Ahimsa: The Primary Duty of Man

Buddha attached great importance to Ahimsa. He considered it the foremost Dharma (duty). ‘Ahimsa Paramo Dharmah’, declared Buddha. What does Ahimsa signify? It is not merely refraining from causing harm or injury to others. It implies also refraining from causing harm to oneself.  One who harms oneself cannot avoid harming others. Whoever desires to  observe  Ahimsa  must  see  that  he  does  not  do  violence  to himself.  How is this to be ensured?  By constantly examining whether one’s conduct is right or wrong.  For  instance,  in  the  matter  of  speech, one must  examine  whether  one’s  words  are  causing pain to others or not. One must see that one’s looks are not tainted by evil intentions or thoughts. One should not listen to evil talk. All these cause harm to the individual. 

Hence, everyone should see that one gives no room for bad looks, bad hearing, bad speech, bad thoughts and bad actions. How does one determine what is bad? By consulting one’s conscience. Whenever one acts against the diktats of one’s conscience, bad results follow. The conscience is the form of the Divine within everyone. Whatever you do, the conscience tells you whether it is right or wrong. However, to ascertain the directive of the conscience you have to wait for some time. You should not be in a hurry. When you want to say something, you must consider for a moment  whether  it  would  be  proper  or  not  and  then  speak.  When you want to listen to something, you must examine whether it is good or bad to listen and then decide what is proper. 

You should be careful not only with regard to how you react to the five elements, but also with regard to your food. Excessive eating does violence to the body. Moderation in food is conducive to happiness.  Ahimsa (non-violence) is thus what confers happiness on you.  That which hurts you is Himsa (violence). That is not all. Even in drinking/using water, you should observe restraint. Likewise, one's entire life should be governed by the principle of non-violence. Many germs die when one takes a bath or walks or does any other action. Even in the process of breathing many germs die. Violence is present in all these activities. Therefore, to avoid the consequences of such involuntary violence to living creatures, one is advised to dedicate all actions to the Divine. But, there is no meaning in dedicating to the Divine, conscious acts of violence. The conscience will not approve of such conduct. In Vedantic parlance, the conscience is called ‘Chit’. It is also called ‘Awareness’. Awareness is total understanding. This total understanding is within the capacity of every human being. Everyone must strive to express this Awareness. Thus, Ahimsa is the primary duty of man.

Source: Principles of Ideal Living, Discourse 20, My Dear Students Volume 2, Divine Discourse delivered on January 18, 1996

Sri Sathya Sai: The Heart of Sai Students - By M. Ranjith

Sathya Sai with Students

Being Bhagavan’s Student, I feel that I must share the joy of living with Him. Ours is a bond of love. You can give it any dimension. Call it a father-son relation, a mother-son relation, a master-slave relation or a Guru-disciple relation - you are correct. We students love to be His most obedient sons, slaves or disciples. We live by His looks. His teachings are the Vedas for us. His plea for love is an order. What else? Every activity of ours must be Sai-Centred. Without His Love we are fish thrown out of water, struggling to breathe. With Him, we are anything and everything. Otherwise, we are just human. 

Bhagavan says, “I live for you. I live in you. I live through you.” He asks only for love, unconditional and pure, from us. And to give it with utmost humility becomes a student’s duty. Our hearts are filled with His love and we keep praying to Him to accept our love and  bless us. Still to show that we love Him, we prepare excellent models of art from thermocol, greeting cards of exquisite shades. The ultimate goal of our life is to make Him shower His grace on us. 

We are the recipients of unique grace. We believe so not out of ego but out of thought and reflection upon it. We are fortunate because we are born as humans in India, which according to Bhagavan is Tyagabhoomi and Punyabhoomi. We are most fortunate because we have come to Prasanthi Nilayam, the abode of Supreme Peace. Bhagavan in His infinite compassion said, “Students are My property.” Let me mention a few instances of Bhagavan’s love for students. 

Once, Bhagavan came to the Institute Auditorium in Prasanthi Nilayam to give a discourse. Bhagavan had taken over someone’s disease and was not able to speak properly. When Bhagavan rose to speak and uttered the first word with great difficulty, we couldn’t contain ourselves. Many of us cried. Bhagavan stopped, drank a little water and then out came His beautiful voice with the Divine message! Bhagavan mentioned during the course of His discourse that the love of the students enabled Him to speak. Our bond of love made it possible! 

A student had a stomach problem. He did not tell Bhagavan about his problem. Bhagavan came and asked about his problem, gave him Vibhuti and told him to come next day. The next day the boy’s pain had not decreased. Bhagavan created two capsules for him! These are all small instances to show Bhagavan’s love. But actually can anyone tell how much love Bhagavan has in Him? No, because everything is love. Beyond that also it is Love. 

One may think that we are a lot disconnected from the outside world. It is true to a certain extent. But we understand that it is for our own good. And that is why we absorb much of the spiritual knowledge poured on us by Bhagavan and our teachers. So, we live in a perfect, positive world guided by Bhagavan. 

Bhagavan lays great emphasis on developing leadership qualities. Here anybody anybody. Young or old, we correct each other politely and lead them on to the right path. That is what Bhagavan expects from us. 

Music is a part and parcel of our life. We wake up hearing music. Our day is full of music and we end our day with music. Bhagavan has Himself proclaimed, “Eswaro Sangeeta Priyah.” God loves music. All our prayers are set to music. 

Mahatma Gandhi

When Mahatma Gandhi was once asked, “How did you become so great and truthful?” He answered, “Every night before sleeping, I think about the deeds, which I did that day. I ask myself whether it was correct or wrong. If I feel it was wrong, I resolve never to do it again.” Bhagavan also advises us to do the same. So, we do our night prayer remembering all our deeds of the day, good or bad and undergo a process of self - assessment. 

When we come to the educational part of the system, I feel it is the best in the world since it gives us physical, mental and spiritual excellence. At the top we have our Divine Guru who leads us always from the darkness of ignorance to the light of wisdom and love. Every gesture of His is a packet of knowledge. He is the perfect teacher. 

In one of our Satsangs our teacher narrated to us the following experience: 

One day Bhagavan called him for an interview. After the interview, the teacher, who was then a student, was immersed in some thought. Bhagavan got up to distribute the Vibhuti packets from a bag.  A foreigner, with presence of mind, sprang up, took the bag, which Bhagavan was holding. Bhagavan looked at the boy and told, “See, and learn from him.” The next day again the same teacher had another interview. That day he thought, “I shall do my duty today.” After the interview, before even Bhagavan could get up, the teacher took the bag. Bhagavan was very pleased and this time, He told the other people and students over there, “See, learn from him.” That is the perfection in His teaching. Once taught in His special way, you will never forget it. 

Then we have our faculty of teachers who are highly knowledgeable. They are a 24-hours service agency. We are really grateful to them for giving us guidance in academics and in other avenues of life.

In one of the speeches made by a well-known educationist, he referred to us as students studying not for themselves but for God and for their parents’ happiness. Bhagavan tells us, “With what reverence you see your parents, the same reaches Me, but if you don’t revere your parents, it is equal to killing Me.” 

“Education is for life, not for a living,” is what Bhagavan proclaims. We cultivate that here. We are trained how to lead a successful life with God as the centre and others next and self last. As a result, we come out to face the world with a lot of self - confidence and ultimately, we are the winners by Bhagavan’s grace. Each one’s talent emerges from its hiding place and there is a change in everybody for the better, ensuring overall development for all. 

There is an element of humour also in Bhagavan. Laughter is the best medicine and so, Bhagavan makes everybody laugh through His jokes. One day, in the Bhajan hall, a lady was asked to sing. After some time, when she was still singing, the clock struck. Bhagavan said, “Oh! The clock is also very happy when you sing. Is that why it is clapping?” 

Our hearts are filled with love for Bhagavan. His love nourishes us like mother’s milk. Any small desire in us, if good for yourselves, is granted. Let me relate two small incidents that happened to me this year. 

One day, while in Mandir, I felt hungry. I thought of going back to the hostel but I knew nothing would be left after evening snacks. So the only way left was Bhagavan. So I prayed, “Bhagavan, I am feeling hungry. Please give some Prasadam. I think laddus would be okay.” Lo and behold, Bhagavan came out of the interview room and called some boys for distributing Prasadam. They all came out with basins full of big laddus. Bhagavan then looked at me and smiled. 

During Darshan one day, I had kept a handkerchief with me to get it blessed by Bhagavan. But to my surprise almost ten other boys also got kerchiefs for the same purpose. Although I had very less chance, I did not lose hope and I kept it. When Bhagavan came near us, He started picking up the kerchiefs from each boy’s hand and threw them gently on their faces. Unmindfully, I kept my kerchief a bit down. Bhagavan stopped in front of me, bent a little to pick up my kerchief and threw it at me with a smile. I was just pumped into ecstasy. That evening, I was doing Bhajans with full concentration. I knew no time and surroundings until Bhagavan looked at the clock. It was time for the Bhajans to conclude. I prayed, “Bhagavan, please let me enjoy this. Give me one more Bhajan.” And yes, my wish was granted! 

To put in a nutshell, His love fosters life, energy, qualities, discipline, perfection, and maturity of thought, word, deed and actions in us. Finally, I would like to pray, for every moment of life should be a prayer: 

Bhagavan, we do not know how big Your heart is, but we know we have a warm place inside. We rejoice in the pure love of Yours, we cry for You. We bow in profound gratitude towards You, for You say, “Students are My property”. Please make us worthy to be a part of Your Divine Mission. We are one with Thee. 

- M. Ranjith

Alumnus, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning

Source: Sai Nandana, 75th Birthday

When Sri Sathya Sai met Mahatma Gandhi...

February 27, 2002 (Wednesday)

Swami came out of the interview room at around 3:15 pm. After blessing the birthday boys, he noticed that one boy had an erratic heartbeat. Swami called Dr. Gopinath to check his heartbeat. Swami then called one of the students and asked him, “Are you from Higher Secondary School?” The student nodded in the affirmative. (Referring to the photos of Swami’s visit to the school hostel) Swami told him that photos have come and thus took him to the interview room to give him. After coming out…

Swami : To the student whom Swami took inside and gave the photos.) Separate them and give them. (Then Swami went through the photos and picked up this particular student’s photo, gave it to him, and told him to distribute the rest.) What news? Yesterday in the Hostel, you all had dinner outside. (Referring to the moon-light dinner on the terrace.) I know. Teachers were also there. You had Pulav, Kurma, Tomato Rasam. I know everything. (Swami then accepted a cover from one of the students and asked him.) Did you give the application form for M.B.A.? 

Student : Yes, Swami. 

Swami : What other news? (Looking in the direction of one elderly teacher) He has not come.

Prof. A.K. : Swami, he has gone to hospital.   

Swami : He has gone to show his eyes. (Swami notices that the student distributing the photos was giving the photos to each student whether the student was in the photo or not.) Aye! (To Prof. Anil Kumar) Tell him to see and give. (Prof. Anil Kumar conveys to the student what Swami told him.)

Prof. A.K. : Swami, he is distributing photos as if he is distributing Prasadam!

(Swami, asks for the card held by a student. He reads through the card and asks the student pointing to a picture) “What is this?”

Student : Heart, Swami.

Swami : Is the heart like this? (Swami placed the card on a table lying on a side.) Today they have written a new Telugu poem. (Swami opens the cover taken from a student a few minutes back and finds M.B.A. application form. Seeing the photograph, He asked the student who had given this cover) Who is he?

Student : Brother, Swami.

Swami : Go and give it to the Registrar in the College. What is he doing?

Student : B.Com., Swami.

Swami : What news? (Swami’s attention now got diverted to another huge card. After seeing it both inside and outside…) Why do you waste so much of paper? (The student responded with a smile.) Padho (read) (The student read the contents of the card that was in Hindi.) What is the meaning of Mauka (opportunity)? What is Zindagi (life)? Zindagi is Duniya. (Life is world.) What is Mauka? Before in Anantapur College, Mukherjee (Prof. Anima Mukherjee) was the Principal. (To Prof. A.K.) Did you understand the meaning of it?

Prof. A.K. : No, Swami. I don’t know Hindi.

Swami : (To a student) Bangalore boy? Music College boy? Sit down. (Swami takes the card given by the Institute students and asks them to go and sit down. After going through…) They have written the same thing three days back. Is it not? (Swami then turned to Prof. Anil Kumar) Once the British Prime Minister came to see Gandhi. On his table, the books were piled up one above the other, on top of which was the Bible. This made the Prime Minister very happy and he said, “See, Gandhi, our Bible is above all other books.” Gandhi then replied, “Please look at the book at the bottom. It is the sacred Ramayana, which is the foundation. Without the foundation there is no Bible.”

Sri Sathya Sai - 1947

Did any of you see Gandhi? (An expected response of silence filled the air.) I have met him five times. First was in Madras during a meeting in Andhra Maha Sabha. Hanumantha Rao, a great devotee, who was the Chairman of the Transport Corporation of composite Madras (which had parts of the current Andhra and Karnataka states), convened it. He was also the one who constructed the new Mandir. Actually Andhra Maha Sabha is mainly the brainchild of Durgabai Deshmukh (1909-1981, she was an Indian freedom fighter, lawyer, social worker and politician). Durgabai and Chengamma were sisters. Gandhiji sent word through Hanumantha Rao that he wanted to sit by My side. I agreed to that. He sat with his legs folded and leaning with the support of his hand. Later, I met him in Hyderabad. That time Jamunabai was the Chief Secretary. The next time I met him was during the meeting of the Indian National Congress, organised by Gandhiji. For collection of donation, he had spread a big cloth. As people did not come with cash to the meeting, they removed their ornaments and gave it to him. Then I told him, “You yourself are collecting money. Then how can anyone expect you to save this country?” Then he said, “Swami, this is not for me, this is for the poor people.” I then told him that he should declare this in the public, since the public would misunderstand. He then announced, “Sai Baba’s brain is very sharp. What I have done is really a mistake.” The next time I met him was in Delhi, at Kamani Hall during another meeting. He is the same Kamani who constructed this Pooranachandra auditorium. Lot of people attended that meeting. Gandhiji was full of humour.

(Turning to V.C.) Have you seen Gandhiji?

Mahatma Gandhi (1869-1948)

V.C. : Yes Swami. I saw him when I was a small boy of 10 years. It was from very far.

Swami : It was I who requested Pitapur Maharaj to hand over the grounds to National Congress. Durgabai Deshmukh was pressurising Pitapur Maharaj. But he did not agree. They all belonged to the Justice Party (officially known as the South Indian Liberal Federation, was a political party in the Madras Presidency of British India established in 1917). He did not want to accept whatever the Congress said. During this Mandir construction, it was the brother of Pitapur Maharaj who helped for the engineering works. His full name was R. Neeladri Rao. There were three brothers. They were Neeladri Rao, Simhadri Rao, and Brahmadri Rao.

Prof. A.K. : Swami, I am not sure whether they remember You or not. But Swami remembers all of them.

Source: Students with Sai: Conversations (2001-2004)

Management with a Human Face: An Indian Perspective - Part 2

... Continued from Part 1

2. Concept of Balance

One should analyse the effect of increase of salaries and wages. At present, for example one may be drawing a salary of INR 500,000 per annum. He may be due for an increment and the salary may increase to INR 600,000. The manager may feel happy by the rise, but at the same time, he may not realise that with an increase in salary, there has also been an increase in the price of commodities. Actually, he would have to spend the extra income on price rise without any real benefit. When the salary happens to be INR 500,000, he may have to pay INR 20,000 towards house rent. If the salary rises to INR 600,000, the house rent would also have been enhanced. 

What man needs is balance. Man may feel proud of his knowledge, but only when it is used properly does one get the balance. It should be borne in mind that balance (in this context stability and level-headedness) is attained only by a dynamic blend of ‘knowledge’ and ‘skill’. It means that an individual achieves balance only when he learns to transform the knowledge into skill. It will degrade to ostentation if he ‘kills’ the knowledge (putting the knowledge to self-centred or undesirable uses) instead of ‘skilling’ it. Today, one pays more attention to knowledge than balance. However, life is based more on balance. Even business is based on balance. There should be a balance between workers, market, transport, production, raw materials, electric power, water, and other aspects. If attention is paid to this aspect of balance, then the business can be successful. 

Not only in business, but also in routine life, balance is imperative. Man encounters a lot of trials and tribulations and amidst all of them he must maintain balance. If man grieves at one time and glees at another, the balance can be said to be missing. If one faces sorrow, one has to bravely accept it surmising that there is some good in it. If there is a mound of earth somewhere, there is bound to be a pit somewhere else. When one digs a well, the earth excavated thus results in a mound. The person digging the pit looks down, whereas the person creating the mound looks up. The mound has to be climbed up, while the pit has to be climbed down.  The soil in the mound is the same as the soil in the pit. If the mud in the mound is put back in the pit, there is balance, i.e. no mound – no pit. Similarly, if wealth is being amassed by a person, it means that he has depleted the same for another i.e. somebody else must have been deprived of wealth to the same extent. To bring about the balance, wealthy people, of their own volition, must utilise their wealth for the welfare of the deprived sections of the society. 

One should not act impulsively the moment a thought occurs. One should enquire whether the thought and action comply with Dharma. Again, one should examine whether the fulfilment of a desire (whatever it may be) matches one’s own status in terms of its material and social implications. If there is a good balance, then the desire can be fulfilled. Here is an example. A person may be a manager in a factory, but his family at home may be monetarily disadvantaged. However, if he thinks of marrying the owner’s daughter, he better consider the matter in the light of the guidelines of Artha Shastra. He should scrutinise thus: “What is my status and what is her position? Is there a match? Is it balanced? If not, will the relation carry on and be successful in the long run?” If at all he feels that there is no proper match, Dharma Shastra opines that he should no longer entertain the notion of the matrimonial relation with that person, else it would lead to his own downfall and have a direct repercussion on his professional life as well. As such, one ought to evaluate each desire in terms of Dharma and Artha, lest people would spoil their future. Thus, in every aspect of daily life, including petty matters, Dharma Shastra, Artha Shastra and Kama Shastra provide guidance. 

In the day-to-day aspects of life, it is very essential to find out balance. There has to be a dynamic balance between profit and loss in the various sectors and segments of business. If one business generates too much profit, it could imply that it has caused some dent on some other business. Today, such undesirable tendencies are getting undue boost as a result of which truth and other desirable traits and values may fail to attract the desired consideration.

Suprabhatam  actually refers to the awakening of positive qualities and goodness in oneself. In the morning during Brahma Muhurta time (4 am – 6 am), positive vibrations emerge. These have to be kindled. Those who feel too lethargic to get up at that time ought to be construed as (Baba uses the word ‘Dunnapota’) the progeny of buffaloes! In Brahma Muhurta, one ought to engage oneself in those occupations/activities that foster the awakening of Divinity in oneself. If one gets up on one’s own with positive feelings, the heart gets sanctified. Instead, if the person gets up compellingly owing to external factors, the life during the rest of the day is likely to be messed up. In a similar way, today at home, if children get up and see their parents quarrelling, then the children begin the day fighting with each other. Parents therefore are expected to act as role-models, for the simple reason that children follow whatever their parents do, good or bad.

Even in the story of Mahabharata, when Subhadra (Krishna’s sister and Arjuna’s wife) was pregnant, Arjuna was engaged in a chat with her casually talking about the Padma Vyuha (an ancient Indian battle strategy; combat formation of infantry in the shape of a lotus). During the course of the chat, Subhadra fell asleep and when Arjuna (being unaware of the fact she was asleep) went on talking about the Padma Vyuha, the infant inside her womb was said to have followed the whole narration with rapt attention. At that exact moment, Krishna arrived on the scene and said, “Oh Arjuna! Whom do you suppose you are talking to? My sister is asleep but the infant inside her womb is following your talk. As such do not talk about war strategies now and agitate the unborn child.” By that time, Arjuna had completed narrating only half of the strategy detailing the method of entry into the Padma Vyuha. Hence, in later years during the Kurukshetra battle, Abhimanyu was only able to enter the Padma Vyuha, but failed to exit, as he did not have the knowledge of the exit strategy. Therefore, even the child in the womb could listen to whatever was told. 

Abhimanyu fighting in the Mahabharata war

Similarly, the heart is listening to everything one says, which is known as the Atmic listener. It is therefore said, ‘Yad Bhaavam Tad Bhavati’ (as one thinks, so one becomes). With whatever feelings one gets up in the morning, the life during that day would unfold such experiences. The Chinese also use a similar expression, “As thinketh a person, so one becomes”. Even agnostics concur with this idea. So, if one gets up with good feelings, one’s whole day will be fine. If not, one would probably face disagreeable experiences during the day. So, as soon as one gets up, one has to awaken the conscience, so that it can be merged with consciousness. So, the youth of today must have sound ‘work-ethics’, adherence to discipline, and must discharge their duties properly. 

Continued in Part 3...

Source: Art and Science of Management in Ancient India, Chapter 4, Man Management: A Values-Based Management Perspective

Sri Sathya Sai celebrates the Silver Jubilee of Dharmakshetra in Mumbai

Friday, January 24, 1992 to 
Wednesday, January 29, 1992

Sri Sathya Sai at Dharmakshetra, Mumbai

After a hiatus of two years, Bhagavan visited Bombay in January 1992. His stay lasted from the 24th to the 29th of January 1992. Bhagavan was received at Dharmakshetra with Poorna Kumbham, band music and spectacular fireworks amidst Vedic chanting on 24th morning. He inaugurated an exhibition - Expansion of Love, put together by the Bal Vikas students on the 24th afternoon.

Dr. D. N. Bhagwati, renowned neurosurgeon, and Dr. Bhupendra Gandhi, a distinguished nephrologist had discussions with Bhagavan at Dharmakshetra regarding the essential requisites to commence the Departments of Neurology and Nephrology at the Super-Speciality Hospital at Prashanti Nilayam.

Felicitation of Prof. V.K. Gokak for receiving the Jnana Peeth Award on the occasion of the Silver Jubilee of Dharmakshetra, Mumbai

Bhagavan blessed the dance ballet of the Bal Vikas students. "Tamaso Ma Jyotir Gamaya", at the Ravindra Natya Mandir at Prabhadevi on 25th morning. Bhagavan addressed a public meeting at Dharmakshetra to commemorate the Silver Jubilee year celebrations of Dharmakshetra that evening. Sri Indulal Shah spoke briefly about the genesis and growth of Dharmakshetra. This occasion was availed to felicitate Prof. V. K. Gokak on his receiving the Jnana Peeth award for 1991. The Bal Vikas students were blessed to receive their certificates from Bhagavan, also, Principals of various colleges received trophies on behalf of their colleges that won the Inter-Collegiate Essay competition organised by the Sai Organisation.

The majestic and aesthetic Dharmakshetra, Sri Sathya Sai Mandir at Mumbai

Bhagavan hoisted the National Flag at Sathya Deep lawns and blessed the 700 students of Dharmakshetra School at the Republic Day function held on 26th morning. Later that morning, the members of the study circle groups of Bombay were addressed by Bhagavan. The children from the adopted slums of Bombay Samiti were blessed by Bhagavan that afternoon. The renowned musicians Pandit Bhimsen Joshi, Pandit Shiv Kumar Sharma, Pandit Allah Rakha, Sri Kartik Kumar, Sri Jagjit Singh and Pandit Feroz Dastur paid their homage to Bhagavan in the form of a concert that lasted for two hours on 26th evening.

Sri Sathya Sai with Dr. Keki Mistry and Sri Nani Palkhivala at the Silver Jubilee Celebrations of Dharmakshetra at the Cross Maidan, Mumbai

Bhagavan witnessed a rally presented by 2,000 Bal Vikas students at Dharmakshetra on 27th morning. He addressed a public meeting at the Cross Maidan that evening. The Governor of Maharashtra, Sri C. Subramanian, presided over the meeting. Dr. K. M. Mistry and Sri N. A. Palkhiwala addressed the gathering. Later that evening, Bhagavan addressed the various religious heads and a cross section of Bombay at the Raj Bhavan (Governor's Bungalow). He then dined with the Governor.

Raj Bhavan - The Governor of Maharashtra's Official Residence, Mumbai

Bhagavan laid the foundation for the Dharmakshetra Sports Complex at Goregaon, a nearby suburb, on 28th morning. He addressed the active workers of the Organisation at Dharmakshetra that afternoon. At Thane, Bhagavan addressed a huge gathering of devotees from Pune, Kolhapur, Sholapur, Ahmednagar, Nasik, Satara, Kalyan and Ambarnath on 28th evening. He distributed to the villagers many household articles for their daily use. Bhagavan blessed the devotees at Dharmakshetra on 29th morning and left Bombay.

Source: Sri Sathya Sai Digvijayam (1986-2005)

Oh Lord! We are Your Devotees... Aye Maalik Tere Bande Ham...

AYE MAALIK TERE BANDE HAM

Aye Maalik Tere Bande Ham Aise Ho Hamaare Karam

Neki Par Chalen Aur Badi Se Daren 

Taaki Haste Huye Nikale Dam

Aye Maalik Tere Bande Ham

Badaa Kamzor Hai Aadmi Abhi Laakhon Hai Isme Kami

Par Tu Jo Khadaa Hai Dayaalu Badaa Teri Kripaa Se Kisme Kami

Diyaa Toone Jab Hamko Janam, Tu Hi Jhelegaa Ham Sab Ke Gam

Neki Par... Aye Maalik...

Ye Andheraa Ghanaa Chhaa Rahaa Teraa Insaan Ghabaraa Rahaa

Ho Rahaa Bekhabar Kuchh Na Aataa Nazar

Sukh Kaa Sooraj Chhupaa Jaa Rahaa

Hai Teri Roshni Mein Jo Dam

Tu Amaavas Ko Karde Poonam

Neki Par... Aye Maalik... 

Source: Song 7, Section 3, Hindi Group Songs, Vandana: Students Prayer Book

The Glory of Bharat

From ancient times, kings and emperors in Bharat, based their lives on morality and acquired honour and glory. It is on account of them that Bharat is called a Divine land, the land of Karma (right action), the land of Yoga (spiritual practice), the land of Tyaga (sacrifice). The name and fame of Emperor Ashoka have survived for millennia because he practiced in his day-to-day life the great virtues. Akbar, among Moghul emperors, has been esteemed as a great ruler because of his conduct as an emperor. 

The Three Demonic Vices 

Only a moral life can be called sacred. Man is a sacred being. But when he indulges in selfishness, his sacred, Divine life is undermined. The sacred Atma is fundamental for every human being. This is also called ‘Antaratma’. God as the Indweller guides and directs human life as Antaratma - the inner-conscience of every human being. 

In human life today selfishness and self-interest have assumed prodigious proportions. Whatever he does, whatever he sees, whatever he studies, man makes it subserve selfish interests. Human life has become a plaything in the hands of selfishness. Only when selfishness is totally destroyed in the human heart, will man develop broad­mindedness that will promote unity and sacredness among mankind. When this selfishness grows continually, it takes the form of Kama (lust), Krodha (hatred) and Lobha (greed). These three vices are demonic in nature. When these three demonic vices grow in them, human beings lose faith in God. Besides losing faith in God, they also develop enmity towards God. Worldly desires increase. The Divine quality declines. You can find proofs of this in the Ramayana, the Bhagavatam and the Mahabharata. 

Lesson from Ramayana

Lord Rama: The Ideal for Mankind

The story of Ramayana shows how the one with lust, hatred and enmity towards God, ruined himself. Ravana was a great scholar. He had mastered 64 types of Vidya (knowledge). He had mastered the language of animals, birds and insects. There was nothing wanting by way of knowledge in Ravana. In terms of wealth and prosperity his kingdom excelled heaven itself. He did a lot of penance to acquire mastery over the physical world. In spite of all these, he had faith only in the phenomenal world and not in the Divine. He did not choose to enquire who was behind all creation. 

The universe is the property of the Creator. Rama was verily the Over-Soul itself.  Sita was Rama's Shakti. She was the daughter of Mother Earth. She was the embodiment of Nature. Ravana developed enmity towards Rama and wanted to abduct Sita. What was the result of all this? Hating God and going after Nature, how did he meet his end? At the end of it all, not only himself, but his kingdom and his entire brood were destroyed. In spite of all his knowledge and powers, he ruined himself because of his moral lapses. He did not recognise the Divinity within him. 

What is the lesson to be learnt from Ravana's fate? It is this: However much of worldly knowledge one may have, one should seek Atma Vidya (knowledge of the Atma). Your parents or relations may be distant from you. But God is not distant from you. God is always with you, behind you and around you and He will protect you. Giving up the Divine, who is so close to you, and going after worldly happiness, is fraught with danger. Ravana made all efforts to satisfy his own desire, became an enemy of God and was ultimately destroyed. 

Lesson from the Bhagavatam 

Lord Narasimha annihilating
Demon King Hiranyakashyap

Next, you have the Bhagavatam. The Bhagavatam teaches the lesson that anger destroys people. In the Bhagavatam, Hiranyakashyap looked upon God as his enemy. He deemed himself to be the Supreme Lord. He felt that there was no power greater than him. Hiranyakashyap was a great scientist.  He plumbed the depths of the ocean. He had control over the five elements. Despite all these accomplishments he developed enmity towards God. He subjected his son, Prahlada, to innumerable ordeals because he was a devotee of Lord Narayana. He tried to drown Prahlada in the ocean and hurl him from the top of a mountain. He got Prahlada bitten by snakes. But Prahlada survived all the ordeals. Prahlada was always chanting the name of Lord Narayana, whom Hiranyakashyap hated. Anger causes destruction of wisdom. And when wisdom is lost, everything is lost - honour, wealth, position and life itself. Scientific knowledge without wisdom is of no use. Along with science there should be discrimination. 

The Ramayana teaches how a person suffers on account of evil desires. The Bhagavatam teaches lessons as to how a person suffers on account of anger and hatred. All their knowledge and powers could not save Ravana or Hiranyakashyap. It is only God who can give protection. Developing enmity towards God, Ravana and Hiranyakashyap courted disaster. 

Lesson from the Mahabharata

Duryodhana signifies one who has wicked thoughts. His minister was Dushasana. Dushasana means one who promulgates bad laws. A combination of these two led to the growth of greed. On account of their Lobha (greed) the Kauravas were totally destroyed. 

Lord Krishna inspiring Arjuna on the battlefield

On one occasion Krishna said, “Arjuna means a person whose heart is pure, immaculately”. Krishna told Arjuna (on the battlefield), “Arjuna! Get up, get up Dhananjaya. Destiny is all powerful. Justice always wins. Selfishness will end in ruin. This is the nature of Yuga Dharma. Know the truth (of what is to come). Dhritarashtra may be the father of a hundred children. But, there will not be even one to perform the last rites for him. That is how fate works.” Krishna thus revealed to Arjuna the fate of the Kauravas in the beginning itself. Dhritarashtra had a 100 sons. Of what use were they? At the end not even one son remained to perform his obsequies. The reason was greed. The Kauravas were not prepared to give their rightful share to the Pandavas. Duryodhana wanted to keep everything to himself, including what belonged to others. This kind of selfishness is called Lobha (greed). 

Lessons from the Epics

In the Ramayana, because of Kama (lust) Ravana was destroyed. In the Bhagavatam, Hiranyakashyap, despite his prodigious knowledge and power, was destroyed on account of his Krodha (anger) against God. Ravana, Hiranyakashyap and Duryodhana hated God and were utterly destroyed.

Source: Lessons from the Immortal Indian Epics, Discourse 17, My Dear Students Volume 2, Divine Discourse on September 17, 1992, Sri Sathya Sai Hostel, Prasanthi Nilayam

Divine Love - By Dr. G. S. Srirangarajan

Dr. G.S. Srirangarajan with Sri Sathya Sai - Kodaikanal (1994)

Divine Love cannot be described in words or encapsulated in definitions. God is Love. Love is God. Therefore just as God transcends mental comprehension, Divine Love too transcends worldly understanding. All the same, attempts are made by various persons to describe Divine Love in different ways. Some say, Love is a Divine quality, others call it a visible manifestation of God, yet others refer to it as a manifestation of Divinity.

Bhagavan Baba is known to His devotees as Love walking on two legs. He is the very embodiment of Divine Love. Let us see what He says about Love. Bhagavan says, “I separated Myself from Myself to Love Myself”. What does this mean? Love is the Cosmic Glue that manifests in this process of Self separation, to ensure ultimate union. If God is like the Super Magnet, Divine Love is like the magnetic force that does not allow the magnet to get separated.

Bhagavan says, “There is only one Religion, the Religion of Love”. What is the meaning of Religion? The word Religion is sourced from the Latin root word ‘Religare’. Religare means to go back to the Source. It also means ‘To Unite’, ‘To Bind’. This reinforces the ‘Cosmic Glue’ concept of Divine Love. Further Bhagavan says that Love is the striving to realize the falsity of the diversity and the reality of the One. Love transposes the self on to another and the two begin to think, speak, and act as one.

Love is but a reflection of the God who is residing in our heart. Without that spring of love that bubbles in our heart, we will not be prompted to love at all. There is no living being without the spark of love even a mad man loves something or somebody intensely. Surprisingly, one person we love most is our own self. Bhagavan narrates the anecdote of the man and a calf to drive home this point.

Once a young man, watching a calf fallen into a lake and drowning, jumped into the water to save the calf. He tried desperately to bring the calf onto the bank. Watching this act, a passerby laughed and asked the young man, “O foolish man, why are you risking your own life to save the life of that calf?” The young man replied, “Sir, I am not saving the calf for its sake. I am saving the calf to put an end to the misery that I am experiencing in my heart while watching the calf in pain. Therefore, I am saving it for my sake”. Strange as it may sound, deep inside, every act has this enlightened self interest in it. We do everything ultimately for self-satisfaction, self-joy. Even charity, selfless as it may seem, is done for the sake of self-satisfaction. Our love for our own self drives us to undertake any activity.

Hence our entire life and all our activities are rooted in this aspect of Love. Bhagavan says, “Life itself is Love. They are not two, but one. Love is the very nature of life, as burning is the nature of fire, or wetness of water, or sweetness of sugar. Love is the fruit of life.” In Mahatma Gandhi’s words, “Where there is Love there is Life.” Victor Hugo puts it as, “Life is the flower for which love is the honey.” Whereas oil makes a lamp burn, Love illumines life itself.

Characteristics of Divine Love

Having had some idea of what Divine Love is all about, let us now get into the tough job of listing some of the characteristics of Divine Love. To name a few, Divine Love is all pervasive, changeless, absolutely pure and selfless, full of Bliss, free from fear and pride. It makes no distinction between mine and thine. Love sustains and strengthens. Love begets Love. Divine Love is unconditional and motiveless. It is unaffected by joy or sorrow, praise or blame. Above all it unites the whole world as one family.

All religions speak of Divine Love in the same wavelength. For example, the Bible says, “Love is patient, love is kind. It does not envy, it does not boast, it is not proud. It is not rude, it is not self-seeking, it is not easily angered; it keeps no record of wrongs. Love does not delight in evil but rejoices with the truth. It always protects, always trusts, always hopes and always perseveres”.  The Koran, in chapter 85, verse 14, refers to Allah as ‘Al Buruj’, which means, “He is truly forgiving, all embracing in His Love”. It also refers to the Almighty as ‘Al Wadud’ which means that God Himself is infinite Love and Compassion.

Love in Operation - Pitfalls

Well, all this is fine. Let us now come to the operational level. Let us talk of love as we understand and experience it in our day to day to life. If we were to pause for a while and ponder over the process of love, we will find that it follows the following pattern. When we love somebody or something, the immediate reaction is that we want to own it, possess it. Why does this happen? Because, we consider the other person or the object which we love, as something different from us. Our love for it drives us to possess it with the understanding that by possessing it we will become one with it. Here we see the ‘Cosmic Glue’ aspect of Love operating at the gross level to establish unity. The intention is genuine but the understanding is faulty. By possessing or owning people or objects, instead of attaining oneness with it, we only get attached to it. What does this attachment lead to? It leads to sorrow alternating with joy. The end result is that we do not find fulfillment in such love and a sense of hollowness prevails.

Love to be true must be the same towards all. But we know that our love depends on our likes and dislikes. Such love can at best be described as attachment. It is either attachment to the body or to the mind. Bhagavan explains the futility in promoting such love. Love when directed towards the body ends in vain as the body has to perish one day. Love when directed towards the mind leads to bondage; bondage towards the worldly objects. Love when directed towards the intellect, results in endless enquiry while love focused on the Antah Karna – the inner instruments of perception, leads to ego. Swami Vivekananda also reiterates, “Love is not attachment”, but cautions that detachment does not mean indifference. Rabindranath Tagore says, “Love does not claim possession, but gives freedom.”

The following writing of Kahlil Gibran describes beautifully the need to differentiate between love and attachment.

Love one another, but make not a bond of love:

Let it rather be a moving sea between the shores of your souls.

Fill each other’s cup but drink not from one cup.

Give one another of your bread but eat not from the same loaf.

Sing and dance together and be joyous, but let each one of you be alone,

Even as the strings of a lute are alone though they quiver with the same music.       

True Love must be straight from heart to heart. It must be unconditional. No terms and conditions.

Worldly Manifestations and Distortions

Pure Divine Love manifests itself through the body-mind complex as 'Vatsalya', 'Moha', 'Sakhya', 'Anuraga', 'Bhakti' and so on, depending upon the target of our love, the relationship and the feelings.

Whereas Divine Love is changeless, worldly love keeps on changing. When a child is born, the only love it understands is that of the mother. Later, as the child grows up and starts its schooling, the focus shifts to the teacher. Then comes the friend circle. As he grows up further, the attention shifts to studies and then a job. Next, he enters into the family life and all his love now gets directed towards his wife, and later to his children. Subsequently, his mind dwells on wealth and money to sustain his family. Finally, if he is lucky enough, exhausted with all worldly attachments, his mind turns Godward. Such perpetual alteration of attachment & separation can never be called real love which is spiritual and enduring.

Let us now focus our attention on the various worldly manifestations of Divine Love and let us also understand the distortions that arise in them. The love of an individual towards an object or towards a member of his family is called 'Moha' or attachment. Talking of the love of an individual towards an object, let us consider the example of the love of a child for its toys or that of a housewife towards a beautiful sari. What happens in this process of love? First there is a keen interest for the object. Then overpowered by love for the same, there arises a desire to possess the object. But this is where the flaw occurs. Once Bhagavan, while speaking to a student on the aspect of attachment said, “Why is it that when you like something in the market, you immediately want to buy it? Let it be there. Feel happy looking at it there. Why should you possess it?” Bhagavan says that this is the crux of all problems. We wish to seek possession because, we feel that by doing so, the apparent difference between the object and us will get eliminated and we will be able to experience unity. This in fact is the inherent urge of Love to unite all perceptions of differences. But merely seeking possession of an object cannot solve this problem. The difference lies not between the object and the individual but in the mind of the individual. Therefore, the solution lies not in seeking possession of the same but in giving up possession of the delusion that envelopes the mind. Over a period of time, the interest in this object wanes away and our attention gets shifted to some other object. Thus at the end of it, we are not able to enjoy a sense of fulfillment. This is the nature of worldly love.

Well, if this is the case, then what is the way out? Does it mean, one should never enter into such relationships? No, that is not the solution. The world and all its relationships are also the creation of God. There is nothing wrong in developing love towards all our family members. But we must not stagnate at this level. These relationships and this worldly love should be just the beginning point. Using this as a launching pad, we must strive to transcend the attachment towards the body and the mind and seek to realize Divine Love. 

Pundalik serving his parents;
Lord Vitthala waits for him

This is what Pundalika illustrated through his example. He revered his mother and father as God. Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava. Lord Vithala was immensely pleased with this love of Pundalika that transcended the worldly bonds. The same was the case with Bharata. When it came to choosing between the Lord and his mother, he gave up his bond towards his mother and followed Lord Rama.

This is the true purpose of all worldly love. Apart from being a source of temporary happiness, it must serve as a means to realize Divine Love and the ultimate bliss that comes from realization of the unity in all diversity.

The love of a mother towards her children is termed as Vatsalya. The love of a mother is very sacred and closest to Divine Love. In fact the Mother Cow yields milk, when its dead calf is stuffed and taken near its udder. This is the extent of a Mother’s love. However, here too, the same problem presents itself. 'Vatsalya' when bound by bodily feelings leads to attachment. We have examples of several cases where 'Vatsalyam' has been lifted to great heights, transcending the body and mind domain. 

Bhagat Singh (1907-1931)

We all know of the story of the freedom fighter Bhagat Singh’s mother. On the eve of his execution, the mother had come to see her son. There were profuse tears in her eyes. When people around tried to console her, she smiled and said that she was not crying because of the sorrow of losing her son. She was shedding tears out of sorrow that she did not have a second son who could also be offered at the altar of the Nation. That was the greatness of her motherly love.

The love of a friend towards a friend is called 'Sakhyam'. This love too can be raised to noble heights or can become a cause for attachment leading to sorrow and pain, when associated with bondage to the body and the mind. The infamous story of Karna and Duryodhana is ample proof of this truth.

The love between a husband and wife is termed 'Anuragam'. We have examples of husband-wife relationships that have transcended the lower domains of 'Anuraga' and reached the higher realms of Divine Love? History is replete with many such examples; one famous example being that of Bhakta Tulsidas and his wife. In the early years after his marriage, Tulsidas was literally glued to his wife. He could not stay without her for even a day. He was just crazy for her. The wife was sickened with this excessive attachment. 

Sant Tulsidas (1511-1623 AD)

On one occasion when his wife had gone to her mother’s house, Tulsidas was unable to bear the separation for even a day. At night, he came to the house of his mother-in-law and tried to enter the home. The door was locked and it was raining heavily. Using a cloth as a rope, he climbed up to the room of his wife in the first floor and entered through a window. Seeing him, the wife was disgusted. She shouted at him, “O fool, if you had shown even a fraction of this same craze, this same love, for God; you would have attained Divine realization by now!” These words struck him like a thunderbolt and transformed him for good. Rest is history. This was the power of a noble wife that enabled her husband to transcend the worldly domain of 'Anuragam'.

Just as love towards an object is called Moha, love between a mother and child is called 'Vatsalya' so too the love between God and devotee is called 'Bhakti'. This is the most sacred form of love which enables one to transcend the limitations of the body and the mind and experience true 'Prema'. We have innumerable examples of great devotees who have set themselves as icons of 'Bhakti' and have demonstrated this sacred Love for God and its consequences to the whole world. Be it Meerabai, Kabir, Surdas, Chaitanya, Tyagaraja or Annamacharya, each one was an inspiring example to humanity.

A devotee channelizes all his love exclusively towards God. Once, Mother Teresa was cleaning the wound of a leper. A foreigner on seeing this was shocked and he approached her saying, “Mother, I wouldn’t do this even for 1000 pounds”. Pat came the reply from Mother Teresa, “I too would not do it for 1000 pounds. I am doing it for the Love of God”. That is Bhakti. However, Bhagavan places the love of the Gopikas towards Lord Krishna at the highest pedestal and calls it 'Parama Prema' – Supreme Love or 'Para Bhakti'. He compares the love of the Gopikas towards Lord Krishna with the urge of the drop of water to merge in the ocean.

Dr. Srirangarajan with Sri Sathya Sai - Sai Sruthi Mandir, Kodaikanal (1994)

Need to Transform Worldly Love to Divine Love

Having gained some understanding about Divine Love and about the flaws associated with worldly love, we now come to the crux of the whole matter. How do we transform our worldly love into Divine Love? Mother Teresa says, “Today, there is more hunger in the world for love than for bread. The most terrible poverty is loneliness and the feeling of being unloved.” A very important manifestation of love is service. There can be no true love that does not manifest as service and similarly there can be no true service that does not manifest as love. Love is born in the womb of service. Love expresses itself as service and Love grows through service. Bhagavan says, “Wherever you see a disconsolate, diseased person, there is your field of service. Every nerve must tingle with Love, with eagerness to share that Love with the forlorn.”

If we were to filter all our actions in life and the essence of all these actions was to be just love; only then would we be freed from the bondage of coming again and again to this earth. Bhagavan says if we expand our love we may be able to love more people, but still there is a limit. Instead, He says, become Love itself and the whole world will become ours!

The Ultimate Fulfillment

The ultimate fulfillment comes as the merger of the river with the sea. God began this process of Love when He separated Himself from Himself to love Himself. Now each one of us must realize and experience true 'Prema' so that we can ultimately claim, “I united Myself with Myself to be Myself”.

- Dr. G.S. Srirangarajan

Student (1990-1992); Faculty, Department of Management Studies

Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning

Prasanthi Nilayam Campus

Currently, Director, Brindavan Campus

Source: From His Loving Students - 85th Birthday Offering