Sunday, July 30, 1967 to
Tuesday, August 1, 1967
Swami visited the College of Engineering at Anantapur on the 30th of July, and inaugurated the students union. The President of the Union Sri M. Ramesh, the Principal of the College Sri P. N. Damodaran and Prof. Gokak addressed the gathering. Swami then blessed the students with His Divine Message. He said:
“Bharat is the sovereign of all nations, so far as spiritual dominion is concerned; and which dominion can be richer than that? She alone is capable of scattering the clouds of doubt, anxiety and fear that darken the minds of men and turn them to competitive adventures in the realm of material gain and glory. These clouds have appeared over the Indian sky also; people here too are admiring darkness and slighting daylight. They blindly imitate the manners and morals of the West and open the doors of their hearts to the flood of greed and discontent. Of course, the material world which science analyses and studies, and provides the means to control and regulate, is necessary for fulfilling the demands of living, but, it is wrong to imagine that world can give us lasting peace or joy.
The Vedas and Shastras of India were not collected or compiled by fools or knaves, they were put together by people, who gave up the attractions of comfortable life, as so many heroes of scientific discovery like Edison do now: they retired into the forests, so that they could concentrate on the solution of the problems that challenged them. In every statement in the Vedhas and Shaasthras, you get the genuine ring of actual experience and personal thrill.
Do not sit on the bank of the river and pronounce judgements of the depth of the waters, or their taste to potability. Step down and examine for yourselves; that is the sign of the sincere seeker of Truth. If you do not, you can be rejected as a prejudiced or perverse witness. Those who pronounce My act of creating Vibhuti (holy ash) as 'magic' are also of the same category, for they talk without any qualification. They cannot tolerate the splendour of the Divine to disturb the darkness they have learnt to like. The impact of material civilisation has hardened their hearts, softened their brains, and made their lives hollow and vain.
Search for comfort will make a man egoistic
The rulers who frame and foster the educational system of the country are responsible for the discontent, disillusionment and consequent delinquencies and disturbances of the students. They pay attention only to the physical and intellectual training of the youth; they forget the attention must also be paid to mental, moral and spiritual development, so that an integrated personality can emerge. Now, a child is put to school so that years later he may get a cushy job! Schooling is for gaining a living, not for gaining the ultimate in life. In all countries, it is the same.
Nowhere is youth trained to earn Shanti (equanimity, peace); everywhere, the aim is a comfortable life, not a life of peace and undisturbed joy. Comfort is a passing phase; it is a relative stage, between two discomforts. The search for comfort, for riches, for fame, for power over others - these will make a man so egoistic that he is a danger to himself and others. The only safe path is to seek Ananda within oneself, not in or through others. There is great joy awaiting the person who radiates compassion, truth and patience, humility, reverence and piety.
Mind soaked in desire cannot receive wisdom
Students must demand a revision of the system on these lines; they must demand that they be equipped better to meet the challenge of life. They must convince the administrators that this is essential. After all, they are your own people, interested in your welfare. They must listen and carry out suggestions. Zoroaster, one day, asked the Prince of Iran, "Go, light this lamp, from yonder flame." The lamp could not be lit; for the wick was soaked in water. Then Zoroaster said, "Your mind is so soaked in desire that it cannot receive the wisdom it needs; dry it in the sun of detachment." When teachers and the taught are immersed in worldly desire, how can light be transmitted or kept alive?
There was a mother-in-law once, who declared with evident satisfaction, "My daughter-in-law passed away, no doubt, but, what a wonder, the terrible fever she was suffering from disappeared in a trice." The fever is not the prime thing; her life is the crucial object to be cared for. So too, the student should know how to live a contented, peaceful, happy life; that is more important than a degree or a class in examination. The journey into the inner consciousness to calm the storms that rage there is more important than the journey to the Moon or Mars. The latter may be more spectacular, but, the former is the more beneficial. Life without goodness, good thoughts, good actions, good words, is like sky in the night, without the moon or stars. It is like a wheel without hub or spokes! No one can push a boulder away while standing on it; you cannot be free from anxiety, while all the entrances through which it sneaks in are open. Stop catering to the senses, and feeding the desires that haunt you.
Let the name of the Anantapur Engineering College reverberate all over the country, as indicating an earnest desire to serve others, as suggestive of sweet talk, and sweeter hearts. I am always happy among students, especially when they are full of love and joy, high ideals and heroic determination. I had met the students of the Kakinada Engineering College, while this same Principal was working there. They did fine voluntary services for the meetings there, which attracted lakhs of people from all over the area. I am happy that this College too has the same tradition of intense study, combined with excellent social service.”
Swami inaugurated the Andhra Saraswata Sangha at the Girl’s High School on 30th evening. He then inaugurated the three-day sessions of the All India Prashanti Vidwan Maha Sabha at Anantapur. Swami addressed a mammoth gathering of 40,000 people at this function. Sri Srinivasan, D. I. G. of Police, presided over the deliberations of the Sabha on 31st July. Swami blessed the gatherings with His Message. He said:
"Man alone has the chance to liberate himself from the wheel of birth and death, through the most pleasant means, that of serving God. But, as a result of ignorance or what is worse, perversity, he lets the opportunity slip from his hands, and suffers grief and pain, fear and anxiety, ad infiniturn. By escaping from the clutches of the fascination exercised by material objects and physical pleasures, man can succeed in his efforts to liberate himself. He has travelled long enough on the wrong road; it is time now to turn back and move steadily towards the goal. The love that he has cultivated for men and things has to be sublimated into pure, divine worship. Then it gets transmuted as Bhakti (Love of God). Convince yourself that the Lord is in you, as the charioteer, holding the reins of the five horses (the senses) and giving you constant counsel, as He did when Arjuna prayed to Him, to lead and guide. Then, it becomes easy for you to convince yourself that the self-same charioteer is leading and guiding all other men and even all other beings. When you are established in this faith firmly, you become free of hate and malice, greed and envy, anger and attachment.
Pray to the Lord to strengthen this conviction and this faith; He will open your eyes to the Truth and reveal to you that He is the Sanatana Sarathi, in all. That revelation will confer on you incomparable Ananda, and grant you kinship with Creation's manifoldness. That is the reason why Krishna told Duryodhana, who pleaded with Him for help against the Pandavas, on the eve of the battle, "If you hate the Pandavas, you are hating Me, for, they have recognised Me as the Breath of their Life." Know Him as your strength, your breath, your intelligence, your joy - He becomes all that and more. No more can any faculty of yours hinder your progress. He will direct all of them towards the highest Goal; the senses, the mind, the subconscious, the unconscious, the intelligence - all. Grace will confer all you need.
Seek Grace, it confers all else
A mother-in-law was complaining against the new daughter-in-law that she consumed stealthily quantities of milk, curds, cream, butter and ghee. The girl's brother who heard this story from the lips of the old lady, called her into the presence, and after reprimanding her for her malfeasance, advised her to give up stealing all the items, except milk. "Milk, you can drink any, quantity you like; but, why steal these other by-products?" The mother-in-law, it is needless to say, was not very pleased with advice! So, seek Grace, that is enough; it confers all else.
You must cultivate love towards every one, however distinct the character and capacity of each may be. Though the same blood flows through the entire body, the eye cannot smell, the ear cannot taste, the nose cannot see, do not over-emphasise the distinctions and quarrel. Emphasise the basic brotherhood and love. As sugar that has dissolved in the cup of water is invisible, but patent to the tongue in every drop, so too the Divine is invisible but immanent; capable of being experienced, in every individual, whether he is at bottom or on top. Do Namasmarana (repeated remembrance of the Lord); taste the sweetness that is in the heart of every one; dwell on His Glory, His Compassion, which those names summarise. Then, it will be easier for you to visualise Him in all, to love Him in all, to adore Him in all."
Swami inaugurated the Saraswata Sangha at the Sai Baba National Higher Secondary School on 1st August and addressed the gathering. On the same evening, the Collector of Anantapur, Sri V. Narayana Rao, presided over the concluding session of the Prashanti Vidwan Maha Sabha. Bramhasri Bala Viswanatha Sarma spoke on this occasion. Swami then delivered His Valedictory Discourse. Swami also gave a Discourse to the members of the Sathya Sai Seva Samiti of Anantapur before leaving.
"Man alone has the chance to liberate himself from the wheel of birth and death, through the most pleasant means, that of serving God. But, as a result of ignorance or what is worse, perversity, he lets the opportunity slip from his hands, and suffers grief and pain, fear and anxiety, ad infiniturn. By escaping from the clutches of the fascination exercised by material objects and physical pleasures, man can succeed in his efforts to liberate himself. He has travelled long enough on the wrong road; it is time now to turn back and move steadily towards the goal. The love that he has cultivated for men and things has to be sublimated into pure, divine worship. Then it gets transmuted as Bhakti (Love of God). Convince yourself that the Lord is in you, as the charioteer, holding the reins of the five horses (the senses) and giving you constant counsel, as He did when Arjuna prayed to Him, to lead and guide. Then, it becomes easy for you to convince yourself that the self-same charioteer is leading and guiding all other men and even all other beings. When you are established in this faith firmly, you become free of hate and malice, greed and envy, anger and attachment.
Pray to the Lord to strengthen this conviction and this faith; He will open your eyes to the Truth and reveal to you that He is the Sanatana Sarathi, in all. That revelation will confer on you incomparable Ananda, and grant you kinship with Creation's manifoldness. That is the reason why Krishna told Duryodhana, who pleaded with Him for help against the Pandavas, on the eve of the battle, "If you hate the Pandavas, you are hating Me, for, they have recognised Me as the Breath of their Life." Know Him as your strength, your breath, your intelligence, your joy - He becomes all that and more. No more can any faculty of yours hinder your progress. He will direct all of them towards the highest Goal; the senses, the mind, the subconscious, the unconscious, the intelligence - all. Grace will confer all you need.
Seek Grace, it confers all else
A mother-in-law was complaining against the new daughter-in-law that she consumed stealthily quantities of milk, curds, cream, butter and ghee. The girl's brother who heard this story from the lips of the old lady, called her into the presence, and after reprimanding her for her malfeasance, advised her to give up stealing all the items, except milk. "Milk, you can drink any, quantity you like; but, why steal these other by-products?" The mother-in-law, it is needless to say, was not very pleased with advice! So, seek Grace, that is enough; it confers all else.
You must cultivate love towards every one, however distinct the character and capacity of each may be. Though the same blood flows through the entire body, the eye cannot smell, the ear cannot taste, the nose cannot see, do not over-emphasise the distinctions and quarrel. Emphasise the basic brotherhood and love. As sugar that has dissolved in the cup of water is invisible, but patent to the tongue in every drop, so too the Divine is invisible but immanent; capable of being experienced, in every individual, whether he is at bottom or on top. Do Namasmarana (repeated remembrance of the Lord); taste the sweetness that is in the heart of every one; dwell on His Glory, His Compassion, which those names summarise. Then, it will be easier for you to visualise Him in all, to love Him in all, to adore Him in all."
Swami inaugurated the Saraswata Sangha at the Sai Baba National Higher Secondary School on 1st August and addressed the gathering. On the same evening, the Collector of Anantapur, Sri V. Narayana Rao, presided over the concluding session of the Prashanti Vidwan Maha Sabha. Bramhasri Bala Viswanatha Sarma spoke on this occasion. Swami then delivered His Valedictory Discourse. Swami also gave a Discourse to the members of the Sathya Sai Seva Samiti of Anantapur before leaving.
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