SAI:
No man's heart is really dry. At least men have sense love. At least
you have worldly love for children, family and others. It is the same
love, but given to some only. You only have to take it all and give
it to God.
A Visitor: If his heart were completely dry, he would
not want to come to Prashanti Nilayam.
SAI: Even in coming
to Prashanti Nilayam, you could love your wife and family. Love is
God. Live in love. Love itself is God. He is nothing else but Love.
There are different forms of love; love for family and love for money;
but love for God is devotion. There is a glass of water. An Englishman
will call it water, an Andhra man will call it by another name and
in Tamil still another name is given. But the water is the same. We
just call it by different names. The names of love for wife, children,
and objects differ; and love for God is called devotion - but the
love is one. The most important thing you have to develop is love.
If you develop love you don't have to develop anything else.
H: But love is not something made by man. Love is
not something created by man; how can I develop love?
SAI: You have love for
the tape recorder. How is it that you have that love? When the tape
recorder was in the shop, did you love it? But because you have got
it now and it is yours, 'my' tape recorder. You did not love it in
the shop; you love it now because you feel it is 'mine'. So, when
you think God is 'mine', you love Him.
A Visitor: I make an effort to strengthen love, but
I know it does not happen.
SAI: It is a question
of practice. Intellectually you understand. Say, you have a temperature,
a 105 degree fever. If you keep on chanting 100 times, 'I want penicillin
injection', it won't cure you. You have to have the injection. You
don't have to chant that you want penicillin; you just have to have
one shot and you are all right. Instead of thinking of ten different
things to do, if you do one thing correctly, that is enough. When
you are thirsty, you don't want all the water from the well. One glass
will suffice. You don't have to take all and try to practise everything.
Take one. Here is a match box with some 60 matches; if you want to
light a fire you need to strike one match, not the entire box of matches.
H: Swami, in the hospital, each patient has a principal
disease; is the doctor able to know that principal disease?
SAI: If he is a good
doctor, yes. If he just has a degree, no. In present day India in
the political field, people have studied very little; but because
of politics they get a doctors degree.
H: Then let the Supreme Doctor tell me what my chief
disease is - not physical.
SAI: You do have this
desire to go towards God. But you are just at the point, 'How to go
to it', you are wanting to know. This, Swami cannot say before the
others. He will say to you separately. Such problems are separate.
Like the doctor, each patient he examines separately, not while everyone
is in the room.
A Visitor: Swami, do I continue teaching with the
same meditation? It is not always the same people there.
SAI: You must have the
same group. Then if new people come, you must give them a separate
time and do not mix them with the others.
Visitor: Yesterday there were a number of new people.
SAI: There is not much
difference within the group. Even the people who come to you do not
know much. If the child wants to learn ABC's, he must continue to
say ABCD and so on.
A Visitor: When should I leave?
SAI: Whatever your decision
is. If you want to leave on the 19th morning, Swami will see you tomorrow.
But if you have other plans, it will be adjusted accordingly. Swami
is not limited by space. Wherever you are, here or in Bombay or wherever,
He is with you. You have to be happy. That is what Swami wants. So
it should depend on your decision.
Visitor: But I am a person for whom decisions are a great difficulty.
SAI: Deciding good and
bad all the time is a human problem. You can leave on the 19th morning.
A Second Visitor: Swami, I have been away from business and I want
to talk with Swami, but if I stay another month, then there will be
only one final talk with Swami. I want to talk with Swami now, and
then stay a month.
SAI: Tomorrow is Thursday.
Swami will see each of you individually, then you can make your plans
when you want to leave, or stay. With you, it is like this; you have
a few doubts, now you want to clear these doubts immediately so as
to leave room for new doubts, (much merriment from the interview group).
That is your plan.
SAI: (to a visitor):
You have some plan for poor people. What are the details?
Visitor: The old Mandir. We should make a number
of new homes for the poor people. Then those who are now staying in
the old Mandir can move to the new houses and then the old temple
can be made like new. It is Swami's first Mandir and it should be
saved for history. If people continue to live there, it will tumble
down in no time at all. To just use it for living looks like a lack
of respect from the people who are in Puttaparthi.
SAI: That can be discussed
further at a later time. Now, Swami is troubled that all of you have
come from so far spending so much. Your love is so touching. There
is no price for that love even if measured in crores and crores. Swami
wants your happiness. Swami will teach as quickly as may be.
Visitor: But now is the time because there is the
World Conference in May and Swami's devotees will come here and it
does not matter whose plan it is to save the old Mandir; it should
be as though it is everyone's idea and all should work together to
accomplish it.
SAI:
You draw up a plan and show it to Swami. How to do it.
Visitor: And one other thing I must ask Swami because
people say Swami must be asked. I want a little plot of land. On the
opposite hill if I have a little place and then put up a big shed,
for which I have the plan, so that there is a big place where they
can come and gather and do yoga or whatever it is. But then when I
am so close, that is closer than from here to the old Mandir, but
not just outside the gate so that people will be saying this or that
about me, then I am outside, and then you know....
A Visitor interrupts: .....so that no control.......
A second Visitor: No control....
SAI: A faithless garden,
(much merriment from the interview group).
Visitor: Well, you know, nobody can come and say
no cooking, and so on.
SAI: It might be all
right to start, but then you will have many more problems than you
wish for. All the dogs from the villagers and other problems.
Visitor: The thing is that I have said at home that
I would like to have a little house outside the compound.
SAI: With all the dogs
together, you are going to have a great problem. Ten puppies each.
Visitor: But, anyway, you....
SAI: We will discuss
it. You may start enthusiastically, but then the problems that will
be coming in the future will not be good.
(Swami now moves His hand, and a large mass of sugar candy appears
in His hand and is distributed. The group exclaims how sweet and delightful
it tastes.)
SAI:
Complete sugar.
Visitor: Not only sugar. It is flavoured.
SAI:
Everyday should be sweet like this that Swami would again make the
sugar.
Visitor: Someone told me that I should not let anybody
touch these earrings that you gave me, because they are sacred. But
I don't like to tell people not to touch.
SAI:
Nothing like that, about touching. Was everyone angry because Swami
did not come this morning?
Visitor: No, no, Baba. We were singing Bhajans and
talking about the Gopis.
SAI:Gopi
means sense control, one who has controlled the senses. It is not
a lady's name.
End of Interview
(To be continued…….)
All Other Parts of the Series |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
