delusion of permanence of name and form leads
mankind to waste away its precious life.
In this
world, there are two types of intellectuals. The first type is the
scientists who are totally materialistic in their outlook. They have in
their mind only the physical and worldly goals and gains. They are
fascinated by the external appearance of a gigantic tree with its numerous
branches and twigs, but they are not interested in finding its
"roots". Vedantins (philosophers) are the second type of
intellectuals who are not fascinated by the external appearance of the
tree but evince great delight in finding the "roots". People who
are worldly in outlook waste their time in watering the 'branches',
whereas, the Vedantins water the 'roots' and thereby enjoy the 'fruits'.
Once the
Asuras (demons) and Devas (demigods) churned the ocean of milk with the
hope of acquiring divine ambrosia (Amrita). They used the Manthara
mountain as the churning rod. But, initially, they had to put up with the
emergence of deadly poison. The demons were frustrated and disheartened to
see poison emanating instead of amruta. They wanted to give up the
churning process. But the demigods relentlessly continued the churning
with courage and determination. Their sustained efforts yielded rich
rewards in the form of the goddess of wealth, Lakshmi Devi, Iravatha
(divine white elephant), Kamadhenu (wish-fulfilling cow), Kalpatharu
(wish-fulfilling tree) and ultimately the divine ambrosia itself. In the
same manner, man should churn his mind and try to know his true identity;
He should not be deterred or depressed by the initial impediments and
obstacles that beset his path.
Sath-Chith-Ananda
are the very nature of man. But, man has forgotten his very nature and is
wasting his time in the vain pursuit of fleeting pleasures. He is not able
to realise the value of his innate nature, Sath-Chith-Ananda. Once
he realises its value and experiences it, he can reach any exalted state.
In fact, he becomes verily God. Man can accomplish any mighty task when he
realises his innate divine nature. The power latent in man is not found
anywhere else. Every man is endowed with the three chief attributes of Sath-Chith-Ananda.
But having been enmeshed in the web of delusion, man considers that the
"name and form" are real, ignoring his innate qualities of Sath-Chith-Ananda.
First of all, what man has to recognise is his own innate divine nature.
But, man is not making any effort in this direction. He has become a slave
to his senses, and is wasting his time on trivial matters. The primary
duty of man therefore is to understand properly his innate human nature
and then putting it into practice.
The value and significance of human nature is beyond all estimation. Only
when you practise human values will your life be redeemed. Man is but a
spark of Divinity. That is why Lord Krishna said in the Bhagavadgita, Mamaivamsho
Jeevaloke Jeevabhutah Sanathana (the eternal Atma in all beings is a
part of My Being). In fact, the Antarvani (inner voice) keeps
reminding man of his divine nature day in and day out. But man is not
making any effort to listen to his inner voice. He is craving for physical
and ephemeral objects, forgetting his own divine nature and thereby
distancing himself from the ultimate goal of life. Names and forms are
momentary like water bubbles. He is being deluded by names and forms and
is losing the very precious gem of divinity. Man is endowed with infinite
divine power. A piece of red-hot iron can be put to better use than the
fire itself. The body can be compared to an iron piece and the divinity
within to fire. Man should therefore understand this truth and make proper
use of his body.
Embodiments of Love!
People are full of hopes and aspirations on the dawn of a New Year. In
fact, you should consider every moment as the beginning of a New Year.
Names and forms have no value without the eternal virtues. Man suffers
from various ailments, some internal and the other external. A doctor can
cure the external ailments. The Atmic feeling is the only remedy for all
the internal ailments. You should make efforts to know the principle of
Atma. The Atma is a synonym for Brahma which is nothing but the Chaitanya
permeating every human being. Man has a name and form but Chaitanya
has no form. The Chaitanya that is present in the human body is
called 'conscience'. The all-pervasive Chaitanya is called
'consciousness'. When the individual understands the principle of unity in
diversity, the 'conscience' gets transformed into 'consciousness'. In
spite of being endowed with such a sacred power, man gets deluded by the
vagaries of the world. He is giving importance to the New Year which is
fleeting. In fact, he should give importance to the changeless
"Time" and sanctify it by proper use.
In this world, only truth and goodness will remain with us for ever. Their
value cannot be quantified. So, we should strive to develop truth and
goodness in us. We should not hanker after name and fame. For example, we
should not be under the delusion that we are providing Telugu Ganga water
to Chennai. Water is not something which one gives to another. It is
nature's gift to all. Each one gets his share based on his prapti
(deservedness). Man's activities yield the desired result only when the kala,
karma, karana and kartavya (time, action, cause and duty) are in
harmony with each other. Hence, one should make sincere efforts and wait
for the right time. When the action fructifies, he should utilise it in
accordance with the time and circumstances.
Boys
(former students of Swami) are doing a lot of good work. They are going to
various villages and giving happiness to the people there by performing
service activities and Bhajans. They should undertake all these activities
with the spirit of love. There is nothing greater than love. You should
lead your life filled with selfless love.
Embodiments of Love!
The service activities and the Bhajans that you perform alone are not
enough. You should give up the feeling that you are serving others. That
is very important. You are serving your own self when you serve others.
You should consider all as yours. In fact, others are not others, but the
very forms of God. Hence, service rendered to humanity is service
rendered to God. All the service activities are meant to foster this
feeling in you. You should plunge into the field of service with selfless
love. That alone is true service. All other service activities are worldly
and momentary.
Students!
You are under the mistaken notion that you are rendering service to
others. You should give up such a feeling. Only then does the service you
perform become real service in the strict sense of the term. Service does
not merely mean helping others. The best way to love God is to love all
and serve all. Your acts of service should be suffused with the spirit
of love. Without the positive aspect of love, all service you render
becomes negative in nature.
All bodies are like bulbs and love is the main switch. Only when the main
switch is pressed, will the bodies radiate light and happiness to one and
all. You are switching off the main switch and trying to enjoy happiness.
It is impossible. Hrid + Daya (compassion) = Hridaya (heart). Your heart
should be filled with compassion. All your activities should be suffused
with love. There is no strength superior to love. Our ancient sages and
seers used to live in dense forests amidst wild animals. They did not
carry any weapons with them, yet they could move about without any sense
of fear. What was the source of their courage? They possessed the single
weapon of love which protected them from the wild animals. The ancient
culture of Bharat is divine, most precious, wonderful and blissful. But
you are not making any effort to understand its greatness. In fact, you
are belittling such a sacred culture. You are deluded by the differences
based on caste and culture. In fact, there is only one caste, the caste of
humanity. The love that originates in the heart is true religion. The
entire humanity is one family. All are brothers and sisters. The whole
world is but one mansion. It is impossible to describe in words the
happiness you would experience when you develop such broad-mindedness.
Hence, make every effort to visualise divinity in humanity.
God's creation is most wonderful and mysterious. There are innumerable
stars in the sky. The light emitted by some of them is yet to reach the
earth, in spite of the fact that light travels at a speed of thousands of
miles per second. Such being the case, you can very well imagine the
distance between earth and stars. When the creation itself is such an
infinite and indescribable phenomenon, how mighty and powerful must the
creator be!
The
stories of the Lord are most wonderful and sacred in all the three
worlds. They are like sickles that cut the creepers of worldly
bondage.
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(Telugu
Poem)
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The
stories of God cannot be described in mere words. Man imagines and
describes Him based on his own estimates. Truly speaking, God is beyond
all definition. There are various types of Pramanas (experiences)
in this world. They are Pratyaksha Pramana (direct experience), Anumana
Pramana (experience based on inference), Dvaita Pramana
(experience based on duality) and Advaita Pramana (experience based
on non-duality). As God is beyond all these Pramanas, He is known
as Aprameya (immeasurable and indefinable). God is present in the
heart of every man with all His divine powers. The beauty and grandeur of
God cannot be described in words. He is extolled as "Hiranyagarbhaya
Namah" (salutations to the one with the golden womb). Hiranya
means gold. It is present in His heart. Just as the essence of the food
partaken is supplied to all parts of the body, likewise, gold permeates
His entire body. Hence, He is the most handsome One. He is the primordial
basis of all beings. Everything happens according to His Will. As He is
the creator of all beings, He is called Prajapati. As He is the
most intelligent One, He is called Dakshinamurthi. In this manner, God has
infinite names. Man attributes names and forms to God based on his limited
understanding and worships Him. Nirgunam, Niranjanam, Sanathana
Niketanam, Nitya, Suddha, Buddha, Mukta, Nirmala Swarupinam (God is
attributeless, pure, final abode, eternal, unsullied, enlightened,
liberated and embodiment of sacredness). When such a divine principle is
present within his own self, why does man consider himself to be small and
feeble? You should give up such a feeling of inferiority. There is no
greater being than the human being. In fact, divinity is immanent in the
entire humanity. But, unfortunately, you are considering such a sacred
human birth as trivial. As you think, so shall it become. These petty
thoughts are the result of your petty mind.
When you see smoke emerging from the hills, it is an indication that there
is fire. When you see the fire directly, it is called Pratyaksha
Pramana (direct experience). If you see only the smoke and not the
fire, you presume that there is fire behind the smoke. It is only a
possibility. It is Anumana Pramana (presumptive experience). It is
possible that sometimes fog appears as smoke and, actually, there may not
be fire in the hills. Therefore, Anumana Pramana gives rise to
doubt.
Love is
the only Pratyaksha Pramana (direct experience) of divinity in a
human being. When a question arises as to where is God, the immediate
answer is God is love and love is God. Similarly, truth is God.
There is nothing greater than truth. There is no divinity higher than
truth. Truth is all-pervading. The countries may be different; but, truth
is one and only one. There is nothing like American truth, Japanese truth,
German truth, etc. To make such distinction is the nature of petty-minded
people. We are not petty-minded and mean. We are the embodiments of
infinity. Man should always remind himself that he is the embodiment of
Truth, embodiment of Love, embodiment of Bliss, etc. Man has got infinite
capacity for spiritual thoughts and spiritual quest. But, does he realise
his true nature?
Take, for
instance, a handful of sea-sand in a plate. The scientists determine the
sand as belonging to such and such country on the basis of the colour and
weight of the sand. But, the philosophers do not at all think that way.
They say that it is God's creation and God's Maya. Thus, there is a gulf
of difference between the perceptions of the scientists and the sages.
Science is like semi-circle. It starts at some place and ends at some
other place. But, spirituality originates and ends at the same point of
origin. It is a full-circle. It is verily Divinity. That is why it is
said,
Poornamadah Poornamidam Poornat Poornamudachyate
Poornasya Poornamadaya Poornameva Avashishyate
(That is full, this is full. When the full is taken out of the full,
what remains is again the full).
Such a divinity, which is the embodiment of fullness is immanent in every
human being. But, unfortunately, man is not making any effort to realise
the divinity within. Who is protecting his body while he is fast asleep?
How does the body function perfectly, even without his knowledge? Nobody
knows. For creation, protection and sustenance - for everything, God is
responsible. Such a divine power is immanent in every human being. In
spite of this, man is depressed in times of difficulties and is elated in
times of joy. But, this is not the goal of his life. His true goal is to
maintain a perfect state of equanimity at all times and not to get caught
in "sorrows and joys". Pleasure is an interval between two
pains. Therefore, we need not go in search of pleasure. It is very
much within us. In fact, you, yourself are the embodiment of bliss.
Embodiments
of Love!
Always be happy and cheerful, for, your innate nature is bliss. You need
not go in search of happiness. Bliss emerges out of Atma. Whenever you
wish for it, you will get it. Happiness is union with God.
Therefore, always be in the company of God. Once you are in the company of
God, happiness will follows you like a slave. Today, man is in search of
happiness, and, in the process, is becoming a slave to happiness. This is
not correct. In fact, happiness should become a slave to you, for, you are
verily the embodiment of Divine Atma. Believe it or not, I am always
blissful. You can also experience such a state of bliss. You should not go
in search of happiness. Instead, happiness should follow you wherever you
go. Hanuman was a great hero in the episode of Ramayana. He was
courageous, mighty and invincible. He possessed good qualities of
character and peace. He was always happy and cheerful, chanting the divine
name of Rama. You should also develop such noble qualities. First and
foremost, you should become a human being in the true sense. You should
develop kindness towards all. Only then do you deserve to be identified as
belonging to mankind.
Embodiments of Love!
You are acquiring a high level of worldly education. You are reading
several great books. You are acquiring great powers. But, all these are
ephemeral and evanescent. Therefore, always keep your thoughts steadily
fixed on the divine power that fills your heart with bliss. The divine
power is infinite. The more you contemplate on the divine, the more and
more the bliss gets multiplied. When such an infinite divine power is
within your own self, why should you be exposed to difficulties?
Today our old students have assembled here. They are undertaking several
types of service activities in various parts of the country and even
abroad. They are deriving great pleasure out of this service activity. In
My opinion, they should confine themselves to their own areas and render
service to the society, within their means. It is neither good nor
necessary to associate others in their service activity, which will turn
it into business. As far as possible, they should undertake such
activities in their respective villages and give them happiness. In rural
areas there is a vast scope for different service activities. A few
decades ago, some people invited Me to shift to bigger cities like Mysore,
saying, that they would provide a big palace for Me. But, as for Me, I
don't need palaces. I must stay in this small village. I have not given up
My place of birth. In such place alone, mighty tasks need to be
accomplished. So, I refused to move from Puttaparthi, which was then a
remote village with no modern facilities. In those days, if one were to
visit Puttaparthi, one had to alight from the train at Penukonda, which
was the nearest railhead, and then travel to this place in a bullock-cart.
Such were the conveyances in those days. But, now one can straightaway
reach Puttaparthi comfortably by air. One had to go to Anantapur by bus in
those days for availing oneself of medical services. Now, we have a Super
Speciality Hospital right at our doorstep. Thus, all modern conveniences
and facilities are now available in this village of Puttaparthi.
Therefore, there is no better place than a village, to live in. The
villages are the most valuable assets of a nation. If you serve the
villagers properly, nothing could be a greater service than that. Grama
Seva is Rama Seva. There is no satisfaction in service undertaken
in towns and cities. The urban people are indifferent and self-centred.
Even if thieves break into a neighbouring house, they will not bother. On
the other hand, in the villages, even for a small commotion, all the
villagers will gather. Such a type of unity and camaraderie still exists
in the villages. Where there is unity, there will be divinity. Where there
is divinity, there will be bliss. Hence, work sincerely for the
development of the village in which you are placed. Thus, all of you
should work for the development of your respective villages. Your
activities should not be on the lines of political activities. By
associating various types of people, this turns into a political activity.
I am not happy with that. Do come together for Bhajans wherever you are.
But do not allow separatism. All should be united. Wherever you are,
undertake service-activities with a spirit of cooperation and unity. Do
not strike discordant notes. Since ages, India has been a peaceful country
and all Indians were united like a big family. But what is the position
now? In the olden days, whenever somebody visited a village, all the
villagers used to gather round him and enquire about his welfare lovingly.
Now, that spirit of love and oneness is lost, totally. Wherever you go,
you will find differences and tensions even on trivial matters.
Especially, after Independence, riots and disturbances are taking place in
almost every part of the country. The sanctity of human life seems to be
totally lost. Human life has no value. People are killed like ants and
mosquitoes. These are inhuman and demonic acts. This is not what is
expected of a human being. We must transform the divine power latent in us
into skill, for undertaking service to society. When knowledge is
converted into skill, you acquire balance in life. In such a state of
equanimity, you will develop insight. With such an insight and divine
power when you undertake service activity, it will be most fruitful and
beneficial to the society.
Every village in the country has to be developed in all respects. You have
come from Hyderabad, Madras, America, etc., to participate in service
activity. Where is the need for all this? This is not a fair where
different people from different parts gather to sell their commodities.
Wherever you are, develop your area with your service. People of one place
may even go to another place for developing that place. But this kind of
mixing up of people from different areas adulterates the very purpose. It
ends up in confusion, turns into pollution. Do not give scope for
confusion and pollution of your mind with unnecessary differences. You
should always undertake service activities with a pure mind. Unity
brings purity and purity in turn leads to divinity. Therefore, always
remember the inseparable relationship between unity, purity and divinity
and strive to achieve that. You may come together and work together in the
spirit of sacrifice. But if people from various places come together this
way for Grama Seva, no good accrues to the villages. Each has his own
feelings and by mixing they get polluted. Then the place becomes a
business centre. Spirituality is not a business activity. Spirituality is
a divine mansion. It is associated with unity. This unity in diversity
alone will bring you happiness. I wish you that you cultivate that
principle of unity. It is only then, that the service undertaken by you
will acquire value and sanctity. There is no use polluting the sacred
service activity with all sorts of differences. A small example. Gold is
in the form of deposits in the gold mines. When you take it out and purify
it, it becomes pure 24 carat gold. It acquires great value. However, when
you add other metals like copper, its value comes down. Not only that. Its
brightness also comes down. If you add some more metals, it loses its
value altogether. Our heart is like a temple of gold. It is Hiranyagarbha.
We should never defile that Hiranyagarbha. It should always be
bright and shining.
Embodiments of Love!
Share love with everybody. Always maintain unity and purity. As you
have planned earlier, you can commence your musical programme now.
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