... Continued from Part 1
This entire creation has come from our own vision. If there is vision, there is creation; and if there is no vision, there is no creation. Just as with external vision we are able to see the external creation, so also with the help of inward vision, we can see the inner self. This is what Krishna taught Arjuna. Man should have the natural capacity of inner vision. Krishna taught Arjuna, in the very first instance, that the most important thing is the control of one’s mind. Thus, the first thing to do is to control your mind.
He also taught that it was better to throw out the desires than to keep them hidden. So long as we are human beings, it is difficult to comprehend the difficult Divine aspect taught by Krishna to Arjuna. This is the reason why Krishna came in human form, created a bodily relationship with Arjuna and others, and pretended as if He was the brother-in-law of Arjuna and vice versa.
So if you want to understand and comprehend the teachings of Krishna, you must either become the best of men or at least a person who acquires the right to understand them. Arjuna had the right, and he was also the best of men; and so he was given the Darshan of the Universal God.
- “Man Should Promote Inner Vision for Himself”, Summer Roses on the Blue Mountains, 1976, Ooty
Krishna has taught in the Gita that the purity of Karma is extremely important. The kind of work we engage in will determine the kind of fruits that we get. Krishna taught that one should be prepared to sacrifice everything for the sake of justice. The irreconcilable situation between preaching and practice did not belong to Krishna. Holding an atom bomb in one’s hand, people keep on shouting for peace. All the time preparing for the war and heading for agitation and revolution, we just talk of peace in the world. This is not the philosophy Krishna stood for or taught.
- “Man should not, at any time, behave like an Animal”, Summer Roses on the Blue Mountains, 1976, Ooty
Doing one’s duty is the greatest Yoga, as pointed out by Krishna in the Gita. Let your actions and thoughts be good. You will then experience the Bliss Divine.
- “The Sacred Message of a Holy Festival”, Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 25, January 25, 1992, Prasanthi Nilayam
Spiritual education is greater than all other types of education. This was declared by Krishna in the Gita. Rivers are distinct in their names and forms, but when they merge in the ocean, they become one. Likewise, all kinds of studies and practices, when they are merged in the ocean of spiritual knowledge, become one.
- “How to be Near and Dear to God”, Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 25, January 14, 1992, Prasanthi Nilayam
The central teaching of the Gita is disinterested activity, that is to say, activity suffused with enthusiasm and intelligence, done with perfection, without hope or expectation of rewards and even fruits.
“You are entitled to do the work but not to the fruits thereof,” says Krishna to Arjuna. The process is really more pleasant and satisfying than the end product.
- “Gita - The Kalpataru”, Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 17, September 10, 1984,
Prasanthi Nilayam
- “Guidelines for Goodness”, Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 20, February 08, 1987, Muddenahalli
For Krishna, the Avatarhood was a Leela (Divine sport). His life was His Message. He was the embodiment of the noblest and the most fruitful Karma Yoga (Divine communion through selfless dedicated action). His actions had no trace of selfishness or pride or envy. He took upon Himself the assignment of driving the war chariot of Arjuna. After the day’s battle, He washed the horses; He fed and tended them, applying balm on the wounds. However insignificant the task, He executed it with as much care and enthusiasm as must be given to the most important task.
- “Krishna as Love”, Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 14, August 14, 1979, Prasanthi Nilayam
The thirst for Krishna is a sign of health in the spiritual field. Not to have it is a sign of Bhava Roga – the disease that afflicts worldly persons, the symptoms being grief, discontent, pain and worry, even when wealth and health are endowed. That thirst can be cultivated by the reading of scriptures, the cultivation of congenial company, lessons from a kind and considerate Guru and regular practice of Japam. Once it is acquired, the thirst itself will lead you on to places and persons able to quench it. That is the advantage of spiritual quest; the first step makes the second easy.
- “Krishna Thrishna”, Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 06, Madras
If you want to understand Krishna, take yourself to the position where Krishna lived and worked; but do not bring Him to your position. If you want to rise high and go to a high place, it will be possible only if you read good stories and understand them.
What we see in the Mahabharata or the Bhagavata or what we see in the cinema do not constitute a true picture of the life of Krishna. What we see today is created artificially; but if we go fully into the conduct of Krishna, we will understand that He was pure, steadfast, and sincere. He was always supporting truth and practising it. That is the reason why Arjuna was always addressing Krishna as the embodiment of truth rather than as his brother-in-law.
- “Man Should Promote Inner Vision for Himself”, Summer Roses on the Blue Mountains, 1976, Ooty
Krishna’s advent signifies the dispelling of darkness, the removal of troubles, banishing of ignorance and teaching mankind the Supreme Wisdom.
- “Role of the Avatars”, Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 23, August 14, 1990, Prasanthi Nilayam
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