Sri Sathya Sai Baba Articles

The Sunday Talk Given by Anil Kumar

Conversations with Bhagavan

And Health and Happiness

September 1st, 2002



OM… OM… OM…

Sai Ram.

My humble salutations at the Feet of Swami,

Dear Brothers and Sisters!

Sitting Here, I Watch Everywhere

With the Grace of Bhagavan, it’s possible for all of us to meet here once again this morning. I wanted to bring to your attention one or two very important points that figured during the course of conversations with Bhagavan on the veranda. I'm sure most of you must have been watching Bhagavan talking with the boys there in the evening. Here are a few points of general importance.

Swami suddenly turned towards one boy and asked him, “How did you fare in the examinations? Did you write well?”

With a bright face the boy’s answer was, “Swami, very good. I answered very well.”

Swami paused for couple of moments in silence and immediately said, “You’re the bluff master. You have not done well, no!”

“Swami, I have done well.”

“No, don’t say that. You did not answer two questions. Be honest.”

I should tell you friends that the boy started shivering!

Then He said, “Hmm. Your mother is suffering from cancer. Is she all right? How is she now?”

Then the boy started crying. “Swami, she’s a little better. By Your Grace she’s improving.”

“Hmm, no. She is not yet well, I know. Tomorrow morning you sit there on the veranda. I’ll give vibhuthi and a medicine. She’ll be all right later.”

I was just watching Swami all the while He was talking about the performance of the boy in the examination and his mother’s ill health. Then He was just inquiring, “What did you have for the breakfast and lunch?”

Next Swami asked another boy, “How is Raman?”

The boy said, “My grandfather Raman.”

“Oh, your grandfather? I know. I did not say, ‘Who is Raman?’ I asked, ‘How is he?’ Did you follow My question?”

“Swami, Raman is my grandfather. He’s not well, Swami.”

“Don’t worry, I’ll give him prasad.”

My friends, this is an eye-opener for everybody. Swami was not simply engaging the attention of the students. It was not just the process of ‘killing time’.

Now here comes the punch-line. What did Swami say next?

“Sitting here, I watch everywhere.”

Secondly He said, “While conversing with you, I move about all over the world. I may be found sitting here, but I move everywhere. I may be talking to you, but I’ll be watching everybody.”

This is a profound statement that God alone can make. “I can go everywhere. I can see everywhere. Though I'm seated here, though I'm talking here, I'm everywhere.” This statement will give assurance to everyone of us that God will take care of everybody, that He is everywhere, and that Swami knows everything that is happening in our lives.

I Know Everything

Then Bhagavan started speaking of a few more instances. He called one gentleman. He's an employee in the University office. He appeared for the M. Phil examination. M. Phil is a requirement to enroll for the PhD program. If anyone wants to join the PhD program, he must do the M. Phil. first. This gentleman did his M. Phil. None of us knew it because, while doing his service, he also did the M. Phil. He never applied for casual leave even for one day. None of us knew.

Swami called him and said, “Oh, you did your M. Phil. very well. You got an ‘O’ grade, I know.”

This boy said, “Sir, I never told anybody that I was doing my M. Phil. or that I got the result yesterday, which was an 'O' grade. I never told anybody, yet Swami‘s telling me.”

Then I looked at Swami -- staring. He said, “Why do you look at Me like that? I'm not new. (Laughter) I should take care of your evil eye. Huh? Why do you watch Me like that?”

“Swami, I'm so happy to know that You know everything, that You’re everywhere. But at the same time, I'm also afraid of You.”

He said, “Why?”

“I don’t want You to know certain things I do. (Laughter) I don’t want You to hear certain words that I say. All that is good, You can hear and see (Laughter). But let there be some censure!”

He said, “No, no, no! I know everything.” Then Swami laughed and made this statement.

My friends, I'm telling you this only to reassure you, to reconfirm the Divinity of Bhagavan. It has to be reaffirmed. It has to be strengthened continuously. It is for this reason that I share this with you today.

Then Bhagavan said this statement: “Because I know everything, so many people are coming here.”

This is the second important statement. Being a teacher, I repeat things - so forgive me for this. The first statement was, “You may be finding Me here seated on the chair, but I see everywhere.”

And, “You may be watching Me talking with you, but I’ll be moving all the world over.” That is the first statement. The second statement is, “Because I know everything about everyone, people are rushing to this place.” This is the second beautiful statement that He made.

All Want To Be Here

Thirdly He asked, “Did you notice this morning the VIPs there on the veranda?”

If I had said, “Yes, I noticed,” I was afraid that He might point out, “Have you come to see Bhagavan or VIPs?” (Laughter)

If I had said, “No, I have not seen them,” He might say, “Did you keep your eyes closed?”

What am I to do? Then I found one convenient answer, “The VIP must have come after I left, Swami (Laughter), so I did not notice.”

Then Bhagavan said, “The President from Sri Lanka came this morning and yesterday. Her brother was here. He is to become President very soon.” Swami was saying this, “President from Sri Lanka, she and her brother - they’re all here.”

Further He said, “Very soon you’ll find the Prince of Kashmir, Sardar Karan Singh. He’ll be visiting here. Do you know Karan Singh?”

I said, “I know, Swami.”

“How do you know?”

That is the problem! (Laughter) If you say you know, then He says, “How do you know?” If you say you don’t know, then He says, “Don’t you know that much?” (Laughter) Sharp on both sides, it’s like talking on the razor’s edge. It’s not that simple!

“Ah Swami, I know!”

“How do you know?” “Ah-re, Karan Singh is known to everybody, Swami. He was the Minister for External Affairs for some time and Ambassador to the United States for some time.” Then, the most important point I'm yet to mention. “Then he addressed the International Cardiologist Conference here in Prashanti Nilayam. The International Conference of Cardiothorastic Surgeons Conference - heart specialists - was held here twice, and Karan Singh was Chief Guest once.”

“Uh-mm.”

Then He said, “He also addressed our Summer Classes; you do not know perhaps.”

“Yes, Swami, I know but I forgot. What can I do?”

Then this is important, the third important statement: “All want to be here. All VIPs, heads of governments, many, many people want to be here. But still I'm not giving them ample chances. I am not permitting them to be here. They’re all waiting… waiting for Swami’s permission.”

This statement I wanted to share with you, so that you will know the value of the chance given to us - how valuable it is to be with Him, how unique it is to listen to Him, to be spoken to - how blessed we are! It is for that reason that I wanted to bring these three important statements to your attention.

Our Boys Presented A Drama

Besides that, Bhagavan made another statement. Last Sunday our boys presented a drama there at the Institute in the college auditorium. Bhagavan wanted me to go and see that drama on the previous night, Saturday night. They were to present the drama on Sunday evening and I was to go there Saturday evening to have a preview and see how it was!

I went there, but because I had another appointment, I was rather late. I went there around 9:30 in the evening. I stayed there until 12 o’clock.

Sunday, last week, Swami came out and called a few boys over, “Did Anil Kumar come?”

“Yes, Swami, he came.”

“Did he watch the program?”

“Yes, Swami!”

“Did he make any comment?”

“No, no comment, Swami.”

“So, did he sleep? I asked him to go there and comment and give suggestions, not to sleep.” (Laughter)

Then He called me, “Did you go?”

“Yes, Swami.” “Have you given them any guidance?”

“They don’t need any guidance, Swami. They have done very well.”

“Oh-ho, I see. But you went very late, at 9:30. You came there at a time when the Vice-Chancellor also left. You saw their second rehearsal, right?”

“Swami.”

Now the cat is out of the bag! (Laughter) What am I to do?

“Yes, Swami.”

Then He called a few other boys over. “Hey, boy! You were playing the role of Hanuman.”

“Yes, Swami.”

“But where is your tail this morning? Your tail is missing!” (Laughter)

He called another boy, a well-built personality. He was to play the role of Hiranyakasipu, the demon-king.

“You exactly fit this role…fit into this role! (Laughter) Ah! Very good, very good personality.”

He called another boy who was to play the role of Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa. He is from Bengal and doing his MBA. He did his engineering - quite an interesting fellow. He’s a bit stout.

Swami said, “Paramahamsa of Dakshineswar Temple was very lean and thin, but this Paramahamsa of Sathya Sai Hostel is very stout, huh! (Laughter) The Hostel Paramahamsa is stout and fatty, whereas Paramahamsa of Bengal is thin!” Ah-re-re! Peals and peals of laughter!

There was one boy who was playing the role of Chaitanya Maha Prabhu, a great person of Indian culture and history, a great devotee. It was Chaitanya Maha Prabhu who first introduced nagarsankirtan - singing along the streets.

Swami looked at him, “Do you know the role of Chaitanya?”

“Swami, I know.”

“Do you know that he went singing along the streets the Name of God? "

“Yes, yes, Swami.”

“Oh. Are you going to sing there?”

“Yes, Swami.”

“You are not going to sing - only lip movement. (Laughter) There’s the voice of somebody else behind you.”

“Ah, yes, Swami!”

“Then why do you bluff like that?” (Laughter)

Then He said, “How many wives have you?”

The boy said, “Two.”

“Chi! You have two wives?”

“No! Chaitanya had two wives!”

“You are not married. Why do you say ‘two wives’?” (Laughter)

Because the earlier question was, “Have you known Chaitanya thoroughly?” he thought that he’s Chaitanya, and hence said that he has two wives! Poor fellow! Ha! He made everybody laugh.

Then Swami called another person and said, “You acted very nicely, but the dialogue delivery was not proper.”

He called another boy and said, “Oh, what was your role?”

He said, “Swami…”

“I know - you played the role of a teacher.”

“Yes, Swami.”

“What did you say?”

“Swami, this is my dialogue: ‘My boy, you serve your Motherland. Don’t go to foreign countries only to earn money.’”

“Good. You are a good teacher because you can teach and you don’t practice. Most teachers are like that.” (Laughter) That was His comment.

The Theme Of The Drama

The theme of the drama happened to be about a boy coming out of a village to a town in search of a job. The boy had to leave the village and go to a town in search of a job because the whole village was passing through a period of draught - no rains. Well, there he met his good old friend. In the town, an older boy was to go abroad the very same evening. So, village fellows move to cities… city fellows go abroad. That was the theme.

Suddenly, a professor comes and tells them, “This is not what you’re supposed to do. You should serve your people. You should serve your country. You should uplift the place where you were born.”

He goes on sermonising and ultimately the boy decides not to go abroad, and he settles there. This is a teaching of Bhagavan’s. They portrayed it very well.

There’s a background - a few episodes are also shown where Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa blesses Vivekananda and Vivekananda tells Sri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa, “No sir, please stop your philosophy. I don’t want your philosophy. I don’t want your devotion.”

Paramahamsa says, “Why?”

“Sir, how about my mother? How about my brother? How about my sister? They’re starving. You should help me. Your God comes next, help me.”

Then Paramahamsa smiled, full of compassion, “Look here, Naren!” Naren was the former name of Vivekananda. “Naren! Why do you feel so badly? There is Goddess Kali there in the temple. You go and ask Her. She’ll give you all that you want.”

“Sir, will she give?”

“Yes, you go and ask.”

This poor Naren goes there, climbing up the steps of the temple, and prays to Kali, “Mother, I want jnana, wisdom and vairagya, renunciation!” He returns.

Paramahamsa asks him, “Hey! What did you ask for?”

“Vairagya and jnana, renunciation and wisdom.”

“But how about your mother, brother and sister?”

“I forgot! Swami, seeing Mother, I asked these things, not those things.”

“No, no, don’t worry. Take a second chance and go.” (Laughter)

Again he goes to the temple, “Mother! I want jnana and vairagya, wisdom and renunciation,” and he returns. “Swami, I could not ask for food. I could not ask for comforts, I could not ask for conveniences. I asked the Goddess to grant me jnana and vairagya.” That’s what Vivekananda tells him. That is the secret of Divinity. In front of God, we fail to ask for the mundane, material, worldly objects. We go and ask for higher things.

That’s what had happened to that boy Dhruva. Dhruva was a young boy, and his stepmother didn’t allow him to sit on the lap of his father. Totally dejected, this boy went to the forest and did penance. God appeared and asked him, “Oh boy, what do you want?” He says, “Swami, I want liberation!”

“Ah-re, you fellow! You came here out of frustration. You wanted to sit on the lap of your father. But now you ask for liberation.”

“Swami, I forgot those things. Seeing You, I wanted higher things in life.”

The same thing happens with many, many of us. We take so many letters to give to Swami. By the time He passes by, right in front of us, we forget to give the letter. Why? That is it! That is the situation. When we get a chance to talk to Him there in the interview room, we forget to ask Him important questions, family matters. Why? No answer. It is because in front of Divinity, we are all elevated souls. We forget all the worldly things. We start asking so many things that we never planned to – things that we had not thought of earlier.

Then looking at these boys, Bhagavan finally said, “You thought Swami does not know. You thought that Swami would be seeing your drama this evening. No, boys. I saw your drama last night, from 10 to 11 o’clock. When you were rehearsing there, I saw the drama. I know everything. That’s why I could tell you your dialogues. That’s why I could correct your dialogues. I could also tell you about -- point out certain mistakes that you committed.” This also I wanted to share with you.

I Used To Coach Boys For their Job Interview

Then Swami started joking with everybody. “Ah-re, boys!” Because they’re young boys, you know! They are to become managers very soon - soon after they complete their studies. “Ah-re, boys, sometimes there in the job interview, some members ask you silly questions, very funny questions, that have nothing to do with your subject. But you should have common sense and general knowledge.” Many people have degrees, but they don’t have common sense. They have degrees and experience, but they fail in the interview because they have no common sense and general knowledge.

Then Bhagavan said, “You know, a long time ago, I used to coach boys on how to appear before an interview - how to answer.”

“Oh Swami, did You?”

“Yes!”

“When did this happen, Swami?”

“When I was there in Bangalore. I used to tell boys how to answer.”

Oh, I see. Then, it seems that there in one of the places, the question was this: The interview was held there on the second floor in the conference hall. One of the members asked this question, “Hey! How many steps did you climb up to reach this place? How many steps?” The fellow could not answer because who will count the steps? And he returned with a blank face to Swami.

Swami said, “Ah-re, what happened?”

“Swami, this was the question they asked me.”

“Answer is very easy,” Swami said.

“Swami, easy? I did not count the number of steps. How can the answer be so simple?”

“Yes! You could have told them, ‘I climbed up the same number of steps that it will take to get down.’ (Laughter) That is the correct answer. Oh! Everybody laughed.

It seems one fellow, one boy, could not get selected and he was returning with a long face, totally disappointed. He found Swami there.

“Swami!” he said and immediately fell at His Feet. Swami said, “Hey! Why are you so serious? You look very disappointed? What happened?”

“Swami, I was not selected.”

“Hmm. Don’t worry, I’ll give you a simple idea.”

“Ah, what is it?”

Swami said, “Did they pay you travel allowance?” People who are called for interview will be paid ‘TA’, travelling allotments, and ‘D’ also – their diet. “Did you receive money?”

“Yes, Swami. They paid travelling allotments.”

“Oh, did you spend it all?”

“No Swami, four rupees are still remaining with me. I spent only ten rupees. Four rupees are still with me.”

“Oh, I see. You just stand here. That director will pass through this way. You go and tell him, ‘Sri, you have paid me fourteen rupees. I spent ten. I'm waiting for you to return these four rupees.’ You tell him this and you’ll get the selection. (Laughter)

So this boy was waiting there. The director was just coming down and was about to go to his car. He said, “Get out! No job! Why do you wait and waste my time?”

“No sir, I don’t want any job.”

“Then why are you wasting my time?”

“I'm to return four rupees, sir. Out of the money that you have sent, I spent ten rupees. Four are remaining. I want to return it.”

“We want such people of nobility and character! (Laughter) We want people of such integrity! You are selected! Join now!” he said. (Laughter)

This is a good joke!

Swami said, “Some silly questions will be put to you. You should be in a position to answer. Here is a small inkbottle. Somebody may ask this question, ‘There is a snake here inside the inkbottle. How can it come out?’ An inkbottle you know, so small, with a narrow neck - there is a snake inside, how can it come out?”

“Swami, we have no answer.”

Swami said, “It will come out the same way it went in. (Laughter) It could go in. Then the same way it will come out! That is the answer you can give, no?”

Swami was joking with everybody like that.

Then we had some railway engines here in those days. They operate making use of charcoal, with so much smoke coming out of the chimney of the railway engine. And one question was like this, ‘A train is moving very fast. In which direction will the smoke move?’ “Ah-re! No, no, chi, chi! In a fast moving train, ‘The smoke will move backwards.’ A simple answer - can't you say that?”

That Swami was saying. Above your knowledge, more than your degrees, common sense and general knowledge are very, very essential. That’s what Bhagavan said.

Punjab Crowd

Then suddenly He started speaking of those things that had happened forty years ago. He asked one boy, “Ah-re! Where do you come from?”

“Swami, I'm from Punjab.” He’s a Sikh person.

“Oh, I see!”

Then I thought this is the right time to prolong the conversation. Our main aim is to keep Him there for some more time. (Laughter) That’s the main aim. It doesn’t matter even if we get one or two hot, hot comments from Bhagavan. It doesn’t matter after all. To keep Him there, that’s important. Then immediately I said, “Swami, have you visited Punjab any time?”

“Yes! I went there. I stayed there for fifteen days, you know?”

“Oh Swami, ah! Did you visit the Golden Temple at Amritsar?”

“Yes, yes, I went inside also.”

“Oh Swami! Were there meetings every evening?”

“Yes, every day Swami’s discourse.”

“Were there so many devotees in those days?”

“Why not? Right from my fourteenth year, crowds started moving here. Ever since I declared that I was Sai Baba, people have been attracted to this place. Even when I went to Punjab, oh! - so many crowds!”

“Oh, Swami! In what way is the Punjab crowd different from the Andhra crowd? A crowd is a crowd, after all!” (Laughter)

“No, no, no! With the Punjab crowd, all of the gent’s wear caps - Sikh people. (Laughter) And ladies there in Punjab, they cover their head with a veil - something like that. The extra sari cloth covers their faces. And on gent’s side, turbans are worn by all.”

“Oh, Swami, was it like that?”

“Yes, yes, yes!”

I Went To Delhi And Kurukshetra

Then Swami asked another boy, who was the interpreter of the whole drama enacted there, “Where do you come from?”

“Swami, I'm from Delhi.”

“Swami, did you go to Delhi?”

“Ah-re-re! A number of times I went!”

“Oh, I see.”

Then Swami told us, “You know, when I went to Delhi, I stayed at one place. It so happened that all of the cars of the devotees who came to see Bhagavan were all parked at one place and occupied three miles, so people could not get to their offices. After two or three days, all the offices in the area submitted a letter of prayer to Bhagavan: ‘Swami, we request You to shift from here. (Laughter) Because of three miles full of cars, how can we reach our offices?’” So, Bhagavan shifted from that place to another place in Delhi.

For more reminiscing of the past, I said, “Swami, is it the same Dwaraka of today as the Dwaraka of Krishna days?” Krishna is associated with a place by the name of Dwaraka. We have also a place Dwaraka now. “Are they same?”

Bhagavan said, “No. Dwaraka of Krishna days is in the sea. It is there, lying beneath the waters. It is not the same Dwaraka. It is only named so.”

Then I asked, “Swami, we have Kurukshetra. Is it the same as the past one?”

Swami said, “Kurukshetra is here also - you are fighting with each other. This is Kurukshetra! Kurukshetra is everywhere and there is Kurukshetra in every family also. Husband and wife are arguing with each other - Kurukshetra!” Then He said, “I went to Kurukshetra also, the actual place where it is today.” And Bhagavan said, “Guzalal Lamba was the Prime Minister then. He was the Prime Minister for a short period.” At that time Bhagavan visited Kurukshetra.

He told us, “See, the path was so narrow, with huge crowds everywhere. I could not go to the dais.”

“Swami, what happened?”

“All the Sikh people just lifted My car up to the dais, so I had to open the door there on the dais, Anil Kumar! (Laughter) Such huge crowds gathered there.”

Then He said, “I'm a magnet. All are drawn towards Me.” That’s what Swami said.

Ten Points To Observe To Be Healthy And Happy

I really wanted to share with you these things before I pass on to the topic of the day, which happens to be ‘Health and Happiness’. Both are important. They go together. A healthy man is happy and a happy man is healthy. You cannot say, “I'm very healthy and unhappy.” Impossible. They go together. There are about ten points to observe and to practice to be healthy and happy.

First Point: You are As Young AS You Think You Are

The first point: You are as young as you think you are. Many people think that, “Well, I am old. I finished my job. The children are settled and all of them are married. They are quite fine. I'm aged, I'm advanced, I'm old.” That is a horrible psychology! No! You are as young as you think you are.

Bhagavan gave a number of examples. Bheeshma served as the Major General, Chief of the Army, at the age of 112! Now, you can imagine! Bhagavan was telling recently, “At this age, look at Me, how I am! I can see any distant object. I can hear anybody - the smallest, slightest whisper will reach Me. See! And My teeth are very powerful.”

Age is no bar. Age is no bar, so one should never feel that he is aged, or advanced, old - nothing like that! It is all mental makeup. You do not grow old until you think you are so. The worst thing that could happen is to entertain a thought that you are aging. The mind determines the age. There are many, many people who are very sharp, though they are very old physically.

Here are some fellows at the age of 25 - they cannot get up, they cannot sit properly. They cannot stand straight and their memory is poor. Who is old and who is young now? Morarji Desai served as the Prime Minister when he was a little over 90 or so! So age is nothing but a state of the mind. It is not the physical frame that matters. So, let us ‘think young’.

By ‘young’ I mean not merely physical youth, or anything like plastic surgery that many of the film actors undergo to look younger. I don’t mean that. Nor to apply cosmetics, no, it’s not that. ‘Young’ means being receptive. We are prepared to learn, to improve, and to accept. We keep abreast of times. Ready to learn, ready to receive, and prepared to improve. This receptivity, this sensitivity, will make everybody look young.

Such people not only look young, they also are young in spirit. That dynamism, activity, alertness, readiness, preparedness - these are all the qualities of a ‘young’ person, not their date of birth. This is the first requirement to feel young - alertness - to be healthy and happy.

Second Point: Take Care Of Your Mental Condition

The second point: Take care of your mental condition. What do I mean by that? These are all points gathered from Bhagavan’s talks. In the past, the second day of Dasara was observed as the ‘Hospital Day.’ All the doctors used to come in a procession in those days. Bhagavan spoke on health, medicine, and other topics. For your information, the points I am giving here are taken from those discourses.

Take care of your mental condition. What do I mean by ‘mental condition’? Your thoughts should be happiest and healthiest. What do I mean by happy thoughts? Think of those days when you were very happy. Think of those days when you are the recipient of Bhagavan’s Grace in abundance. Think of happy moments. Think of providence.

Let us not think of those moments when we were unhappy. Let us not think of those moments when we were miserable. No! If you take account…take stock of our life, we enjoy more than we suffer. The days of ill health were few, and the healthy days were many. But we think of the days when we were hospitalised. “In the year 1953 when I was in the hospital…”

“Ah-re! This is 2002! Why do you think of 1953?! Chi! Why do you go back to the hospital and take me along with you? (Laughter) Please keep quiet! “

So, let us not think of those days when we were hospitalised, when we were running into debts or difficulties, no! God has blessed every one of us with a long period of happiness. So, think of those days. By God's blessings, we have a healthy body - we are not handicapped.

The Price Of This Body

The price of this body is equal to its weight in gold. Just take gold on one pan and you sit on the other. The price is as much as you would pay in gold on the other side. The body is so costly, so precious - your weight equal to its price in gold! We do not understand the price of this. Just for a health check-up, 250 rupees. Just a check-up – the doctor will touch you, that’s all. Just for his touch, 250 rupees. And for check up and tests, I do not know. It depends upon the hospital. If there is something that has to be treated, which requires hospitalisation - I do not know whether a cure is guaranteed or not. But, the bill is guaranteed. (Laughter)

So we do not know, but we are very healthy. No doctor wants to practice on a Sai devotee because Sai devotees are always healthy. They don’t get money from us, no! We have the most powerful antibiotic, vibhutthi. (Laughter) So we are not so friendly with doctors. We don’t have to pay bills.

Entertain Healthy And Happy Thoughts

So ‘healthy thoughts’ means -- remember the moments of joy, the moments of happiness, how Bhagavan blessed our families, our children and grandchildren. Have healthy thoughts that everybody will be prosperous. “Let everybody advance in their life. Let everybody be happy.” That is a healthy thought.

‘I should be happy, but the neighbour should be hospitalised!’ This is a very unhealthy thought. ‘I should get an interview, but Swami should not look at the face of the other man.’ This is a very dirty thought! So we should not have dirty thoughts. We should not have negative thoughts.

We should entertain healthy and happy thoughts. By happy thoughts I mean thinking about precious moments. God has given us enough money to live. God has given us enough health to serve Him. God has given us enough joy to live happily in this life. So, entertain healthy and happy thoughts.

Unity Of Thought, Word And Deed

Next, as Bhagavan puts it: “The proper study of mankind is Man”. The unity of thought, word and deed ensures health and happiness, ensures mental balance, equanimity, tranquility, and equal-mindedness -- the harmony of thought, word and deed.

We say to many people, “So happy to see you.” But within, we are very unhappy to see them! (Laughter) We also say, “See you later.” But, we don’t want to see him for the rest of our lifetime! (Laughter) We say, “Congratulations on your promotion!” But we are very jealous. ‘Why did he get the promotion? Why wasn’t I promoted before he got his promotion?’ So all that we say is utter nonsense. In the name of etiquette, in the name of manners, in the name of courtesy, we say such things, but we don’t mean it. Why?

Sometimes we also act in front of Swami. I won’t give someone else’s example. I will give my own example! When I was there in Brindavan, I came to know that Swami was to visit the College. So, what to do? People are busy in their own way. Well, I wanted to be busy in my own way. I couldn’t find any other work to do because people were already assigned all the jobs.

So having found nothing to do, I just simply lifted a pot from one place to another place, which actually was not necessary. (Laughter) I was just lifting a pot, while watching Swami’s car as it came. He stopped the car there. While all the students and staff were receiving Him there, He said loudly, “See how nicely he’s acting there!” (Laughter) In fact it is action only. But I failed because Swami knew the whole drama.

The point is that there’s no harmony in thought, word and deed. What we do in spirit, what we really mean, what we say, well, they’re at variance. They’re divergent. Our mental condition is not in equanimity. It’s not healthy. That’s why we don’t find any joy…any smile on our face.

Then, there’s one doctor, Slinder. He said, “Thoughts of pure joy for ten minutes every day keep you healthy.” What made the doctor say that? It only means that we don’t have healthy thoughts for even ten minutes in a day. Not even for ten minutes. Why? The mind is competitive. The mind is comparative. The mind is dual. The mind wants to achieve. The mind wants to accomplish. The mind wants to be special. The mind wants you to be unique. The mind wants to struggle. The mind is always restless.

Therefore, there is every reason to be happy, but I'm not happy now. Why? I think that you are happier than me. So, I am unhappy because of this mind. The mind does not live in the present. The mind thinks of the past or of the future. The mind never lives in the present. It is the mind that is the biggest barrier.

Even the proper understanding of the mind studied for years would not help us to overcome the obstacle of the mind, the barrier of the human mind, the ‘iron curtain’ of the human mind - behind which is present the very bliss, God Himself. So, for ten minutes at least each day, have healthy and happy thoughts. Happiest thoughts and healthiest thoughts will keep us very healthy, according to this doctor.

Third Point: Make The Right Choice

The third point in being healthy and happy is this: Make the right choice at every step and round of life. Right choice? What is this? Sometimes we have to decide: Well, shall I go to bhajan or to a movie? Shall I go to Sunday club or do a service activity? Shall I go to Puttaparthi or weekends in Miami Beach, or go to Hollywood? Where shall I go? Choice. Every time we come across this choice: to be or not to be. Yes. Where shall I go? Shall I go to Disneyland this weekend or shall I go to the Sai Centre? Yes, you’re always at a crossroads. The success depends upon the right choice at every step.

Sometimes some decide to settle here in Puttaparthi. But after six months, “Was it a wise decision?” Question mark. Some people decide to go back. There they think, “Was it a wise decision to return? I should have stayed there.” Those that have settled here think, “I should have returned.” Those that have returned think, “I should have settled there.” Where are they? In-between - neither here nor there. So, make the right choice at every moment.

Sometimes the choice may be questionable. Sometimes we may not be convinced of our own choice. Sometimes our friends and relatives may say, “Yours is a wrong choice.” There may be bitter opposition whenever you make a right choice. There will be bitter opposition whenever you take a right decision. If you say, “Let us all go to a movie.” Abaa! It’ll be unanimous; there will be unity.

But, “Let us go to do service activity.”

“Next week we can go. Why this week?”

So, there will be no unanimity when good choices, good preferences, right decisions are taken. Therefore, we should not be mindful of the comments of others. The family members may say that yours is not a right choice. The children may say, “It is a wrong decision.” Don’t be bothered about it. This is the right choice. Because most of the people, the devotees then and now, have gone on record saying that they had to leave everybody in preference to their stay with God. They had to leave everybody. Others may think it is a wrong choice, a wrong decision. But for him, it is a perfect decision. So health and happiness depend upon making the right choice.

The Bhagavad Githa speaks of two paths: one is shreyas, the other is preyas. Now which of the two, one has to make a choice. The preyas is the path of pleasures, worldly pleasures. The path is slippery. We may slip at any moment and our destiny is doomed - destiny is hell. Whereas, on the other hand, shreyas is the other path, which is steep, thorny, stony, rough and tough. But at the same time, this path will take you to the highest goal in life - proximity to God, the highest state of bliss. When there is a choice between shreyas and preyas, one should have all the courage to choose the shreyas, which is spiritual, and not the preyas, which is physical and worldly.

Fourth Point: Grow In The Spirit Of Forgiveness

The fourth point: Grow in the spirit of forgiveness. “Forgive our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us,” is the Lord’s Prayer. We want Bhagavan to forgive us, but we don’t forgive anybody. So in order to deserve this forgiveness, you should be in a position to forgive those who are against you. Forgive, yes!

My friends, I think all of you agree with me - Had this Himalayan character-trait of Bhagavan for forgiveness not been there, none of us would have been here! God forgives. He gives and forgives. Why?

Many times when we are sad, “Bhagavan, excuse me. Swami, pardon me for all my lapses, for all my weaknesses. I must have been a victim to several of the lapses. I don’t deserve Your Grace. Pardon me.” Whenever we say that, Swami will immediately say, “Don’t worry, my child. Past is past. Be good from now on.” A million times it happens because forgiveness is Divinity. The Divine is always forgiving. So we should cultivate that habit of forgiving people. When? Forgive before they ask for forgiveness because it speaks of your readiness to forgive.

This act of forgiving should be total and complete. “I forgive you today. Tomorrow I shall think of you.” But, “I forgive you provided…” No! No ‘provided’, no ‘ifs’ and ‘buts’! The forgiveness should be total and complete. Particularly when there is anything wrong, it should be totally forgotten.

“Last month you have pushed me out of darshan line, so this month I'm ready to push you out of Prashanti Nilayam.” (Laughter) Ah-ha! I should pay you back with compounded interest. “Last year you used certain highly objectionable words. Throughout this year, I have been writing what words I should use when I meet you next.”

Chi, chi! That should not be the situation. Anything wrong should be forgotten immediately. Why? For your own health. Why should I pollute my mind? Why should I make my mind negative? Why should I make my mind dirty? All right, if you are bad, it’s all right. If anyone is bad to you, to win over him, you should be much worse than that man. He’s already bad. If you want to win over him, you should be much worse than him. So, never think of bad, never think of anything that is wrong. It should be totally forgotten. That’s what is meant by ‘grow in the spirit of forgiveness’.

Don’t Hold Grudges And Do Not Judge

Then grudges - We hold some grudges against some people. Suddenly we feel like putting on a long face. No, no! “I don’t want to smile, no! I know, I know what you did back then.” This grudge is…you can call it a disease, 'grudge-itis', something like 'nephritis' or 'bronchitis' or 'arthritis' – ‘grudgitis’. (Laughter) For arthritis there is some medicine; for nephritis there is some medicine; for spondylitis there is a cure. But 'grudgitis' is incurable; death is the only cure. So, let us not hold any grudge because a grudge is an additional load on our head, additional luggage on our head - very painful to carry. After all, why should I hold a grudge with you? No!

Don’t hold grudges and do not judge. Let’s not judge people. “He’s a great devotee,” you say. How do you know? Have you got any weighing machine or thermometer or blood pressure device? How do you know? “He’s a non-devotee.” How do you know he’s a non-devotee? How can you say you’re a devotee? Let’s not say he’s a bad person. How do you know? You may be equally bad.

By calling him bad, it does not mean that you’re good, no. It’s a weak psychology. What is this psychological weakness? By branding everybody as ‘bad’, he thinks that he is good. Impossible! So let’s not judge people by saying, “Because that very bad person…” How can you say that he’s bad unless there is something bad in you? You cannot say that he’s bad. Bhagavan puts it as ‘reflection of the inner being.’

“He’s a crooked man.” How do you know he’s crooked? You’re equally crooked inside. You don’t have the chance to come out of your beautiful character and manifest or exhibit the crookedness that is lying latent within. Therefore he’s crooked. By next year, 2003, you may be equally crooked. So those bad qualities that we find in others, they are within us. Therefore, we should not judge anybody. Don’t hold grudges and never judge. So this is the fourth feature to be healthy and happy.

Fifth Point: Practise Daily Silence

Fifth point: Practice daily silence. Practice silence every day. One doctor, Dr. Debour Bright said, “Be particular about PQT.” IQ means ‘intelligence quotient’. PQT is like that. What is PQT? Personal Quiet Time, which means the time when you prefer to observe silence, when you want to be silent - personal quiet time, PQT. Dr. Bright said that you should practice PQT twice a day for twenty minutes. If you practice PQT, personal quiet time, he said you can master all your stress and tension.

Today many people fall sick because of stress and tension - tension for reasons unknown, tension on silly grounds, stress for nothing. Stress and tension are of our own making. There’s no reason in fact, to be stressful. There’s no reason to be tense. We don’t have to be. Release all the tension. Release all the stress. How is it possible?

Say, “‘Sai Ram”. There will be no stress. There will be no tension. Sing Sai bhajans loudly. There will be no stress. There will be no tension. Sometimes it may not be possible to meditate when you have so much tension there in your office - so many papers to keep tending and the boss will be visiting. One cannot sit in meditation peacefully. Come on, then sing bhajans! It will relieve - like gas released out of a cylinder - all the stress and strain. All tensions can be released by singing Sai bhajans.

“Sir, I have no time to sing.” Don’t bother. As you drive to your office in your car, put on the cassette, yes! You can listen to bhajans on the cassette when you drive to your office. That is releasing stress and tension. So this is another point.

Sixth Point: Vitamin W - Water And Walking

Point six: Vitamin W is prescribed in order to be healthy and happy. What is this Vitamin W? We’ve heard of vitamin K, vitamin B, and vitamin C, D, E. This is vitamin W. What is it? Water and walking! These two are very essential parts of being healthy and happy.

Daily, drink eight to ten glasses of water. Eight to ten glasses of water will flush out toxins in our body. There are so many toxins in our body. The more water we take, the more we flush out all these toxins. So water is a must.

Then, walking – daily take brisk walks: Swami said there in Kodaikanal, “But for the crowds I feel like walking round this lake of six kilometres at least ten times. I can walk! But the crowds will run after Me. There’s no space for Me to go! I want to run. I want to go on long walks. I used to go on walks for long distances.” That’s what Bhagavan said.

Walking will certainly make everybody quite active. A daily walk is necessary because it reduces the heart rate, reduces blood pressure and it also reduces sugar content. Walking is very necessary.

Combined with God's Name as we walk, it will be doubly beneficial. We can say ‘Sai Ram.’ We can say ‘Hare Ram’ or any of God's Names as we walk. You’ll get more interest! By walking, you get 50% interest. Combine it with God's Name -100% interest. Why? Because you don’t have to sit separately, no! You can sing His Name, you can walk and chant His Name.

But unfortunately, we don’t go for walks alone. We’ll be in crowds again. We’ll have a number of people behind us. We can't help it, what to do? Even there we are not alone. Even there we don’t have time to repeat His Name. So walking and chanting go together - well, it is doubly beneficial.

Seventh Point: Take Care Of Your Diet

Point seven: Take care of your diet. As you land in any foreign country, there will be an immigration officer who will check your papers and permit you to enter that country. Am I not right? The Immigration officer should permit you to enter into that country only after checking your documents.

Similarly, there should be immigration officer there in front of our mouth, saying which type of food should be permitted inside and which type of food should not be permitted! The immigration officer checks the documents of our daily food - the different items, what is to be taken, what is not to be taken. That’s very important. We have to take sathwic food. We had a lengthy discussion at one earlier Sunday session on sathwic food, to which you can refer.

Overeating and wrong eating cause diseases. Swami says to boys in a jovial way, “Loading and unloading; loading and unloading! Life is nothing but loading and unloading.” We go on behaving in this way. That’s why this is the situation today. So we should have a kind of control on this eating.

Eighth Point: Learn To Laugh

Then comes the eighth point: Learn to laugh. Learn to laugh, more so at oneself. We cannot laugh at others. Laughing at others is cheap. Laughing at others is horrible. Laughing at others is terrible. Laughing at others is unwanted. When you laugh at others, it may also put us in danger. Because Draupadi laughed at Duryodhana, it led to the Kurukshetra War. So, let us not laugh at others.

Let everyone laugh at one’s own self, one’s own weaknesses, one’s own lapses, one’s own idiosyncrasies, and one’s own vagaries. So laugh...learn to laugh. People don’t even know how to laugh. They laugh 50%. Total silence plus seriousness, they think this is a sign of spirituality.

I'm very fond of repeating this statement, my friends! Laughter is a sign of a spiritual man. Seriousness is a sign of a sick person. A sick person is serious, while a religious, spiritual man is always after fun, frolic, humour and heartfelt laughter. We should laugh. Do you find Swami with a serious face? When Swami starts walking with a serious face, I'm sure all of Kulwant Hall will be empty. We can’t bear His seriousness. What a nice smile Swami has!

We should be able to smile when we meet our friends. We should have hearty laughter when we meet each other. This is sign of being healthy and happy. And, we should laugh at our own self. We should like humour - entertaining positive emotions.

When I have positive emotions and try to laugh, my chemistry will change. The body chemistry will change because of humour and laughter. You can consult any psychiatrist. You can consult any psychologist. They all agree on this fundamental point. We have all the comforts; we have a nice bank account; we have a position. Yet we are unhappy and unhealthy. Why? We don’t know how to laugh. We don’t have time for humour. We don’t have time for fun. That’s why, even with all the wealth, we are still sick. To be healthy and happy, learn to laugh. Healthy laughter is a physical, mental and spiritual tonic.

Ninth Point: Practise Brahmacharya

Now comes point nine: Practise brahmacharya. Brahmacharya does not mean the life of a celibate or the life of an unmarried person. Brahmacharya means walking with God. Charya – movement, and. Brahma - God. Moving with God, thinking of God, walking with God is brahmacharya. When we walk with God on the path of purity and prayer, it ensures happiness and health.

Tenth Point: Help Others

Tenth point: Help others to be healthy and happy. We should not merely receive help from others. Giving help to others is more important. You must have heard about the life of Rockefeller, the richest man from the United States. Unfortunately he fell sick at the age of 53. Then he started distributing his wealth to all kinds of charitable trusts. He started distributing his wealth for educational institutions, for hospitals. He went on disturbing his wealth for so many purposes. You know, he lived up to the age of 98! What is the secret behind his long life? Doing charity and helping others. If there is only vanity without charity, you’ll have a short lifespan. Vanity leads to a short life, while charity gives a long life.

So my friends, this is the ten-point formula to be healthy and happy. May Bhagavan help all of us to have these ten required qualities.

Thank you, Sai Ram!

Om Asato Maa Sad Gamaya
Tamaso Maa Jyotir Gamaya
Mrtyormaa Amrtam Gamaya

Om Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu
Loka Samastha Sukhino Bhavantu

Om Shanti Shanti Shanti

Thank you very much!

Sai Ram!
 

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