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Features
| Sri Satya Sai Speaks
REPOSE FAITH IN YOUR CONSCIENCE
The sun appears serene and peaceful. The days have become shorter,
and the cool wind is blowing. The fields are ripe with golden crops. Marigold flowers
are blossoming like garlands of pearls on the banks of rivers. The farmers are rejoicing
and singing. The sweet festival of Sankranti has come in the month of Pushya (a
month in Indian calendar), filling our homes with the newly harvested grain.
(Telugu poem)
God willed that the Sankranti festival shall bring all prosperity to the people
and they shall not feel any inconvenience in the matter of food and other needs.
The farmers, having brought home the produce after harvesting it, will be happily
taking rest in their homes. Even the agricultural workers will be free, for, the
harvesting season will be over by then. Having worked hard day and night in the
fields for some months, they will be now enjoying the comfort of a home, by God's
grace. Whatever God does, it is for the good of the people! For, they are all His
'Amsa' (parts) only! Mamaivamsho Jivaloke Jivabhuta Sanathana (the eternal Atma
in all beings is a part of My Being), said Lord Krishna in the Bhagavadgita. Not
only human beings, even animals, birds and insects are the embodiments of God! However,
all people do not realise this truth. Saint Thyagaraja sang in one of his immortal
kirtanas, cheemalo Brahmalo Siva Kesavaadulalo prema meera velasi unde birudhu vahinchina
Rama nannu brovara (Oh Rama! In Your pure and unsullied form of love, You indwell
all beings from an ant to Brahma as also in Siva and Kesava. Please be my protector
too). Unable to realise this truth, people kill the ant that crawls on their bodies.
The same people worship the ant if it appears as an embodiment of Divinity. Thus,
the feelings make all the difference.
During this season, the sun appears to be gentle and soothing during daytime. The
days are shorter and the nights are long. During the nights, the moonlight is cool
and comfortable. Having worked hard during daytime, people will have comfortable
sleep during nights. The human body needs rest. Hence, every human being should
have adequate rest. As the saying goes, "Sleep a while after lunch." One should
take a nap at least for a short period after lunch. However, one should not keep
himself awake for long during nights. One should have sound sleep during night.
Everything is God's will. The entire universe is created by
God. Nothing in this world will move without God's will.Not even a blade of grass
will move without divine Will, People who do not realise this truth, get carried
away by their pride of intelligence and discrimination. But no one however great
one may be knows what lies ahead for them in future.
(Telugu poem)
Who is a "HINDU"? The letters in the word HINDU stand for: H - Humility, I - Individuality,
N - Nationality, D - Devotion, U - Unity.
Wherever there is unity, there will be Divinity. It is only Divinity that can unite
the world. You should not try to break the world into pieces saying 'this is my
India', this is my Japan', 'this is my Germany', etc. The divinity called 'I' in
all human beings is only one! There is only one race, that is human race. Humanness
is very sacred, holy and divine. The word 'Manava' (human being) means very sacred.
The festival of Sankranti reminds you of this truth and awakens you to this reality.
During this holy period of Makara Samkramana, people especially the village folk,
enjoy by participating in several kinds of rural games and play. As a matter of
fact, this is a festival season for the animals too! Some people in the villages
bring together the gangireddu (a decorated bull) and a cow naming them as Rama and
Sita and perform their marriage symbolically, in the hope that their marriage shall
bring forth peace and welfare to the world. The cowherd gives proper training to
the bull and the cow in advance. He asks the cow "Amma! Is Rama beautiful?", the
cow shakes its head in disapproval of the suggestion. Then, the gangireddudasu with
the stick in his hand tries to counsel the cow "Amma! Rama is blackish blue in colour.
Yet he is very good. He is a great king. He is mighty and prosperous." Thereupon
the cow nods its head in approval. It seems to indicate, "Yes, I like Rama." The
children in the village watch the gangireddu play very enthusiastically. They invite
their friends and relatives to witness this play, thus:
"Oh my dear brother, here comes the Gangireddudasu. Come, let
us go and see him. He wears a silver medallion and a waist belt. He carries a decorated
staff and wears special marks on his forehead. He brings with him richly caparisoned
sacred cow and bull and performs their marriage. Let us see the marriage ceremony
and offer our gifts."
(Telugu Song)
Thus, the village folk will be tastefully decorating their cattle and playing with
them. Sankranti is a festival that gives joy to the birds too. They will be perching
in large numbers on the temples and minarets, chirping and singing. They thus teach
a lesson in unity and joy to the human beings of all regions and religions in the
world. Sadly, several people nowadays have no faith in the religion. Religion sets
a great ideal for the human beings to follow.
There are several students studying in Sri Sathya Sai Educational Institutions.
They have no differences of religion at all! In fact, one who believes in such differences
is not a human being. There is only one religion - the religion of love. A real
human being is one, who follows such a religion. We must cultivate the goodness
in all religions. There is a lot to learn from the birds, beasts and insects. Religion
means love. Today, we do not at all find such religion of love. Devoid of love,
there can be no relationship with anybody. Hence, we must follow the religion of
love. No one thinks of such religion of love in the modern age. Our ancestors did
recognise the true meaning of religion and followed it in letter and spirit. They
took their elders as an ideal in this regard. Even now if you enquire some children,
"who told you this?", they reply "my grandmother told me; my grandfather told me",
etc. One should never disregard the advice of elders. When you follow their advice,
everything will turn out to be good for you. Unfortunately, no one listens to the
good words of elders these days. However, they listen to all sorts of movie songs
played in a tape recorder. They imitate those songs. Whatever tune is played in
the tape recorder, they try to imitate that tune. Man today is not living like a
human being. He is turning out to be a mere gramophone record or a tape recorder.
We should never disregard the words of elders. Man today does not listen to the
sound advice of the elders and acts contrary to the nature of a human being. People
do not listen to good things, and indulge in all unnecessary and unwarranted activities.
The festival of Sankranti is meant to remind man about the sanctity of humanness.
It is said, Easwara Sarva Bhutanam (God is the indweller of all beings). Hence,
every human being, nay, every living being is an amsa (part) of God! But, there
seems to be a flaw in your own behaviour. What is the reason? You throw to winds
the sacred feelings and allow your mind to run after all and sundry things. That
is how your behaviour is tainted. You are now in your prime of youth. Your body,
mind and intellect are strong and secure in this age. Hence, you have to make proper
use of your capability to live up to your sacred feelings. Sankranti is not to be
considered as a mere festival like any others. The festival of Sankranti brings
great joy to one and all. Even a poor man will arrange to make payasam (sweet pudding)
in his house and partake of it happily. The festival of Sankranti will bring joy
in ever so many ways. It is not limited to song and play. It expands one's heart
with joy. It is a festival of unity; that unity develops purity resulting in divinity
in human beings. Hence, people must cultivate unity and purity in the first instance.
What is purity? Our vision must be sacred; our words must be soft and sweet and
our ears must listen to only good things. Our nose should smell only divine fragrance.
Thus, all the senses in our body must be put to proper use.
Man is born out of Karma. Karma is the most important Dharma
(duty) of a human being: Man is born in action, is sustained by action and ultimately
merges in action. Action is the cause for pleasure and pain. Truly speaking, action
is God for man.
(Telugu Poem)
Hence, we should continue to perform karma. What is karma? It is not merely reading
and participating in the games of football, volleyball, etc. Even inhaling and exhaling
are karma! There can be no karma without these two. When you inhale your breath,
the sound of 'so' emerges. Similarly, when you exhale your breath, the sound of
'hum' emerges. Thus, every act of inhaling and exhaling results in the sound of
'sohum', meaning 'I am that Divinity'. That life-breath which is a great energy
is the gift of God to a human being. It is vital to the sustenance of a human being.
It is not the real nature of a human being to eat, drink and be merry. First and
foremost, wherever you go, people will observe your qualities. You must conduct
yourself in such a way that people will be able to say, "Look! His behaviour is
good. We feel very happy to talk to him. We feel very happy by merely looking at
him." It is only your good qualities that bring happiness and joy to you." Man should
make proper use of his panchapranas (five vital airs), panchabhuthas (five elements)
and panchendriyas (five senses). The food we partake must be sattwic. It is not
good to take too much of chillies or chilly powder. One should not hanker after
'taste'. It will 'waste' our life. One should eat for the sake of satisfying one's
hunger, without hankering for special taste or flavour.
There is no charity greater than feeding the hungry, There are
no greater gods than parents, There is no greater gain than the company of the good.
(Telugu Poem)
There is nothing greater than truth. Truth is only one, not two. By associating
yourself with good people, you will also become good. Who are real friends? It is
only the good people who are real friends to you. Tell me your company, I shall
tell you what you are. Hence, you must always join good company; talk to good people
and live with good people. Only then will you become a good person. Otherwise, you
will spoil yourself. Good friends shall always strive to work for the good of each
other and bring about a transformation in each other. If for any reason your friend
took to bad ways on any occasion, of what use is your friendship if you do not try
to bring him back into good path? On the other hand, if you are taking to bad ways,
your friend should help you to come back to normal ways. Thus, trying to help each
other to tread the good path is the hallmark of true friendship. However, friends
in present time wish each other 'hello' and separate. Later, they say 'goodbye'.
Such attitude is not good. Instead of saying, 'goodbye', you must become a good
boy. Thus, you must tread the path of truth in daily life. Only then will you become
an educated and courageous person in the real sense, with a sense of discrimination.
If you are a good person with a sense of sacrifice, several people will follow you.
If your behaviour is not good, none will even look at your face. It is only people
without character who will be moving in your company. It will do no good for your
spiritual advancement.
You say, "so and so is my good friend". But, for how long? Only for some time. Later
on, if that person does not pay attention to your words or refuses to oblige your
demands, you hate him. You will become enemies. Indeed, you must be very careful
in developing friendship with others.
In every aspect of our life, our behaviour itself is a witness to our interpersonal
relationships. You reside in any place or go to any country; but, keep up your good
character. Respect all! Love all! Hate none. Earn a good name for yourself. It is
not the academic degrees that bring greatness to us. How many Ph.D.'s are not there
in this world today? How many people who did I.A.S. are not there in the country
now? Has the world become better in any way on account of these people? In fact,
it is only because of the so-called educated people the country is sliding down
from its eminence. Let us not be concerned with such so-called 'great' people. It
is enough if people wish each other with a Namaskar and enquire their welfare. That
itself is greatness. One has to imbibe humility and obedience, along with education.
Only such a student is the real student; you should not have even a trace of ego,
pride, pomp and such other bad qualities.
The student who did the role of Prahlada in yesterday's play did well. His voice
was sweet. Also, his acting was exemplary. Prahlada's father Hiranyakasipu had to
undergo punishment on account of his hatred towards God. God donned the Narasimha
Avatar and killed him. When we lead a good and virtuous life, our end will also
be good. We will also earn a good name for ourselves. Right from our birth till
death, we must lead an exemplary life. However, people do not listen to good words.
They listen to only wrong advice and spoil themselves. It is our common experience
that while we travel in a train or a bus, we come across a beggar singing the glory
of Ramanama beautifully. Our fellow travellers will be happily listening to the
song fully immersed in it. Finally, when the beggar completes his song and begins
to move away, people compliment him saying, "You sang well and made us very happy."
They express their gratitude to him by offering some charity. Thus, life can be
really meaningful when you make others happy.
You are all students gathered in this hall. You must share good thoughts and words
amongst you on such occasions as these. Good thoughts, good words and good deeds
are the qualities of Divinity. We must cultivate good qualities. When you stand
in front of the sun at sunrise, your shadow will be fifty feet long while you are
actually five feet tall. As the sun begins to rise in the sky, the length of your
shadow becomes shorter. When the sun positions itself exactly above your head at
noon, your shadow falls under your feet. In the same way, when you begin your journey
towards God and gradually progress in the Godward path, the shadow of maya (illusion)
falls behind. On the other hand, if you go against God and travel in the opposite
direction, the shadow of maya will be in front of you.
Embodiments of Love!
All our students are gold. What sort of gold? Pure 24 carat gold. Wherever they
go and in whichever activity they participate - in sports, in education, in behaviour,
in their talk and in every activity, they are earning good name for themselves.
It is only due to this reason, I have seen people praising, "The students of Sri
Sathya Sai Educational Institution are exemplary in character", everywhere. If you
just look at them, you will find Sai Baba reflecting in their faces.
The Ati Rudra Yajna will commence on the 19th of this month in Chennai. But, the
people in Chennai are eagerly awaiting the arrival of Swami's students, not the
Ati Rudra Yajna. They are looking forward with a feeling, "We understand Sai Baba
will be here to participate in the Yajna along with His students. His students alone
are ideals for us."
The sanctity of education is deteriorating due to the misuse of scientific knowledge,
today. The scientists are endeavouring to change the laws of nature. If a tree were
to bear fruit, it is being given an injection. If a cow were to yield milk in more
quantity, it is fed tripe from other slaughtered animals. They think that by feeding
animal parts to the cow it will grow strong and yield more quantity of milk. Even
the water is polluted nowadays. It is that polluted water that is responsible for
all the diseases suffered by man today. In whichever fruit you see, there are insects
and bacteria. The 'figs' used to be very good for consumption, earlier. But, now
there are bacteria and pollutants even in the figs. What is the reason? Only the
polluted water that is fed to the plant. People have to clean and boil the water
and then only drink it. We have supplied drinking water from the Krishna river to
the people of Chennai by spending rupees 300 crores. I have seen small children
bathing in cesspools and drinking the same dirty water. I felt very sorry for them.
I have decided then itself, "I will not visit Chennai till we supply pure drinking
water to the people of Chennai." That was ten years ago. Now I have supplied drinking
water to them. I am now visiting Chennai in the backdrop of the children drinking
pure water and happily spending their time in play. We can be healthy and happy
only when we drink pure water and eat healthy food. That is how you have to protect
your health. However, I find that some students are not partaking of good food.
They are tempted by all varieties of dishes. You please do not look for the taste.
You just decide for yourself whether the food you are eating is good for your health
or not. Only then will you be healthy and happy.
Dear students!
Study well. Do not waste time. Whenever you find time, read only good books. Tread
the good and Godward path and become good people. It is only the students of Sathya
Sai Educational Institutions that can transform all the people in the world into
good citizens. You be good and make others good. Avoid evil qualities like kama(desire)
and krodha (anger).
Today, our children are going to present a play called "Sri Krishna Rayabaram".
You all know that in the Mahabharata the evil Kauravas troubled the Pandavas in
many ways. However, the Pandavas were of very good nature. Their mind was pure.
They tried their best to do good to the Kauravas. I will quote one small example
to illustrate how pure their minds are. The elderly Kunti, mother of the Pandavas
broke down and breathed her last on hearing the sad news of Lord Krishna leaving
His mortal coil. Dharmaraja, her eldest son who was near her during her last moments
kept her head on his lap. The four brothers Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and Sahadeva surrounded
him. Dharmaraja then explained to his brothers "Dear ones! Lord Krishna who protected
us all the while has left for His heavenly abode. We should not therefore remain
in this world any more." He then called Bhima near him and told him to make arrangements
for the funeral of their mother. He also called Arjuna and told him to make arrangements
for the coronation ceremony of Parikshit as king. Finally, he called the two younger
brothers Nakula and Sahadeva to his side and ordered them, "We have to begin our
great march towards the Himalayas. You go and make all arrangements for our journey."
Thus, on one side he was arranging for the funeral of their mother and on the other,
the coronation of the grandson of his younger brother as king to ensure the continuity
of the dynasty. Can anyone undertake such task in such a grievous situation? Thus,
all responsibilities were discharged at the same time, then and there.
The Pandavas embarked on their great march: Draupadi, Bhima, Arjuna, Nakula and
Sahadeva dropped down in the middle of the journey. Dharmaraja continued his journey
and first reached Naraka (hell). He saw many people undergoing several kinds of
punishment for their sins, there. The moment Dharmaraja stepped into hell, they
were relieved of their suffering and felt very happy. Now, the question arises as
to why at all Dharmaraja had to go to hell in the first instance?
He never spoke a lie during his entire life. However, during the Mahabharata war
he spoke the words, "Aswatthama hathah" (Aswatthama died) loudly and then "kunjarah"
(the elephant) softly, in order that the mighty warrior Dronacharya dies on account
of the shock of the news. The words, "Aswatthama hatha kunjarah" meant the elephant
by name Aswatthama died. Unfortunately, the name of the son of Dronacharya's was
also Aswatthama. In the din and commotion of the war, Dronacharya could not hear
the word "kunjarah" properly and mistook the words of Dharmaraja as 'Aswatthama
died'. Unable to bear the grief and shocked over the 'death of his son Aswatthama',
he threw away his bow and arrows in the battlefield. Thus, Dharmaraja was indirectly
responsible for the fall of Dronacharya by uttering falsehood on one occasion. For
expiating this sin, he had to spend sometime in hell. Thereafter, he was taken to
heaven. While Dharmaraja was leaving for heaven, the people undergoing punishment
in the hell fell on his feet and prayed, "Sir! Please do not leave us, you stay
here itself and give us happiness. Dharmaraja then replied, "My dear ones! I cannot
but obey the command of God", and left for heaven. Wherever we are, if we do good,
we will experience good only. Good work begets good results only.
Dear students!
After passing your examinations in this Institution, you can pursue higher studies
elsewhere if you wish. But, along with academic excellence, let your behaviour also
set an example to others. Do not indulge in falsehood, injustice and evil ways.
Follow the path of truth and become immortal. The Gitacharya declared, "Mamaivamso
..." You should not forget this truth. You pursue any type of education anywhere,
with this awareness. (Bhagawan then enquired, "Am I giving you any trouble?" The
students replied in one voice, "No! Swami!") Making you all happy, working for your
progress, striving to remove all pain and suffering from you, making your parents
also happy - this is My job. Your happiness is My food. I need no other food. That
one type of food is sufficient for Me. Hence, may you all lead a happy and blissful
life always! You may encounter any number of difficulties; keep them aside and march
forward.
Today, some people are indulging in false propaganda saying, "Sai Baba's reputation
is growing day by day. Sai Baba is converting all foreigners as Hindus." They are
highly jealous of Me. Due to this jealousy, they write all sorts of trash in the
newspapers. We should ignore such writings. We must have firm faith in our own conscience.
Whatever they may say, put it aside considering it as nonsense! I have nothing to
do with it! You repose faith in your conscience. Whatever I do, it is for the good
of all! If someone abuses you, you take it as he is abusing only my body, not me.
If they hurl abuses against you openly, let them merge into thin air. On the other
hand, if they scold you silently, they do not reach you. Do not bother about them.
Keep your faith in God firmly. That should be your attitude.
God is immanent in every living being. The name and form may be different. But,
God is only one. He is present in one and all. You are all embodiments of Divinity!
Develop that feeling in you. Do not cultivate the differences of high and low. All
are one. Repose faith in the principle of the fatherhood of God and brotherhood
of man and lead your lives happily.
Dear Students!
I wish that all of you should come out in 1st class in your examinations with good
marks.
(Bhagawan concluded His discourse with the bhajan, "Hari Bhajana bina sukha santhi
nahi …")
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