CONVERSATIONS WITH SAI
Satyopanishad - part 14:
Direct Directions from the Divine

Dear Reader,

In response to your positive feedback to this section where we have a conversation with the Divine, we continue with Prof. Anil Kumar’s ‘Satyopanishad’ following Dr. John Hislop’s series ‘Conversations with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’ that ended in January 2008.

This series is also in the question-answer format that many devotees prefer, and has answers from Bhagavan on topics as wide ranging as the origin of evil, the goals of human life, and aspects of God – embodied and formless, to price hikes, women’s liberation, vegetarianism, and the generation gap among people of the present times.

Published in two parts by the author, these volumes have 270 questions in all, which are neatly grouped under separate chapters. In this issue, we continue the fourth chapter: The Outer Door.

CHAPTER 4 - THE OUTER DOOR
(Continued from the previous issue)

Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! In spite of a long period of desiring to be devoted to God, devotion somehow does not grow as intense as it should. What is essential to develop devotion of the magnitude and intensity expected of a true devotee?

Bhagavan: Here it is not time that matters. An iron ball in a pond, however long it might stay there, will never change. It will remain as it is without any change in it. You should know that it is transformation that is important. It is the goal you set for yourself that matters most. Until then, you should pursue your goal not mindful of the time involved.

You know a lamp has a container, a wick, and oil. With a wick kept for long in water, you can never light a lamp even if you use any number of matchsticks. Impossible! What you should do is, take the wick out of water, keep it in sunshine for some time and dry it.

Then you will be able to light the wick easily. Here, the process of drying the wick in sunlight is renunciation. The procedure of lighting it with a matchstick is sadhana (spiritual practice) and the light you get thereby is devotion or intense Love for God.

The procedure of lighting it with a matchstick is sadhana (spiritual practice) and the light you get thereby is devotion or intense Love for God.

The lamp is the human body. The same process is applicable to those who are not devoted, as you have said. The more they are drenched and drowned in worldly life, the farther they are from God, the source of all light; they can never light the lamp of their life.

Dry it in the sunshine of detachment so as to be benefited by the light of devotion. Some people, in spite of a prolonged period of stay (in the divine proximity) and divine association, are not devoted as much as they should be, for this simple reason: They lack detachment from worldly things. Therefore, intense devotion is not given to everybody.

Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! We beg you to suggest to us a spiritual path that can be followed in the present circumstances. The situation around us seems to be dispiriting. Kindly give us the direction?

Bhagavan: It is said that man is the most precious being among all the living creatures. Therefore, it is imperative on your part to lead your lives in full realisation of the value of life. For example, in the kitchen you make dal (an Indian side dish) to eat for lunch. If salt is added in excess by mistake, the dal loses its taste; it is unfit for consumption anymore. Even though the dish, if taken, is going to be digested in three hours or so, still, it is kept aside once it is not tasty. Then, how about a long life? Should it not be tasty?

Suppose you are waiting at the bus stand to board the bus that takes you to your office. If the vehicle is delayed, you lose your patience. You start complaining, "What is this! Drivers don't have a sense of responsibility in this country. Conductors too don't discharge their duties properly. The Road Transport Corporation is inefficient; the Government seems to be lenient towards them" and so on. A bus is lifeless; it is a vehicle and a means of transport. Man, on the other hand, is the embodiment of awareness: He is active and intelligent. If such a man forgets his human value, and leads life unbecoming of a human being, don't you know that society will blame him?

Man has 85% of divinity in him while an animal has only 15%. It is only a human being who has a chance to realise and experience his divinity. Just as a stone dropped from above falls to the ground due to the unseen gravitational force, the unseen values and virtues should guide man. For this, however, determination is necessary.

Here is another example. If a machine is not put to use, it gets rusted. Don't you think it is the same with the human body too if it is not used properly? It is because of dust that the machine gets rusted and loses its power. Once this happens, it is sent to a workshop and repaired. Isn't it so? Now, what should you do with yourself? You must ensure that the dust of bad thoughts do not get into you. Why? Otherwise your faith begins to shake and becomes unsteady. Take your mind to the workshop of surrender to God for rest. Then, you are the best.

Hence, you should always preserve and maintain human values. In fact, no spiritual path can be practiced with a sense of ego. Since all the methods adopted by you are done with your mind, ego, or 'I’ness, you couldn't progress spiritually till now.

You are the embodiment of love. Don't merely be a lover and narrow down the vistas of love. To feel and experience the same divinity in all living beings is true love.

Some begin their spiritual practice, identifying themselves with the body - aham dehosmi. This will never take you to the true spiritual goal. The demons, Ravana, Kamsa, Bhasmasura, and others belong to this category. Some expect progress by changing even their faith and religion. It is not matamu, religion, which is to be changed. It is mati, the mind, that has to be transformed. You are the embodiment of love. Don't merely be a lover and narrow down the vistas of love. To feel and experience the same divinity in all living beings is true love.

One day, Krishna decided to lead his cows to a nearby forest for grazing. He asked Mother Yashoda to permit him to do so. She said, "My dear son! All along the way to the forest, you find rocks, thorny bushes and stones. It is better you go tomorrow. I will get your footwear ready for you". The smiling Krishna said, "Mother! Do I need footwear? Why and for what? Cows don't have any footwear. Then, why should there be footwear for me alone?"

Yashoda replied, "Look! They are animals. We are human beings. We need footwears." Krishna responded with a fitting reply, "Mother! You mean to say cows are ordinary and simple animals. Do we have as much gratitude as they have? They eat grass and yield milk.

"The moment they hear any voice they stop grazing and run towards Me. Calves even stop sucking milk and come to Me. Their skin is useful after their death to make footwears." Cows are symbols of sacrifice and forbearance. Such noble qualities are very essential for spiritual seekers.

In agriculture, the land is ploughed well, watered, manured, weeded, and finally the seeds are sown. The human heart, likewise, is a field. This has to be tilled and watered with love. You have to take the plough of self-enquiry to plough the field of the human heart. You have to raise the fence of discipline. Bad qualities are the weeds that have to be removed totally. Then you can cultivate the crop of bliss. It is enough if you have a small area of fertile land. Why have many acres of barren land?

A small example: You see an orange fruit. It is covered with a green bitter rind or skin. This is ego or pomp. You find hard seeds inside; they are the wicked thoughts and bad actions. Then you find the fibrous soft pulp; this is attachment. In order to have the sweet juice you need to remove the outer bitter skin, the hard seeds and squeeze the soft fibrous pulp. The sweet juice is love that you need. This is the essence, raso vai sah.

You need both the positive and the negative wires for the electric current to flow. The negative may be very powerful. It is powerless without joining the positive. The fan and bulb may be very good and of high voltage. But without power supply they are useless. This current is positive. Divinity is positive. The bulb and the fan are merely negative. All that pertains to the name and form is negative. Your journey on the spiritual path will be successful only if there is love. You have to reform yourself first. This transformation is not taking place today.

All that pertains to the name and form is negative. Your journey on the spiritual path will be successful only if there is love. You have to reform yourself first.

You can carve a statue out of a boulder. By removing the husk, you can have the grain. With the vegetables you bring from the market, you can cook well and make delicious items of food. Difficulties, pain, blame, loss, etc., will help to refine you, improve you, nurture faith and take you to spiritual heights.

You have to face and resolve all problems of life and proceed in your sadhana. Follow your own experience and develop faith (vishvasa) thereby. Can you breathe (shvasa) on behalf of anybody? You see with your own eyes, don't you? The eyes of the other man may be bright and beautiful. You cannot see through his eyes. Can you close your eyes and see through the eyes of somebody else? You have to stand on your own legs and not on anybody else's.

Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! At times it appears that others may influence and lead us to a total change in our life style, making us ask ourselves the question, 'Why should we not be like others? Why should we adopt this special type of living?' I am afraid we may change! What is to be done now?

Bhagavan: This is not proper and can't be justified either. In fact, it is your innate weakness that brings about change. If your faith is strong, and your values are deep-rooted, none can do anything to you. You will not change at any time. But if your faith is weak, then the values you speak about are only superficial.

Under any circumstances, you should not change your moral and spiritual way of life. If anyone comes to you and says, "There is no God", how should you reply? You should say, "You may deny your God, but what right do you have to deny my God? How can you negate my faith and devotion?" You should never change your convictions.

"There is no God", how should you reply? You should say, "You may deny your God, but what right do you have to deny my God? How can you negate my faith and devotion?" You should never change your convictions.

A boy saw a scorpion that fell into a tank and was struggling to come out. He went and picked it up. The scorpion stung him. Immediately he dropped it back into the tank. On seeing it struggle there, he picked it up to save it. But it stung him again.

The process went on and on. An elderly person watching the whole scene asked him, "Oh boy! Why do you want to save the scorpion when it is stinging you?" He replied, "Sir! The scorpion is teaching me a good lesson. When it is not giving up its own nature of stinging, why should I give up my nature of protecting one struggling for life?" So, you should not change your nature.

Maitreyi, who felt very sad on hearing the difficulties that the Pandavas were passing through in the forest Kamyavana, started thinking like this: "It is true that noble people suffer! What a lesson does a parrot in a cage teach us! A crow flies freely, but it doesn't mean that we are prepared to lead the life of a crow rather than that of a parrot in a cage. Will a parrot ever become a crow?" Similarly, we should not change our path.

In the army, we have thousands of soldiers. But, the Army Chief is the only one who commands. Captains are always a few while their followers are many. It is they, the few, who train the many. This is possible if you don't leave your path.

Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! You have complete faith in us. But, our faith in you is wavering; it is not consistently steady and deep. Why is this so?

Bhagavan: Eko vasi sarvabhutantaratma - God is in everyone moving about with different names and forms. deho devalayah prokto jivo devas sanatanah - the body is the temple. The individual jiva is none other than Deva, the ancient and eternal, sanatana. It is only one God who has manifested Himself as many.

I am present in all of you. Since I know this truth, I have faith in you. But you consider yourself separate from me, and so your faith is not strong, deep, and unwavering. In fact, I can change you all by Myself. But I don't do it that way. I want to bring about your transformation through and by you.

I am present in all of you. Since I know this truth, I have faith in you. But you consider yourself separate from me, and so your faith is not strong, deep, and unwavering. In fact, I can change you all by Myself. But I don't do it that way. I want to bring about your transformation through and by you.

Prof. Anil Kumar: Swami! We are dissatisfied and unhappy when our desires are not fulfilled. Why should it happen to devotees?

Bhagavan: First, put a question to yourself. Can you call yourself a devotee if your sense of happiness and gratification depends on your fleeting desires? In fact, ask yourself, if you have followed the command of God, if you have made Him happy with your faith and devotion. When Swami is happy with you, the whole world will be happy with you. When you displease Swami by your conduct, everyone else will be displeased with you. Act according to Swami's teachings. Everything will then happen in your favour conferring peace and joy on you.

(To be continued)

- Illustrations: Ms. Vidya, Kuwait