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Anil Kumar's Sunday Satsang at
Prasanthi Nilayam
February 2, 2003
The Sunday Talk Given by Anil Kumar
“Educare”
February 2nd, 2003
OM… OM… OM…
Sai Ram
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Educare needs More In-depth Study
Today I have a special request from some members of our
organisation. They want me to speak on the subject of Educare.
The name ‘Educare’ was given to this special program that has now
been implemented by all the units of the Sathya Sai Organisation
around the world. It has been talked about a lot. Actually though,
it has been implemented in such a way that has caused most of us
confusion. (Laughter) So many things have been included in it that
we have emptied our heads.
The procedure for its implementation has not been properly
defined. So, Educare needs more in-depth study. We need to learn
about it at the basic and fundamental level in order to make
implementation easier than it has been thus far.
In addition, there are also some units that have introduced:
Agricare, Social Care and Medicare, ultimately leading to “Don’t
Care.” (Laughter) It should not be a laughing matter at all. We
need to know certain important points relating to this subject of
Educare.
What is Life?
My friends, before I say anything further about it, let’s
understand life in general. What is life? Life is beyond
definition. Life is beyond comprehension. Life is beyond estimate;
it has no parameters. Life is an experience. Life should be lived
-- it cannot be defined. It should not be explained.
In the inexplicable nature of life lies the very mystery of life.
As soon as we try to define it, our understanding of it becomes
dull and stale. Simply put, if life does not come under the
scrutiny and imagination of our mind, then it is more interesting.
It’s all the more interesting. But in this line we have ‘missed
the bus’.
I’m sure you’ll agree with me when I say that, though we lead our
lives, we have not known life at all. I lead my life, but I don’t
live my life. Leading life is different from living life. One
lives life in full experience and awareness of it. Leading a life
is just waiting for death, that’s all.
Life is a Gift, Not a Right
The first and foremost thing I want
to bring to your attention is that life is a gift and not a right.
Life is not a right. Life is a gift. What is the difference
between a right and a gift?
A right carries with it responsibility. A right allows us certain
privileges. With every right, we can request an appeal if it is
denied. With every right, we can complain if it is refused. Our
rights can be questioned and they can be demanded; but life is not
a right.
Life is a gift. We have no choice about our gifts. We can’t have
any preference regarding our gifts. Gifts are just given. They are
unsolicited and unasked for, and very often they are undeserved.
Even so, this human life has been gifted to us, though most of us
are undeserving.
Why are we undeserving? We have made life routine, mechanical and
boring. We are responsible for the misuse of this most valuable
and precious gift of human life. Not only do we misuse this life,
but we also have a number of complaints about it.
We say, “I am not earning the salary that I deserve.”
We say, “My house is smaller than the one I really wanted to
have.”
We have so many complaints about life. We always focus on the
inconveniences, discomforts and grievances. We have lost sight of
the very beauty of life. We have forgotten the grandeur and
dignity of life. We have forgotten the preciousness of life
because we calculate life in terms of coins, in terms of cash, in
terms of trash and dust and mean, low aims and objectives.
Life Is Precious
But life is much more! The sense of touch, the sense of sight, the
sense of hearing -- these are not ordinary things. God has given
us the ability to see rainbows, beautiful flowers and butterflies.
God has given us the gift of sight to see mountain ranges like the
Himalayas, and rivers that flow incessantly. God has given us
vision to see the beauty of nature.
Alas, however, we have lost sight of our sight. We are totally
blind to the beauty of nature, and therefore our lives have become
burdensome. Our lives have become painful because our sight is not
properly used.
Life is precious. We are also gifted with the auditory capability
to hear the beautiful sounds of music and hummingbirds. We have
the capacity to hear the music and melody of life, but we have
denied ourselves the beautiful gift of listening. We have also
denied ourselves the beautiful gift of the sense of touch.
Therefore, we find life boring, painful and strenuous. Life
becomes routine because we have not realised the value of life. We
have realised the value of people and things, but we have not
realised the value of this precious life.
The First Objective of Life
Therefore my friends, the first objective of life is the study of
life, so that we may live life in a proper manner. Then life will
be joyful. Life will be a blessing and a benediction. We should
rejoice at life, but we don’t. Why not? Our interests are quite
different from the very objective of life.
When the plantain tree wants to offer us the plantain fruit, we
want to be satisfied with the plantain leaves and peelings of the
fruit, but not the fruit itself. When the coconut tree is there
offering us coconut water, we are satisfied with the shell and
fibre of the coconut, but lost is the very charm of the water
within.
So, all of us who are fierce believers in God, who are supposed to
tread along the spiritual path -- those who want to enjoy the
Creator, let us understand the beauty of His creation. If we don’t
care about the creation, it’s impossible to know the Creator.
Creation is a step. Creation is the ground floor. Creation is the
flooring and the Creator is the roof. Without the floor, we won’t
have anywhere to stand to see the roof.
The Creator is the very Being, while creation is a reflection. The
reflection should not be dishonoured nor disrespected. Creator and
creation are one and the same. But, if we ignore the Creator and
focus on the creation, it only means that we want the mirror image
and not the object. If we think of the Creator and neglect
creation, then it means we have missed the very expression, the
very manifestation of the Creator.
Life is Consciousness
Therefore, a perfect understanding of life is most necessary. But
we estimate life in terms of character; but life is not based
merely on character. Some of you might object when I say that.
It’s not that I underestimate character. However, the basis of our
character has been created in the past. Character is limited and
character binds us. Character makes demands of us. Life cannot be
viewed or judged in terms of character. Life is consciousness and
not character.
Life is consciousness and not character because character might
change from time-to-time. Consciousness is eternal, immortal,
nectarine, evergreen, fresh, vibrant, and radiant. Understanding
life as consciousness will elevate our souls to sublime heights.
When we realise that life is consciousness, then we will know
spontaneity. If life is merely about character, it becomes routine
and based on the dead past. But when you understand life is
consciousness, then you will understand that it is spontaneous.
Spontaneity of life helps you experience the essential man within.
Educare is Consciousness
So too, we should understand that Educare is consciousness and
therefore it is spontaneous and creative. Educare helps us
understand the real value of life – it is not just merely living.
My friends, we need to view life as a gift. We can better
comprehend this gift by adopting Educare. Unfortunately, the very
beauty of Educare is being ignored. We have gotten into the
routine of covering the syllabus, lesson plan and units, but we
have overlooked the beauty.
When the flower is right in front of us, we don’t appreciate its
beauty. We cut off the petals and the sepals, and we dissect and
display it until all we find is ugliness. I am not here to deform
the flower. I want to inform you of the beauty of the flower. To
be informed of the beauty is Educare. To deform the flower is
education.
Education is deformed, Educare is uniform
How does it become deformed? All of creation is divided into
fragments, bits and pieces: energy, matter, sound, magnetism,
heat, plant sciences, and animal sciences. Why do we deform
creation like that -- like amputating hands and legs from a body?
It’s due to education, specialisation and super specialisation.
What deforms nature is education. What makes it uniform is
Educare. The harmony of life, the beauty, synthesis and orchestra
of life is Educare. When one instrument is played out of tune, we
boycott the entire orchestra because all instruments should play
beautiful music in perfect harmony. Therefore Educare is like an
orchestra. Educare is synthesis and perfect harmony. Let us
understand the beauty of this experiment that Bhagavan has
recently introduced under the name Educare and given to the Sri
Sathya Sai Organisation.
Education Chains Us, while Educare Releases Us
Educare will help release us from bondage. Education chains us,
while Educare releases us. Why does education chain us?
I’ll give you an example. A fellow says, “I am an educated man,”
which is egotistical.
“I have a PhD.” That makes him doubly egotistical. (Laughter)
“I am an intellectual,” which is aggrandisement.
“I am a man of knowledge,” which is just rubbish. (Laughter)
Educare is not a collection of facts. Educare is not intellectual
knowledge. Educare is not reading a large number of books,
ultimately leading to total confusion or madness. Educare is a
message, a calling, an inner voice from within. It is not external
information.
Education is merely transmission of external information, while
Educare is the inner voice of transformation. Educare has nothing
to do with the past, nothing to do with books, and nothing to do
with teachers. Teachers educate us with the help of a whip and a
cane. Educare does not require a whip or a cane. Education has
schedules and timetables. The children and teachers have to wait
for the bell to ring before they can go home. But Educare is not
like that. It does not have a schedule or a syllabus. It is not
time-bound. It is continuous. It goes on, on and on.
Our education ends at some point. When we obtain a PhD or a
Master’s degree, our education ends and then we start employment.
But Educare is not like that. It is a continuous process. It is a
continuous process from the womb to the tomb, from birth to death.
It is like the pendulum that oscillates until it stops or like the
heart beat.
Education makes us pompous and leads us to publicity, vanity and
advertisement, while Educare takes us to simplicity. Education
seeks publicity; Educare seeks simplicity. Education creates
arrogance; Educare creates humility. Understand clearly the vast
difference between education and Educare.
We have enough Education
Bhagavan has introduced Educare because we have enough education
–more than required. (Laughter) We have gotten an education, but
have no solution to life. We have an education, but we have cut
off our association with the common man. Very rarely do we find an
educated man talking with others because he thinks he is on a
higher pedestal. The educated man thinks he cannot be understood.
We’d better not go anywhere near him because he’s already mad!
(Laughter)
The person who is understood by everyone has acquired Educare. The
person who is not understood by anyone is a man of education.
(Laughter) We need to understand that amicability, sympathy,
empathy and friendliness are features of Educare. A person who
distances and separates himself from the rest and imagines he is
unique is the product of education.
Now that we understand where we are, it’s time to revamp and
revitalise. It’s time to reassess our education and recognize it
is nothing. As long as I think that I am something, I am nothing.
When I realise I am nothing, I have everything because Baba has
said that nothing is everything and everything is nothing. Please
understand this.
Education is nothing because it is so vast that we can never
finish. But just a small awareness of Educare, a tiny experience
of Educare, is enough. If I read one book, it is not everything,
but if I taste a drop of the ocean, it amounts to tasting the
whole ocean. Am I right? A drop of seawater gives me the taste of
all seawater. That’s Educare. If I read one book, I will have to
read a hundred more. That is education. I think you understand.
Educare is not an Achievement
Education may give you the essence of knowledge and the essence of
information, but Educare is not essence -- it is existence.
Educare is existence, while education is the essence.
Education will make you think that life is about achievements.
That’s the reason why parents want to attend the graduation
ceremony of their children. Adults are enthusiastic about the
convocation. People look forward to awards and are very excited to
receive degrees because education is an achievement. Education is
an achievement, yes. A person who had no learning at all acquired
a Bachelor’s degree, a Post-Graduate degree and a Doctorate
degree. Yes, he’s a man of achievement. Education will make you
feel that you have achieved something. In other words, education
is an achievement. But Educare is not an achievement. Please,
understand this.
When any member of the organisation says, “We have achieved the
targets of Educare,” it means that he has not understood the
spelling of Educare because Educare is not an achievement.
Educare is Realisation
Educare is what you already are. You are not going to be something
-- you already are. You already are what you need to be. You
already are what you are. You are Divine. You are the Embodiment
of Truth. You are the Embodiment of Love. You’re not going to be,
you already are. That is Educare.
To get a degree and attend a graduation ceremony, you have to do
many things that you have never done before. This is education.
But Educare is realisation. It is not an achievement.
How Do We Acquire Educare
Then, how do we acquire Educare? For education, we have teachers,
schools, colleges and universities. How about Educare? How do we
acquire Educare? Where is it? For education, there is Oxford
University, Harvard University, Yale University. But for Educare,
it is not the university that is important; it is the universe.
Educare lessons are learned from the universe, while educational
lessons are learned from a university.
Education is taught by a teacher who receives a salary, who
invests some time and who occasionally wants a vacation. The
teacher sits outside you, in the classroom, to teach you.
But the lessons of Educare are taught by the Divine Master within
you. Bhagavan Baba is a Divine Master who does not simply transmit
information. He does not simply pass on knowledge. No, He
manifests within you. How?
You can certainly assess the ability of a teacher. How thoroughly
does he know the material? What are his credentials? Does he
convey the latest information or is he teaching from his
forty-year-old student notebook? The Divine Master is not that
type of teacher.
The Divine Master is Within
The outer or classroom teacher speaks to you in words. When the
bell rings, he enters the classroom and starts to lecture, whether
you’re there or not, whether you are awake or in a deep sleep. The
teacher’s business is to lecture, but Educare is not like that.
Whether you are awake or asleep, whether you’re conscious,
subconscious or unconscious, the Divine Master in you is on the
job. He’s on His toes. The Divine Master is within you, and His
communication is not by words, books or notes. Nor does He give
examinations for a rank or grade.
The Divine Master brings you awareness. When the teacher teaches,
you are informed. But when the Divine Master within is in contact
with you, you get excitement. You feel the thrill of it. You feel
energised, electrified, gratified, satisfied and blissful. You
feel a benediction and a blessing. I don’t think any teacher’s
lesson is a blessing, no. A lesson by a teacher is excellent for
examination purposes – that is education. But Educare is not for
an examination. It is for Self-revelation. The teaching of the
Divine Master is a Self-revelation. That is Educare.
How do we Contact that Divine Master?
How do we contact that Divine Master? How do we contact the Inner
Voice? How do we listen to that Educare?
For education, we have charts, we have computers and PowerPoint
presentation slides – more for the powerless man. (Laughter) All
these things we have for education, but what about Educare?
My friends, here is an example: When you dig a well, you will come
across big stones and boulders. You will dig up lots of sand and
pebbles, but you should not stop. Go deeper and deeper. Dig deeper
and deeper until you reach fresh pure spring water.
So, when the pride of education -- the pebble, is removed and when
the ego of education -- the boulder, is removed and when all the
dirty sand and stones are totally removed, there underneath lies
the pure, sweet, spring water -- Educare.
Educare, the spring water, is within. It is not pumped from
outside. The digging is done within me, not outside. Educare
cannot be found in a laboratory or a library. It is within. In
other words, Educare is learned best by the path of Self-inquiry.
If you attend Educare classes between 6 – 7 PM every Sunday, then
you have made Educare into education again. It should not be so.
But by the path of inquiry, you can experience it.
When you need nothing, it is Educare
So, what is the one sentence approach to Educare? In one sentence,
when you need nothing, it is Educare. When you need something, it
is education. When you need nothing, you receive the benefits of
Educare, which means you have no desires, no wants.
When desires, wants and needs go, then the original comes out.
What is underneath springs up like a fountain. That is Educare.
Let us understand the beauty of it.
Educare is not taught verbally
In education, we listen to so many teachers come and talk to us.
Their words are so beautiful with all the pomp, vivacity and
gimmicks of the language. But Educare will never be taught by
words. Educare will never be taught verbally.
I’ll give you another simple example. Here is a glass container.
The water is contained inside. The glass is a container. The water
is contained. Education is like container. But Educare is the
contained -- it conveys the excitement and the thrill of it.
Here’s a little further explanation. When we listen to Bhagavan in
rapt attention, either in the auditorium or in the interview room,
we are not carried away by His words or by the meaning of those
words. We are elevated by the depth of the words. I am not a
professor of English; therefore I’m cautious of my usage. I have
to be a little more careful.
The moment I come out of the interview room, the moment Bhagavan
ends His Divine discourse, I don’t think of the words and their
meanings.
If anyone asks me back at home, “What did Baba speak about?” I
cannot explain all that I heard.
If anyone asks me, “What did Baba say?” my words fail.
I only express a glow on my face: “Ah, Baba’s speech! Ahh. Oh.”
(Laughter)
That is Educare. If I explain point one, point two and point three
from Baba’s discourse, then it becomes education. But, if asked
“What did Baba say?” and I reply, “Ahh…” That is Educare. Do you
understand? Educare will make you wonder. Educare will make you
speechless. Educare will make you wordless. It is awesome. It is
fantastic. It cannot be expressed.
Can there be anything of this sort? Why not? Here is another
example. Ask a man to express how much he loves his wife. Will any
man dare to express it in words? (Laughter) No man can say
anything about the extent of his love – if it is even true.
(Laughter) If he says how deeply he is in love with her, it is
artificial. You can take it from me, if anyone says, “I love my
wife very much,” he is a number one hypocrite because true love
cannot be expressed.
“You love your wife?”
“Um hum,” is all he says. He does not say anything more about it.
How much do you love your son? You cannot express it. Like most
precious things, your love for him cannot be put into words. We
don’t speak about the things that are most valuable. Things that
are precious, valuable and secret are not declared openly and made
cheap.
In the same way, Educare is so precious and valuable, lying there
in the depths of my heart. It refuses to come out of my mouth in
words. My sentiments and feelings refuse to be expressed in words.
That is Educare.
If you say, “Baba stood in front of me. Baba picked up a letter.
Baba smiled at me”, I will ask, “How did you feel? Please tell
me.”
“Uh, He started at 6:10 and He went around. He stood in front of
me at 6:45. The music was playing.”
“What is this? Please stop talking such nonsense! I’m not asking
you the time He started darshan. Please, keep quiet. (Laughter)
I’m not asking you when He stood in front of you. No, stop it. I
want you to tell me how you felt when Bhagavan smiled at you, when
Bhagavan accepted your letter. Can you tell me?”
If you tell me, then you are still growing. If you search for
words to express your joy, then you still have a long way to
evolve. That which cannot be expressed by words, that which cannot
be expressed nor estimated, you want to estimate and tell me? It
shows your foolishness and my greater foolishness for having
listened to you. (Laughter)
Educare is an Experience
Therefore, Educare is wordless. Educare is speechless. Educare is
an experience, a matter of awe, a matter of ecstasy, one of bliss
-- that’s all.
When you are suddenly exposed to a shower of rain on a hot summer
day, what are your feelings? Suppose it was very, very hot the
whole day –scorching heat -- and then, by Baba’s Grace, around six
o’clock, rain, summer showers in Brindavan! Ah, you feel like
getting drenched. You feel like dancing!
“How is it?”
“I can’t explain it, just join me.” That’s what you say.
So too, Educare is a matter of wonder. When you have to lift up
your eyebrows in helplessness because you are not able to explain,
that is Educare.
Educare is your Reality
I also want to share with you that Educare represents the very
fundamental unit of life. Education is something you receive, but
Educare is a reality. Educare is your reality.
Here’s a simple example. Love -- Educare is an expression of Love,
which is what we are. But through education, we are also taught
about hatred and anger -- love, anger -- love, hatred -- love,
envy -- love, jealousy. This is the way of education.
“I don’t know anything other than Love.”
This is Educare. How can I explain it? Here is another example.
A friend comes and tells me, “Sir, so-and-so says that he loves
me, but I know in his heart-of-hearts there is no love between us;
there is only jealousy. As Shakespeare said, ‘One may smile and
smile, yet be a villain.’ Similarly, in the name of love, he
smiles; but deep in my heart I know he is a man of jealousy,
because he is an educated man.”
“But how do you know that it’s not genuine Love? Please, I want a
little more clarification from you.”
“I say that man is jealous and he has no true Love towards me. How
do I know? Because he’s full of anger towards me; therefore it’s
not true Love.”
We learn about anger, jealousy and envy, but we should understand
that they have nothing to do with true Love, because we are Love.
We know anger is not Love. We know envy is not Love because we are
Love, right? We are Love; we are the Embodiments of Love; we are
the personification of Love. God is Love. Love is God. Live in
Love. That is the essence. Understand? This is Educare. Educare is
your real Being.
Love cannot be hidden
Love is not full of confusion. Love will never allow you to be
confused, no. You can easily detect what is Love and what Love is
not, because Love happens to be our reality. And Love cannot be
hidden.
There are some people who say, “I may be very harsh in my words,
but deep in my heart I am full of Love.”
“Maybe you should go for a heart transplant.” (Laughter)
“I love everybody. People don’t understand.”
“I see. Maybe it’s best not to have that kind of love at all.”
Love cannot be hidden because the face is the index of the mind.
When you look at your child upon returning home after a busy day
in the office, how does your face look? When your child waits for
you at the doorstep, smiles and says, “Daddy!” Aah! Can you hide
your Love? Impossible. Your face blooms with Love. Your face is
filled with Love. It is the radiance and brilliance of a thousand
candles – floodlights of Love. Your face is full of Love because
Love cannot be hidden.
When you meet your friend, you cannot say, “Um hum, good to see
you.” What good is there in a castor oil face? (Laughter) There is
no smile. But Love is not like that -- you cannot hide Love. That
is beauty of it. Love is a God-given gift because it always
springs up. Love is always shared because it is most precious.
Our understanding of Love seems to be based on a trial and error
method. By that I mean, in a relationship where you fully love one
person, you become disillusioned if he betrays you and cheats on
you. Sometimes you say, “I have lost faith in Love.”
My friends, never lose faith in Love. Lose faith in anger. Lose
faith in jealousy. Lose faith in unconsciousness. But never lose
faith in Love, because you cannot afford to lose faith in Love. It
was only the anger and jealousy that made you feel that you lost
faith in Love. Without jealousy and anger, automatically there is
Love. So, sometimes in relationships with others, the trial and
error may confuse us into thinking that we have lost faith in
Love. But we shall not, will not and cannot afford to lose faith
in Love. Educare teaches you this fundamental principle of Love.
Educare teaches Truth
And it is the same with Truth. Educare teaches the principle of
Truth. It is not the worldly truth of education. It is not the
physical truth, global truth or scientific truth. It is not the
truth of investigation and experimentation. The Truth of Educare
is different. The truth of education is only geographical,
mundane, physical and experimental.
The Truth of Educare is a matter of revelation. The truth of
education is experimentation. The Truth of Educare is revelation
because Truth reveals itself. Truth is revelatory. Truth is not
mandatory or compulsory. Truth is revelatory. It reveals itself.
That Truth is Sathya. That Sathya, the Truth, is Sathya Sai Baba,
the Educare. (Applause) Because of this fundamental Truth of
Sathya, Sathya Sai Baba reveals His Divinity to the world. What a
revelation it is!
You say, “I have gone into the interview room. What a revelation
it is. He is God!”
Many people say that. So, this experience of His Divinity is a
revelation. It is a reality. It is the Truth of Truths.
What is Truth?
Truth is God.
Who is God?
God is Truth.
How do I know that?
I know it when it is revealed. Truth reveals itself.
Oh ho, so what shall I do?
When Love is hidden, your awareness will help you feel the
vibrations of Love.
But how do I know the Truth?
Be alert in order to know Truth. Alertness will reveal the Truth.
Awareness will make you experience Love. So, awareness is a path
to Love. Alertness is a path to Truth. One has to be alert.
What does being alert mean?
Ask, what is Baba going to do next? What will He say next?
Be alert because you may miss the Truth. You may miss the Truth
when Truth is revealing itself, but you are in the canteen. The
opportunity is gone. When the light of Truth shines, and you are
fast asleep in a room in the North building, snoring, then you
will never know the Truth. So, since our nature has brought us
near the Truth, we should be alert to the situation every moment
of life. Being alert will lead us to Truth.
Educare requires De-structuring
Therefore, my friends, what shall we do now regarding Educare?
There is a particular framework in education: five years of
primary school, five years of high school, two years of
preparatory college, a three years’ degree, a two years’ master’s,
a three years’ Ph.D. OK, we have to observe this structure in the
field of education. But in Educare we have to de-structure it --
we have to get rid of the structure.
Baba often gives this example: “There is one room here and another
room there. To make them both into a single room, what should we
do? Knock down the wall in between and then there will be a single
room.”
Educare requires de-structuring, which means we have to remove the
old structure of education -- de-structure and then restructure.
Educare is the process of de-structuring and then restructuring in
a new dimension, in a new direction, so that we’ll feel the pulse
and vibrations of Educare. Educare is a vibration, not merely
information. Educare will help you feel the pulse, not read
letters.
I mean, get to the depth of Educare, not the syllabus of Educare.
When you make a syllabus and start teaching, it comes down to the
level of education again. So, when you de-structure and then
restructure, what happens is that the old disappears and the new
appears. Educare is the dawn of the new. Educare will eclipse the
past. Educare says ‘goodbye’ to the past, welcoming the revelation
of Truth. Educare is an experience of Love, our True Identity, and
our True Being.
Educare is the ‘No Mind’ State
The last point I want to make this morning is that education
requires memory and intelligence. If you remember well and you can
reproduce what you learned during an examination, then you will
get good grades. But Educare has nothing to do with that. Educare
does not require your memory. Educare does not need your thinking.
Educare is not recapitulation. It is not reproducing what you have
learned on an exam paper. Educare is a ‘no mind’ state.
What is ‘no mind’? I know ‘never mind’, but not ‘no mind’. As long
as the mind is involved, there is duality. As long as the mind is
involved, there is confusion. But when there’s no mind, or
withdrawal of the mind, then you, the True Self, remain. The true
consciousness remains. That is Educare.
That’s all. These are some of my collected thoughts on Educare,
which we covered today because my friends wanted me to speak about
it.
QUESTIONS
We have a few more minutes in which I will answer the questions I
have received from some of you friends.
Question 1
The first question is this: “Before He took a body, was Bhagavan
aware of bliss and Love to the same extent that He is now?”
Ah ha, very good. (Laughter) My friends, He need not be aware of
bliss. He need not be aware of His Love. This has nothing to do
with before or after taking of the body. No. He is awareness
Itself. He did not become aware. He is awareness Itself. Please,
understand. Similarly, Bhagavan does not need to acquire wisdom.
He is wisdom Itself. He does not need to become knowledgeable. His
is knowledge Itself. Therefore, is He aware? The question doesn’t
arise because He is awareness.
But let me give you further clarification. A question was put to
Swami regarding how much food He eats. After all, He eats very
little. I don’t know how many of you have noticed, but He eats
only two or three spoons of food, that’s all. It can be very
embarrassing for others to sit with Him during meals. (Laughter)
But we are helpless because He feels very happy when we eat more
and more. (Laughter) The more we eat, the happier He is. But He
eats very little. (Laughter)
When I asked, “Swami, how are You so energetic with only two
spoons of food?”
He said, “You get energy from the food that you eat. I don’t get
energy from the food I eat because I am energy.”
Bhagavan is energy Itself. (Applause) He doesn’t need to get
energy from food. Please understand. Therefore, is He aware of
Love? This question isn’t necessary because He is Love. Is He
aware of bliss? No, because He is bliss Itself. That is the
answer.
Question 2
Bhagavan says that He separated Himself from Himself so that He
could Love Himself. Yet, while in the body, the Avatar has taken
certain limitations upon Himself. The next question is: “When He
separated Himself from Himself into many, was there any reduction
in bliss? Was His bliss reduced? Is His bliss now divided,
separated? Does He experience less bliss?”
Here’s a simple example. When I have a thousand rupees and I
distribute it among ten people, I am left with only ten rupees.
Similarly, if Bhagavan has one hundred percent of bliss to begin
with, what happens when He divides Himself by ten percent, and
then ten percent again, and so on? Is He left with only ten
percent? (Laughter) I’m sorry. I’m sorry because He is whole. You
are whole. You are total. You are full, not a fraction.
Poorna mada. Poorna midam.
That is full. This is full.
So, there is no question of reduction or decline in bliss. There
was no change in the percentage of bliss when He divided Himself
into many. That answer I can tell you from His discourses.
Question 3
Next question: “How do we know that we are realised?"
Very good. How do we know that we are realised? How do I know that
I am rich? I can look in the passbook. I can go to the bank and
the cashier will tell me. (Laughter) How do I know that I am
educated? I have diplomas and degrees, yes.
How do you know that you are realised? When you forget this ‘I’,
you are already realised. (Laughter) If you say, “I know I am
rich. I know I am educated. I know I am realised,” then you are
not realised because ‘I’ is still there. When you do not exist,
then there is realisation, that’s all. Realisation is you. You are
the realisation. So, how can you say that you are realised? No,
you can’t say that.
Here’s an example. Let’s imagine we have a toy made of sugar
candy. To find out how deep the water level is, we put it into a
water tank. We drop the sugar toy in, and wait to see it come back
up. But what happened? We searched all around, but couldn’t find
it. Why didn’t it come back to the surface? It didn’t return
because it dissolved.
It is not a problem to solve -- it was just time for it to
dissolve. Let us resolve to dissolve, not merely to solve.
Therefore, my friends, how do I know I am realised? When the ‘I’
is gone, you are already realised. That is the answer I can give
you.
Then in an interview, it was said that there was a lady outside
who was already a realised soul, therefore Bhagavan could not give
her an interview.
Oh? First of all, if Swami had said to that lady, “You are a
realised soul, therefore I have not given you an interview,” that
realised soul would not repeat this because realisation is
Bhagavan. Bhagavan is realisation. You are realisation. What is
the question? Where is the problem of Him saying, “I didn’t call
you for an interview because you are realised”? It is gone. The
very question is gone because Bhagavan and you are One. That
happens to be realisation. That’s all. There’s no question of
being called or not being called for an interview. There’s only
the question of an inner view and not an interview.
I don’t recall Bhagavan saying to anybody, “You are a realised
soul.” The simple fact that we are here means that we have yet to
be realised. We have yet to be realised because a realised soul
will be in a state of bliss. He does not see a second -- he’s only
One-without-a-second, non-dual. Therefore, I don’t understand this
problem.
Question 4
Here is a simple question: “Why doesn’t Bhagavan cure Himself?”
Bhagavan said in one of His discourses, ‘If you pray, I will cure
Myself.’ Why don’t we pray so that He can cure Himself?”
The question that has been asked has a problem. When there is a
disease, there is a solution, a cure. But when there is no
complaint, where is the question of a cure?
Baba said, “I never experience pain. I have not used any tablet,
pill or injection until this day. I do not suffer, but it appears
like I have been suffering.”
Am I clear? Is it true? Why not? We appear to be happy though we
are not happy. (Laughter) This is because we are good actors. God
is the Super Actor, so He can act better than all of us!
(Laughter) Jagannatha Sutradhari, The Divine Actor. So we pretend
to be happy, though we are not happy. If we can do this at the
human level, then why can’t He act at the Divine level and pretend
to be suffering?
If this is the case, then our question becomes, “Why should He
pretend?” The reason He pretends is because He takes on our
suffering. Why should He suffer for us? He does it in order to
reduce the period of our suffering because we cannot bear the
intensity of it. Therefore, Baba does not need to cure Himself
because He does not suffer.
Then why did He say, “If you pray, I will cure Myself?” He said
this so that at the very least we will pray for this reason.
(Laughter) At least we should pray on these grounds because He
wants us to pray one way or another. If you don’t pray, you become
‘prey’. (Laughter) Therefore, I don’t believe that He suffers
because we see Him with all these external, so-called complaints,
and yet He can get up and still speak.
There was one moment when He could not speak at all. His voice was
so low that I could not hear it. It was like He was speaking from
the bottom of a well. I could not hear Him.
He said, “Anil Kumar, My voice is like this. My voice is like
this.”
What could I reply? He was to speak in ten minutes. He called me
into the interview room and said, “I cannot speak.”
I thought to myself, “What should I say?”
Then He asked, “What shall I do?” (Laughter)
Well, I couldn’t do anything about it! (Laughter)
Then He said, “You speak.”
I said, “I want to live for a while longer. (Laughter) I can’t
speak because people are expecting Your speech. If I go up there
and start speaking, well I don’t think I will survive until
tomorrow. People are anxious to see and hear You, not me. I can’t
do that, Swami.”
“Then what shall I do?”
“You may do anything You like. (Laughter) You can ask somebody
else to speak. Swami, I dare not speak for You because nobody can
stand in on Your behalf – unless that fellow was just released
from a mental hospital.” (Laughter)
It is impossible for anyone to represent Him. Nobody can represent
Him on His behalf. No one can say, “He has given me all His
powers.”
There are some people who say, “Baba has given some powers to me.”
Oh ho, He is not a distribution centre! (Laughter)
There are some who say, “Baba speaks through me.”
Why should He speak through others – as if He cannot speak for
Himself? (Laughter) These are all utterly ignorant, idiotic,
stupid claims, and we should never fall prey to them. Do not allow
yourself to be preyed upon by these people. No one ever represents
Him. No one will receive special powers, or a special delegation
to start a branch office. He does not need any medium to speak
through because He is in you, with you, above you, below you and
around you. He and you are One! Where is the question of a third
person?
When Baba says, “I and you are One,” if you say, “I want somebody
else to tell me this”, well all right, hang yourself. Nobody can
help you. When He’s there in you, why do you want a separate
medium? We’re not able to find Him in us; therefore we are
confused.
My friends, I can only answer these questions this way, but I’m
happy that you have come forward with some questions. I’m grateful
to all those who have sent these questions because they are all
intellectual and thought provoking. They help me to dive into the
depths of Reality and to remember everything Bhagavan has said. I
thank them all. I thank all of you for having listened to the talk
in rapt attention.
Let us grow along the path of Educare. May Bhagavan help us in
this eternal, fruitful, purposeful journey from now on.
Thank you. Sai Ram!
OM… OM… 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
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