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Anil Kumar's Sunday Satsang at
Prasanthi Nilayam
June 24, 2001
The Sunday Talk Given by Anil Kumar
on:
The significance of Guru Purnima
24th June, 2001
OM… OM… OM…
Sai Ram.
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
Dear Brothers and Sisters!
The sacred festival of Guru Purnima is fast approaching. I thought
it necessary to do some homework before we actually celebrate this
festival. Guru Purnima is a special occasion with profound meaning
and depth and inner significance. If we know fully what the
occasion is, why it should be celebrated and what it means, this
will be helpful for us if we decide to practice what we hear here.
Guru Purnima will fall on the 5th of July. This session we’ll
spend pondering over, thinking about and reflecting on Guru
Purnima and its importance. Perhaps the celebration is unique here
in Prasanthi Nilayam. The way it is celebrated is different from
the way it is observed elsewhere.
Actually speaking, we have a very a large group of people who are
worldly. By 'worldly' I mean that their imagination, their
planning, their effort, their program and their entire activity
centers around the establishment of a very high standard of living.
In establishing a very high standard of living, it becomes
absolutely necessary to amass wealth. And to amass wealth, it
becomes necessary to strain more, to exert more, and sometimes
even to take to unlawful methods.
In other words, we are totally engaged in raising our standard of
living. No one is an exception. A high standard of living is a
sign of pride, which builds up our ego more and more. It
establishes a sort of status or position in our society, and
therefore we work hard to improve or establish a higher standard
of living. But Guru Purnima calls for a high standard of life, not
a higher standard of living. Guru Purnima emphasizes and stresses
upon the high standard of life and not a high standard of living.
By life, I mean the quality of life.
On the occasion of Guru Purnima, Bhagavan has said many things.
Now let us try to concentrate on a few concepts. We are at a loss
to know the meaning of life. If that question is put to anyone of
us (and I'm not an exception), we have no immediate answer. What
is the meaning of life? The meaning of life (according to what we
currently think) is what we call a 'status symbol' or a higher
involvement or placement in society. That is what appears to us to
be the meaning of life. But the Guru Purnima celebration focuses
on another aspect. Guru Purnima tells us the meaning of life.
What is the meaning of life? My friends, each one of you will have
to work, to evaluate, to introspect, in order to find out the
meaning of your life. Each one will have to find out the meaning
of one’s own life. Nobody is going to tell us, "This is your
meaning of your life." No, we have to work out for ourselves, to
find out the meaning of our life.
That’s the reason why the Guru Purnima celebration is individual
and collective. Collectively, we assemble here and we listen to
the Divine message. But individually, we express our trust in our
Guru. We try to find out the meaning of our own life individually,
whereas collectively we celebrate.
Individually, we have to own the responsibility. When we own the
responsibility for ourselves, we’ll know the meaning of life. If
someone gives us the definition of life, if we look forward to
others to define our life and indicate the purpose of life, there’s
no beauty or charm in it. Rather we may find it difficult to adopt
it. But when we work on our own, we'll find the meaning of life.
The Meaning of Life - Go Higher and Higher
What is the meaning of life and how shall we go about it? I remind
you that all these thoughts are taken from Sai literature. I
repeat that in every one of my talks because I'm highly conscious
of the fact that I'm just supplying you information from Sai
literature. That's all. Yes!
How are we to understand what is the purpose of life? A seed, for
example, what is the purpose of a seed? The purpose of a seed is
to sprout or to germinate. If the seed does not sprout or
germinate, the seed has lost its meaning, right? The seed
germinates into a sapling. The sapling has got its own meaning. It
has to grow into an adult plant. The plant should grow into an
adult and it should flower. So, flowering is the meaning of a
plant. But flowering is not the be-all and end-all. The flowering
should then spread its fragrance.
So, from a seed to a sapling, from a sapling to a plant, from a
plant to flowers, and from flowers to the spreading of fragrance -
so it goes always to a higher stage. Human life is one of
continuity to eternity. There is no stopping at any stage. The
continuity lies in the evolution. It lies in its transcendence.
The meaning is that we always transcend to higher and more unknown
levels. But we are afraid of that unknown level. We want to remain
where we are. That is the reason why we are not progressing.
Bhagavan tells many people, "What is this? Are you still in
kindergarten? Why are you still learning the alphabet? You don’t
seem to have improved. You don’t seem to have made any attempt to
find out higher realms of thought, the higher fields of experience,
or exposure to a wider arena of understanding and awareness."
That’s what Bhagavan says when we ask any simple question. Swami
will point us to a higher level. What does this mean? To find the
higher meaning, we have to evolve and transcend the present
condition. What do I mean by that?
Guru Purnima - Documenting of the Vedas
There was a great sage by the name of Veda Vyasa. Vyasa is, to
some people, the very Incarnation of God. Veda Vyasa, the great
sage, noticed the Divine vibrations, so full of knowledge, so full
of awareness, so full of Divinity, indicating the purpose of life,
revealing the meaning of life and conveying the message of life
all over.
Veda Vyasa, with all his vision and fortitude, and with his
compassion for the vast humanity, along with meditation for long
periods of time, started recording and classifying the Divine
knowledge, the Divine wisdom. Being in that highest vibration, he
started receiving this Divine wisdom. All the vibrations had been
recorded and documented. Thereafter he started classifying this
Divine knowledge, this Divine information, which was available to
that age. Veda Vyasa is what is called Veda or the Divine
knowledge. Veda is the Divine wisdom spread all over in the form
of vibrations, electro-waves. All that he received, like an
antenna, he recorded, documented and classified for the
convenience of study, research, and investigation.
The Vedic literature is so vast and infinite that it has to be
classified and categorized. What relates to rituals, to the
knowledge of the Self, to music, and that which insures longevity
of life, medicine, these are the four branches of Veda. The first
branch of Veda speaks of the ritualistic aspect. How to perform
various rituals, the procedural aspects, the methodology, is the
first branch of Veda, the Rig-Veda. The second branch of Veda
deals with the knowledge of the Self, which is called the Yajur
Veda. And then comes the Sama Veda, which deals with music. And
the last one deals with medicine, the longevity of life, the
Atharvana Veda.
Rig-Veda, Yajur Veda, Sama Veda and Atharvana Veda - these are the
four Vedas dealing with the ritualistic aspect, the knowledge of
the Self, music, and medicine. That day of classification, the day
of dividing or categorizing the Divine knowledge by Veda Vyasa,
according to one school of thought, is called Guru Purnima. Guru
Purnima is the day when Veda Vyasa classified the Vedic literature
for the benefit of humanity into these four branches. That is what
is called Guru Purnima, according to one school of thought.
Two Other Meanings of Guru Purnima
The second meaning is, according to some people, that it is the
birthday of Veda Vyasa. This school of thought is also very
logical and rational and quite acceptable. It is not contradictory
here. The meaning of birthday here is not the annual birthday
celebration we know, but the day of revelation, the day of
experience, the day of realizing the Divinity within, the day of
experiencing the Unity in diversity. That day of the experience of
the Cosmic Divinity in the entire universe is the real birthday.
That is Guru Purnima.
According to another school, Guru Purnima is the day when Lord
Buddha had Self-Realization. Buddhists say that Buddha attained
Nirvana or liberation on a full moon day (Purnima), Buddha Purnima.
Lord Buddha realized the Truth after spending twelve years doing
penance and meditation.
The importance of Guru Purnima is interpreted in different ways. I
wanted to share with you these three this morning: the first, the
day of the classification of Vedic literature; the second, the
birthday of Veda Vyasa, and the third, the day of Realization of
Lord Buddha.
Purnima - The Full Moon Day
What does Purnima mean? Purnima means 'full moon day'. Bright
moonlight, yes! Why? What is the significance of Purnima? The moon
is the presiding deity of the mind. The mind and the moon are
related. Lunar and lunatic go together! (Laughter) Everybody very
well knows the effect of the moon on the human mind. On a full
moon day, when there is no trace of even a single cloud across the
sky, when it is bright, it is wonderful and so beautiful! This is
an indication of the human mind, which has become very, very clear,
without any clouds.
If the human mind is the sky, if the human mind is the space, the
clouds are the clouds of doubt, the clouds of ignorance, the
clouds of desire, the clouds of suspicion, the clouds of duality,
the clouds of anger, the clouds of possessiveness. There are
different types of clouds, as you know. Some have raindrops, some
are full of dust, and all are different. You will agree with me
that all clouds don’t rain. Similarly, the human mind has so many
clouds, full of dust, drops, and wind.
So, on Guru Purnima day or this full moon day, our human mind
should be so clear, without any clouds of suspicion, disbelief,
distrust, body identification, ego, possessiveness, or attachment.
All these clouds should clear out, so that the sky is absolutely
clear in all the cool moonlight, which soothes and pacifies with
all its coolness.
A simple example: It is a full moon night. Suppose you climb up
your staircase and go to the terrace on a very hot summer night.
You had a very hot day, a Puttaparthi summer, OK? You have gone up
to your terrace. How do you enjoy the cool breeze at that time?
How do you watch the moon? All the trouble that you had during the
course of the day, the effect of the scorching sun and the heat of
the day, are all forgotten the moment you enjoy the coolness of
the moon that night.
Similarly, once we have realized that Knowledge, when the sky of
the human mind is clear, without any clouds of despair,
despondency, disappointment or frustration, we then enjoy the
coolness of God's Grace. That is what Purnima means. It is not a
just any day in the season. Certainly not! Let me experience the
full moon day, the coolness, the comfort, the joy of the cool
breeze, so that all my agitations, all my disturbances, all the
tensions and the stress-formed clouds vanish. When the entire sky
is absolutely clear, that is full moon day.
At that time, in that moment, we find the meaning of our life. We
find the meaning of our life when once we are clear off these
clouds of our pitfalls and our weaknesses. When there are dark
clouds, even if only a few are there, we cannot see Him. Similarly,
the clouds of our weaknesses, the clouds of feeling diffident
instead of being confident, will keep us from enjoying the sun or
the moon.
It is in this context that I bring to your notice what Bhagavan
tells us: Guru Purnima is not the message of doing something
different or of investigating a different path. No. Guru Purnima
is the day of Awareness of our true Self. We are not going to meet
anybody new, no! You are not going to get something, which you do
not already have right now.
Searching for Ourselves Outside
I have two pens in my pocket. Well, as ill-luck would have it, in
the midst of my thoughts, in the midst of this communication, I
forgot that I'm carrying these two pens. So I'm in search of some
pens. Now my friend will get up and say, "Mr. Anil Kumar, you seem
to be absent-minded. We know that you have retired! (Laughter) (That’s
the reason why retirement age is also decided for us!) The pens
are there. Look in your pocket," he will tell me. "Oh! I see! I
thought it was necessary to search." My friend adds, "No, no,
they’re right there with you!"
Bhagavan gave one example of Professor Bhagavantham, who was the
translator of Bhagavan’s discourses in the 1960’s. It seems that
Professor Bhagavantham, a very great scientist and vice-chancellor,
while he was the Director of the Institute of Science there in
Bangalore, was searching for his glasses. Swami was sitting there.
As Swami wanted him to read one paper, he was just searching.
Swami said, "What is it that you are searching for?" "Swami, my
glasses!" "They are there on your nose, OK?" (Laughter)
Similarly, we are searching for ourselves outside. When the Self
is inside, we are searching for the Self by following the methods
outside, while the method to know the Self inside is not adopted.
The method to follow, to know the Self inside is called 'inquiry'.
'Inquiry' does not say bring flowers, two truckloads of flowers,
or buy agarbathi. That is all external.
Rituals are Not Spiritual
All the rituals we do, the flowers that we offer, and all the acts
of worship are external. We are not dismissing those things. I am
not an atheist. I am not against these things. But I am conveying
the depth of what Bhagavan has said. All spiritual activity we
have been doing till this day, the bhajans, the chanting, the
meditation and worship are all rituals. They are all good sacred
activities, but they are not spiritual. That is underlined - not
spiritual. I can give you the page number and the date when Swami
made this statement. . (I am a teacher and very responsible. You
don’t have to doubt me. I cannot concoct things because I know
that one of you will get up and ask me. So I'm fully prepared! )
So, all those things that we do are sacred activities. They are
good activities, but they are not spiritual. I see. Why are these
sacred activities not spiritual? I can do these spiritual
activities straightaway! Why ‘via’ something else? Are there any
straight flights, without getting down in Frankfurt? Is there
anything like that? Straight flights from Bombay to New York,
without having to get down in Frankfurt? Why change? No, no! It’s
not possible!
Chitta Suddhi - Purity of Mind/Heart
One should have purity of mind. With purity of mind, it is
possible to experience spirituality in the true sense. To have
spiritual experience, one must have purity of mind. So, all the
sacred activities are there to develop purity of mind, chittha
suddhi. But being a teacher, I can tell you that old habits die
slowly!
Chittha suddhi means the purity of heart. All activity, meditation,
worship, and bhajans are for the purity of the mind. It guarantees
the fulfillment of wisdom - not just wisdom, but fulfillment of
wisdom. Wisdom has got a purpose, or else wisdom is just academic
and textual. Wisdom comes down from a sacred text. I am not
referring to that textual knowledge. I am speaking of fulfillment
of wisdom. Jnana siddhi, fulfillment of wisdom, is possible only
after chittha suddhi has been achieved. I think I'm clear.
All the activities we have been doing will help us to develop that
purity of mind, chittha suddhi. But that is not the be-all and
end-all. Finally comes the fulfillment of Divine knowledge, or the
wisdom or experience, what we call jnana siddhi, the genuine
spiritual experience.
Guru Purnima is the day of Self-inquiry, or inquiry into the Self.
The point is this: Who is the inquirer? What is the path of
inquiry and what is it that is known after inquiry? These are the
questions that come subsequently. When once we agree upon this,
Guru Purnima is the day of Self-inquiry, to know the true Self in
its true form, in the right way.
Teachers and Gurus
Guru is a Sanskrit word, but some people mistake it for the word ‘teacher’.
A teacher and a Guru are different. 'Teacher' refers to a class
teacher - for example, Bal Vikas teachers or, at a higher level,
you may say, 'professors'. But he can also become a professor once
he stops teaching! (Laughter) Yes, when he stops teaching, he
becomes a reader. When he stops reading and teaching, he becomes a
professor. But that’s a different thing. But still, one is
basically a teacher. At the university level, you call him a
professor. At the school level and college level, you call him a
teacher, teaching and dissimulating knowledge.
Guru Purnima - Guru is not a teacher. Guru is different from a
teacher. Let us understand very clearly this concept. In 'Guru',
there are two letters - 'gu' and 'ru'. 'Gu' or 'gukaro
andarkaarasya' means or stands for 'the darkness of ignorance'. 'Ru'
or 'Rukaro tan nivarana' means 'dispelling the darkness'. So,
'Guru' stands for the removal of darkness and the removal of
ignorance.
Dispelling Darkness
Where is darkness? From where is it removed? And how is it removed?
A simple question. It is nighttime and very dark. We are not able
to see anything clearly. In the morning, at 6 o'clock, with the
sunrise and the sunlight, all things become clear. Where has the
darkness gone? Has it run away from Puttaparthi to Kotacheruvu or
anywhere else? Or has it gone to Hyderabad, or any other
neighboring state? Let me search. Where has this darkness gone? An
anti-social element is hiding it somewhere? No, no, no, no! The
presence of light is equal to absence of darkness. Once there is
light, there is no darkness. When there is no light, there is
darkness. Presence of light is the absence of darkness.
Similarly, the presence of light or wisdom is the knowledge of the
Self. Knowledge of the Self, what we call in Sanskrit, Atma jnana,
or Thathwa jnana, is the light. It removes the darkness of
ignorance. So the light of knowledge of the Self, Atma jnana,
dispels the darkness of ignorance, ajnana.
This is 'Guru', the meaning of the two letters. To repeat once
again, 'gu' is darkness or ignorance; 'ru' is the light or wisdom.
With the light of wisdom, the darkness of ignorance is dispelled.
That is the meaning of the two-lettered word 'Gu-ru'.
Guru Purnima: Purnima is full-moon day. With the grace of a Guru,
who is the real Teacher, an aspirant or seeker or spiritual
aspirant dispels the darkness of ignorance as he gets into the
light of wisdom. That is Guru Purnima. Right? The first letter
means darkness or ignorance and the second letter means light or
wisdom.
Then, there is another meaning for 'Guru', for these two letters
of Guru.
Attributes and Attributeless
Now here is another meaning: Guru has two letters. 'Gukaro guna
theetha.' Gunas, what are gunas? Gunas are tendencies, traits, and
qualities. It has also got another name, vasanas. So, 'gu' refers
to 'guna teetha', which means 'attributeless', without any
attributes, without any qualities, without any tendencies. That is
'guna theetha'. What is it? What do you mean?
A simple example: When electricity is used for the mike (microphone),
it makes the sound louder. If it is used for the fan, it makes the
breeze. Current in the bulb creates light. So light there, sound
here, breeze there, heat in a heater, or for things remaining cold
in the freezer - the same electricity is used for all these and
more.
Now what does electricity mean? Heat? "No," says the mike.
Electricity, is it the sound? "No," says the fan. Is it a breeze?
"No," says the freezer. Will it help me keep all that foodstuff in
storage? "No, no," Says the heater. So, what is electricity now?
It is none of these – and yet it is all of them. That is the point.
Because of the electricity, all these things are functioning.
Because of the electricity, we are able to enjoy all benefits of
these gadgets in the form of heat and light. But without the
electricity, they are all non-functional. Electricity is in all of
them, but they are not in electricity. Am I clear?
God is in the attributes, but the attributes are not in Him.
Attributes are not in Him, but He is in the attributes. Sound is
not in electricity, but electricity in the mike is producing the
sound. Likewise, breeze is not in the electricity, but electricity
produces the breeze when the current operates the fan.
So, attributes are there. Attributes are functional. Sarva indriya
bhaatam, sarva indriya vivarjitam. sarva indriya guna bhaasam. All
these attributes are functional and useful because of the Divinity.
But these attributes are not there in Divinity. Guna theetha means
'transcendental' or 'beyond' or 'attributeless'. So gukaaro guna
theetha means 'attributeless' or 'without any traits'.
With Form and Formless
'Rukaaro, rupa varjithaha' means formless. All created objects
have forms. But God has no form. So God is beyond form. He is
formless. "Sir, what nonsense! We see Baba there in the form, and
yet you say, 'He is formless'?" I'm sure you are going to make me
formless at the end of the talk if I don’t explain what I really
mean (Laughter).
By formless I mean, when He is all forms, you cannot decide that
this only is His form. Am I clear? When all forms are His, He is
formless. When all names are His, He’s nameless. When all
attributes function because of Him, He is attributeless. Yes, what
is the form of Swami? Is it the form that we see in the morning?
Why not? And He is also in you.
You must have read the book of Sai Baba of Shirdi, the previous
Incarnation of Sathya Sai Baba. Once Shirdi Sai appeared in the
form of a buffalo. Another time He appeared in the form of a dog.
Now what is the form of Shirdi Sai Baba? Was He a buffalo or a dog
or a human being?
So, when all forms are His, when you cannot specify that this
alone is His form, then we say 'formless'. When all names are His,
when you cannot say that this is His only name, He is 'nameless'.
Bhagavan responds when you say, "O Jesus!" or "O Allah!" He
responds to "O Buddha!" and "O Rama!" He appears in all those
forms. Yes, so all names are His and so He is nameless.
So in Guru, gu means: 'guna theetha', beyond attributes, and ru:
rupa varjithaha, formless. Therefore, Guru means the realization
of, the understanding of, the experience of the attributeless,
formless aspect of Divinity. That is the meaning of Guru Purnima.
Guru Purnima is not simply another festival or another occasion.
No. Guru Purnima is not the observation of a ceremony or a ritual.
The conventional, traditional way is different. What I have told
here is according to the teachings of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai
Baba. But in society, Guru Purnima is observed in a different
style altogether. There, when a Guru shows a definite direction to
the disciple on Guru Purnima, the disciple offers him some money
in gratitude. In other places outside and in other areas of life,
Guru Purnima is the day when the disciple expresses his gratitude
to the teacher by offering something in return for all that he has
received.
Being Born Again
But the Guru Purnima observed here is not about offering money. It
is about offering one’s own self (ego). What do you mean by 'offering
one’s own self'? It is clearly written in the Holy Bible: "Unless
you are born again, you shall not get into the Gates of Heaven."
What is the meaning of being 'born again'? I cannot be 'born
again' unless I die now. Since I'm not sure of being born again, I
don’t want to die! If I go by the literal meaning, it is
ridiculous! "Unless one is born again," says the Holy Bible. What
does it mean? Does one have to die? No. It is speaking of the body
identification, the death of the body identification.
So long as I feel that I am the body, it is that thought or that
identification which should die. So far as I feel I am the mind,
that identification with the mind should die. That day when I
realize that I am the Spirit, I am born again. The 'second birth'
or 'second life' refers to the new identification with the Spirit
or identification with the Soul. 'Death' here means that one dies
to the body identification. One dies to the identification of the
mind. He’s 'born again', identifying himself with the Soul or
Spirit. Unless the seed dies, you do not expect a plant to come.
So, the disappearance of one thing is the beginning of the
appearance of something new.
There’s one beautiful word in Sanskrit, Dwija. Dwija means 'second
birth'. Dwi means two; ja means birth = second birth. What is this
second birth? The first birth is the life in this world, the life
of the body, the life of the mind. The second birth, the second
life, is the true life of the Spirit. This is the message of Guru
Purnima. So, Guru Purnima wants us to understand this concept of
being born once again; this second time, identifying ourselves
with the Spirit or Soul, not with the body and mind.
Dualism and Non-Duality
Further, Guru Purnima has some more points to convey. Let me also
talk to you along these lines. Guru Purnima is the day of the
experience of non-duality. What is duality and what is non-duality?
'Duality' means that the world and I are separate. You and I are
separate. The material Creation and the Creator are separate. The
good and bad are different. The day and night are different. This
is dualism. Profit-loss, victory-defeat, success-failure are all
dual, meaning that there are two. But Guru Purnima is the
experience of non-duality.
How is it possible to have non-duality? Night cannot be the day;
day cannot be night! Profit cannot be failure, no! Profit cannot
be loss! Success and failure are not the same. Duality is almost a
certainty. Duality has almost come to stay with us. Duality has
gone into our blood and marrow.
Now the time has come to know non-duality. That is the meaning of
Guru Purnima. How is it possible? Here is a simple example. Unless
it is night, you cannot have the day. Impossible! It is only the
night that leads to the day. It is only the day that leads to the
night. So, day and night are not opposite, but one is the
continuation of the other. They are not contradictory. They are
complementary. Apparently, outside, externally, night and day seem
to be opposite. But they are not opposite. They seem to be
contradictory or against each other, but no, they are
complimentary as one is the continuation of the other. Night leads
to the day, and day leads to the night. It is something like
obverse and the reverse.
(Anil Kumar now shows the front and back of a writing tablet.)
This side is different from that side. Without this front side,
the back side cannot exist. Without this, that cannot exist. Both
are one and the same in this writing pad. Am I clear?
So, there is nothing like polarity. There is nothing like opposite
dimensions. In profit and loss, it is only the loss that takes you
toward the profit in business. Business people know this very well
because they have seen both sides of the coin. Likewise, profit
will also certainly take you to loss.
Life is like a Pendulum
A simple example is a pendulum. You cannot expect a pendulum to be
only at the center unless there is something wrong with it. (Laughter)
"Sir, my pendulum is so full of equilibrium and tranquility or
balanced state of mind that it does not move!" Thank you! When the
pendulum stops, the light of life is gone. Time is life; life is
time. When time stops, finished! Next day is a holiday because he
is declared dead! When time stops, he’s dead. Yes, because time is
life. So my friends, as the pendulum moves from one extreme to the
other, one end is profit, the other end is loss; one end is day,
the other end is night; one end is success, the other end is
failure. And it continues to move like that.
That’s the reason why there is the famous saying, "Life is like
the pendulum, oscillating between a tear and a smile." There are
tears on the one end and smiles on the other end. But I cannot go
on smiling unless something is wrong with me. Suppose you find me
smiling and smiling continuously. You will also smile for one or
two days. From the third day onward, you’ll go far away from me,
maybe some miles! Why? Because you’ll understand that I'm
sufficiently mad now! (Laughter) You will run away from me for
miles and miles if I smile continually, endlessly, and
meaninglessly.
Similarly, if I go on crying throughout the day, you’ll also try
to avoid me. "He’s passing through some depression or some
frustration. (Laughter) Let me try to avoid him. I don’t want to
spoil my moods." You’ll say that. So, life is not only full of
tears, nor is it all smiles. It is something like a pendulum,
swinging continuously between a smile and a tear. One leads to the
other: This is not non-duality.
Non-Duality is Acceptance
Non-duality is not avoiding one’s state of mind. Non-duality is
not preference. Non-duality is something like acceptance.
Non-duality is acceptance, not preference. This means acceptance
of the reality. This is the time. "OK, I'm miserable. But yet, I'll
take it. I accept it. This time I'm miserable. I'm hopeless. There
is no one to care for me. I am all alone, entirely depressed. OK.
I’ll take it with all composure. I accept it with all courage and
readiness." It is not preference.
All right. Here's the other end of the pendulum: "I'm successful.
I'm victorious, full of profits in my business. I accept it in a
all humility, with all reverence, with all respect, in all dignity,
with no arrogance."
So, absence of arrogance when things are favorable, absence of
depression when things are unfavorable - no arrogance and no
preference - but rather acceptance of what is right, in store for
us in this moment, is non-duality. I think I'm clear. To speak of
non-duality is quite easy; but to put it into practice is
difficult. That is why I'm telling these things.
After all, when one fellow fails in the examination, he’s crying.
If I go and tell him, "After all, life is non-dual! (Laughter)
Pass or failure is nothing. After all, what does it matter? You
can smile, though you failed." Or, if a fellow got a gold medal,
he’s all smiling. Should I say, "No, no, after all what is this?
Be non-dual! Why are you jumping for joy? Start crying!" (Laughter)
He will make me cry! It is not possible to talk like this.
So, non-duality does not mean absence of reaction or absence of
expression. It is not repression. It is not suppression. It is not
expression. It is not preference. It is acceptance. I think I'm
clear. This is called 'surrender'. This is surrender. Guru Purnima
is the acceptance of what is kept in store for us, what we call 'surrender'.
That is the meaning and depth of Guru Purnima: unconditional,
totally unconditional, acceptance.
"Swami! I'm prepared to pass through the test. You don’t look at
me. You don’t talk to me. All right, I will tolerate this. All
right, I can understand Your predicament. I can understand that
You are busy. For fifteen days, I'm be able to bear this torture.
Later, no more of this treatment!" (Laughter) This is conditional.
I cannot give Him some date. "Swami, You can be silent from 5th of
June till 20th of June; later than that, no!"
"No, no! Sit down," He’ll say then. (Laughter)
A Timetable for Swami
In the past, some of the teachers, myself included, were very
smart at one time. (Sometimes one has to be smart.) Unexpectedly,
the sudden thought came to our mind, "Why only some students sit
in the front row? Why should Swami talk to some people only? Why?"
So, we made a beautiful timetable: Monday morning, first year
mathematics students; Monday evening, biology students; Tuesday
morning, second year students (etc.) -- Ah ha! We made a six-day
program. We humbly submitted it to Swami. This is double
foolishness! To prepare this schedule itself is absolutely foolish.
To give it to Him, well, there is no redemption! (Laughter)
Then He looked at it and said, "Oh-ho-ho! You have given Me the
timetable. Ah! I see. How about those lakhs of devotees sitting
out there? Where are their names? I don’t find their names here!
You prepare when I should talk to them also, when I should see
them too! "
"When I want you to be disciplined, when I want you to develop
devotion, when I want you to be more dutiful, instead of following
My timetable, you are giving Me the timetable! (Laughter) I have
given you the schedule that you should have three: Duty, Devotion,
and Discipline; that you should have also these three: Purity,
Patience, and Perseverance. Rather than doing that, you are giving
Me the timetable - Monday morning, biology; Monday evening,
physical science; Tuesday morning, commerce. You have not
understood. You have, what you say, 'missed the bus'!"
So my friends, it is not necessary - rather, we should not fix the
deadline for God. Some people do this: "If you don’t talk to me in
the evening, I won’t eat tonight!" (Laughter) If you don’t eat
tonight because Swami did not talk to you, then you’ll be free
from constipation in the morning! (Laughter) You’ll be free from
indigestion. A little food problem is solved. This world is not
going to suffer.
There are some people like this. In fact, one gentleman told me, "Sir,
I have come with a serious purpose, a definite program. Until
Swami talks to me, I am not going to eat." I said, "What does He
lose if you don’t eat food?" (Laughter) What does He lose? He is
not bothered because He also does not eat food. If Swami eats as
much as I eat, He will know what it is. But He doesn’t eat! He may
say, "So, all right. You have come to My stage. So then, don’t eat!"
So my friends, if we stop eating, the world is not going to lose
anything. By eating, world is not going to be profited. Eating has
got nothing to do with spirituality. The quality of food is
something different. Vegetarian or non-vegetarian - that’s an
appropriate spiritual topic. But food as such, eating in general,
is not spiritual. So my friends, I cannot tell Him, "Swami, I am
going to fast for three days. On the fourth day, I am ready for my
interview with You." Oh-ho! You cannot say that to God. So, that
type of attitude is conditional spiritual practice.
Conditional Sadhana
What is conditional sadhana? It is not spiritual activity. That
which is unconditional is spiritual sadhana. That which is
unconditional is spiritual. That which is conditional is just a
ritual, a mere ritual. "O God! If my son gets a seat in the
engineering college, I’ll come to Your temple and break 20
coconuts." (Laughter) Coconuts are not your property or your
grandfather’s property. Coconuts belong to the coconut tree. We
bring these coconuts here, O God, then we bribe You! But You are
the Creator of the coconut plants everywhere!
He is the Creator of the coconut and the coconuts belong to the
tree. When you and I then offer these fruits, how ridiculous it is!
What a kind of cheating it is! It is really cheating. It is
hypocrisy. And yet we want to have that kind of business deal with
God. It is not surrender. I cannot take your purse and then donate
the money inside to somebody else. It is your money. Then how can
I donate it? "All that my friend has here, I am donating it!"
Oh-ho! You cannot do that. (Laughter) Similarly, we have no
authority, we have no credibility, we have no authenticity, we
have no right to make all these 'deals' with God, which are
meaningless.
So, Guru Purnima calls for the unconditional acceptance of
whatever is kept in store for us. Guru Purnima is the day of
Self-inquiry. Guru Purnima is the celebration of the realization
of the Divinity within. Guru Purnima is the day of the experience
of non-dualism. Guru Purnima is the day of our expression of
gratitude to our Guru, the Teacher, the Eternal Charioteer, for
all that we have received from Him.
Guru Purnima is the day to determine to take a particular path. "Yes,
from now on, I'm going to be non-dual. From now on, I'm going to
take to this spiritual path." This is the day of Guru Purnima.
Guru Purnima Day celebration is the clearing up of the clouds of
doubt and disappointment in the sky of the human mind. It is the
day of being absolutely clear. It is the day of dispelling the
darkness of ignorance, awakening the light of spiritual wisdom,
and letting in the sunlight of wisdom.
(Note: The following (July 1st) Sunday Talk by Anil Kumar was
cancelled due to the preparations for the International Bal Vikas
Conference held at Prashanthi Nilayam on July 2nd, 3rd and 4th.)
Anil Kumar led the bhajan, "Rama Krishna Hari Narayana...".
Thank you very much!
Om Asatoma Sadgamaya
Tamasoma Jyotirgamaya
Mrtyurmaya Amrtamgamaya
Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Om Shanti, Shanti, Shanti.
Sai Ram.
Thank you.
© Anil Kumar Kamaraju 2004 - Here
reproduced for personal use of the devotees for the purpose of
seva.
Anil Kumar website:
http://www.internety.com/anilkhome/ -
http://www.internety.com/saipearls/ |