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Anil Kumar's Sunday Satsang at
Prasanthi Nilayam
February 1, 2004
The Sunday Talk Given by Anil Kumar
“Peace”
February 1st, 2004
OM… OM… OM…
Sai Ram
With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,
Dear Brothers and Sisters,
I want to share a couple of thoughts with you this morning. On one
occasion, Bhagavan expressed these ideas. The central theme
happens to be “Peace”. Swami gave a few points on peace to a group
of devotees, which I want to share with you. In the future, we
will have many more occasions to talk about and think about peace.
For the time being, let me share a few points from Bhagavan’s
discourses and from Divine conversations that He had with some
devotees.
Life is an adventure
Life is an adventure. Life is not an easy affair. Life is not
always going to be a ‘bed of roses’. Our experiences will
naturally tell us that our life is an adventure. Why do I say so?
Unless we are adventurous, we will not be able to accept things in
our life as they happen. Unless we are adventurous, we will not
attempt new undertakings, which will enable us to see new
dimensions of life.
Because we don’t want to accept life as an adventure, or accept
life with an adventurous spirit, we feel like running away from it
and we feel life is a burden. Often we feel that life is a
process, which is continually dragging us down because we have not
understood the fact that life is an adventure. Adventure requires
thorough preparation for anything that might happen in the future.
Unless I am prepared to undertake this trip as an adventure, I
will not be able to enjoy the heights of ecstasy. I will not be
able to travel into the beyond. I will not be able to discover the
unknown. All of a sudden we find saints resolving not to talk to
anybody, preferring to spend time in silence. We find spiritual
seekers making a decision to have one hundred percent dietary
regulation. We find spiritual seekers sometimes forsaking all
their belongings, leaving everybody and deciding to go to a place
which is quite alien to them, which is quite new to them.
Mechanical Life is Boring
Why do these things happen? They
happen because these individuals have found that life is an
adventure. They want to touch the frontiers of the unknown. They
want to experience a taste of ecstasy. They want to go beyond. My
friends, it is really thrilling and exciting when we try to go
beyond. Sticking to the known makes life dull, routine and
mechanical. There is nothing great in making one’s life
mechanical. There is nothing great about surrounding yourself with
only the familiar, of acquiring everything you want and getting
all that you planned to have.
You know what attaining a position is. You know what money is. You
know what influence is and you know what luxury is. If you achieve
these things, you know there is nothing great about any of it.
Kindly forgive me for making this statement. There is nothing
great about occupying a position that you wanted to attain. You
struggled hard and you achieved what you wanted. That is all.
Experience the unknown
But if you experience that which is unknown to you, which is
beyond your imagination, which is beyond your comprehension, which
is beyond the realm of your thoughts, and keep on experiencing the
new until your last breath, then you are really great.
I have experienced the splendor of God! I have experienced the
radiance of the Divine! I have watched the brilliance of Swami! I
know what Bhagavan is! If you can say that, you are adventurous.
That makes you great. That makes your life rewarding and
fulfilling. It is not anything physical or worldly. It is not
trivial tinsel and trash. There is nothing great about obtaining
worldly things. That is the first point.
MIND IS REPETITIVE
Once we say that our life is an adventure, we will have peace of
mind. Because the mind is programmed, tuned, and repetitive, it
does not want to go beyond. My friends, the mind is always
repetitive. Please take it from me. If you get used to the first
cup of coffee early in the morning and something stands in the way
of your getting it, you cannot even imagine a peaceful day to
follow. Because the mind was tuned to having the first cup of
coffee in the early hours, it thinks it is very, very necessary.
The mind has become repetitive. Over the years, it got used to it.
It was tuned to it, and it cannot think of sacrificing an early
hour first cup of hot, hot coffee. It cannot think of anything
else, because mind is repetitive
Mind is mechanical
Mind is mechanical:
“Why are you running?”
“Because I am used to running.”
“Why are you going?”
“Because I got used to going.”
“Why do you sit?”
“I am practiced to sit.” All this has become a repetition.
Yesterday, I had the opportunity to talk with a young man from
Slovenia. I was so happy to talk with him. That young man
mentioned a point, which I want to bring to your attention.
Bhagavan said, “Please grab the earliest opportunity to share the
young man’s thoughts.”
What did the young man tell me?
RECEIVING BHAGAVAN’S Divine Darshan
“Sir, we are not receiving what Bhagavan wants to give during
darshan time. Bhagavan wants to give us something more, but we are
not receiving as much as we should.”
What he said was immediately pungent, not acceptable. Though it
was bitter, it is one hundred percent fact. Why?
That young man himself gave the answer: “We are not allowing
ourselves to receive what Swami decides to give us. Why? We have
put so many obstacles and obsessions in between -- like ego,
attachments and pride. Because of these obstacles, we are not
receiving as much Divine energy from Bhagavan’s Divine darshan as
we should.”
For example: Here is a water pipeline. The pipeline is connected
to the water tank above. Yet, water is not flowing at full speed.
Why? Shall I blame the tank?
The tank will say, “You are a fool. Nothing is wrong with me. I am
full of water.”
Shall I blame the pipe? It will say, “Down to hell with you.
Nothing is wrong with me. I am perfect, one hundred percent steel,
you know.”
Shall I blame the water? The water will laugh at me. “Nothing is
wrong with me.”
Then what is actually wrong? Where does the mistake lie? Why
doesn’t water flow continuously through the pipe?
It is because of certain obstacles; it is because of certain
objects. Something like a wooden piece, a pin, a cloth or piece of
cotton must have plugged it, preventing the flow of water.
Therefore, nothing is wrong with the water - the water of grace.
Nothing is wrong with the pipe - the human life. Nothing is wrong
with the tank - the tank of Divinity.
Then why don’t we receive in full? Why doesn’t the water flow with
high speed?
The reason is that the cotton of pride and the wooden pieces of
ego are blocking the flow of water. We have to remove those mental
blocks. Then we can receive the grace because Bhagavan’s Divine
darshan has a Divine vibration, a Divine energy, which we could
receive in full, provided we remove all these mental blocks. That
is what we are supposed to do. That is what we call spiritual
sadhana.
I want to share this idea with as many people as possible because
I am fully convinced of its truth.
Hurry is an obstacle
Once we come out of darshan, we should be transformed; but it
doesn’t appear so. We are in a hurry to run to the canteen. We are
in a hurry to run to the stores. We are in a hurry for breakfast.
Before darshan, we were in a hurry to occupy the first row. Then
we were in a hurry to get in the first line out of the auditorium.
What happened to the time in between? The mind thinks of what
happened before, what happened after and forgets what happened
during the period of stay in the mandap (darshan hall). This hurry
is one of the main obstacles, which blocks the flow of Divine
grace.
Secondly, we wonder whether He will look at us or not, or whether
He will pick up our letter or not. I don’t want Him to see the
person whom I hate. I don’t want Him to stop His car in front of
the person whom I do not agree with, particularly my enemy. This
constant thought of ‘mine’ and ‘thine’, friend and foe, is a block
and will not allow the flow of grace.
Tension will make you neglect
Third one, increasing tension: If I miss Him today, will it happen
tomorrow? If I am going to miss tomorrow, can it happen within a
week’s time, before I have to leave this place? My ticket has
already been reserved. My visa will be expiring. Will it happen?
This tension is a mental block. Why? Because it will make you
forget and make you unaware of what is happening now. I think I am
clear.
When you are under tension, you ignore and you neglect the
beautiful thing that is happening at this moment in time. Swami
may look at you, but you may not look at Him, because you are
under tension and heavy stress. Swami may smile and you may not
notice, as you are tense and worked up. We miss beautiful
opportunities because of tension.
So, my friends, let us remove the blocks of worry, the blocks of
tension, the blocks of continuous thought, and the block of being
in a hurry for every silly thing. When these blocks are removed
through the pipes of our life, the grace of water will flow freely
at a high speed from the tank of Divinity. This is one way of
attaining peace.
LIFE IS A CONTRADICTION
The second major point that I want to draw to your attention is
that life is a paradox. Life is a contradiction. I am not able to
accept this because I always have a preference. I always choose
one of two options.
Life is not a multiple-choice examination paper where you choose
the answers you prefer, or where you can fill the blanks with all
that you know. It should be continuously blank. You should never
fill it up. In the examination, you can fill the blanks; but here
in the examination of life, let us remain blank.
The more blank I am, the less biased I will be, the less
prejudiced I will be, and the less expectant I will be. When I am
least expectant, I will be most joyful. When I am full of
expectations, I will be most miserable.
Please observe this: People have been here for many, many years,
but we don’t notice a smile on their face. I pity them. If you
cannot smile here, if you can’t enjoy life here, if you do not
find beauty here, if you have not known the fragrance of life
here, if you have not known the beauty of religion here -- where
else can you know it, where else can you be happy, where else can
you smile, where else can you know joy? Therefore, the years of
stay here are meaningless.
One may claim seniority: “You know, I have been here for twenty
years.”
Our answer should be, “I don’t want to be here for twenty years if
I am to be like you.” (Laughter)
Some people say, “You know, I have been doing service to Swami for
the last twenty years.”
Our response should be, “I don’t want to be here for twenty years
serving like you. Your service is full of ego. As you serve, it is
full of possessiveness. In your service, I find attachment. In
your words, I find arrogance. In your words, I find
authoritativeness. I do not want to be authoritative. I do not
want to be egoistic. I do not want to be dictatorial. I do not
want to be possessive. If these features are what happens after
being in position for twenty years, better I don’t stay; better I
don’t do service at all.”
Therefore my friends, if we are not happy here, if we are not
blissful here, if we cannot care and share here, I think the whole
opportunity of life is in vain. Then, this golden gift of living
in the presence of Bhagavan is like throwing pearls in front of a
swine that does not know the pearls’ value. We can enjoy this life
by not choosing, by not preferring, by not desiring, by not
expecting. Life is a contradiction and life is a paradox.
Life is total. Life is whole. Life is a full circle; it is not a
half circle. I should learn to see both sides of the coin. When I
learn to see and accept both sides of the coin, I begin to be
spiritual. When I learn to see and accept both sides of the coin,
I can be religious.
Turn Within
Yesterday one boy came to me. “Sir, Swami is not talking to me.
Swami is not looking at me.”
I said, “My boy, you are grown up. You are a postgraduate student.
Please believe me that this is the problem of everybody, not only
you. All twenty thousand people sitting there will say the same
thing. ‘Swami is not looking at me. Swami is not talking to me.
Swami is not stopping the car where I sit.’ The thing to do is
drop that desire, drop that feeling.”
‘Swami, You do not need to stop where I sit, but I will not stop
looking at You. You may not look at me, but I will continuously
look at You. You may not talk to me, but I shall talk to You
within. You cannot close my mouth. No! You Yourself said that You
are in me. I believe that You are in me. No one can prevent me
from talking to You. There is no time restriction and no place
where You are not in me. I can be in constant communion with You.
I can have a constant Divine Romance with You. Let me dance with
You. Let me joke with You. Let me have fun with You. Let me laugh
with You wholeheartedly. Let me enjoy the melody of music with
You.’
This is the higher level of spiritual experience. This is possible
when I accept that life is a contradiction, that life is a
paradox. I must not be preferential or choosy. I should be
prepared for both options, because both give equal pleasure and
equal benefits.
‘If You do not talk to me, oh God, I will try to learn to talk to
You from within.’ This is the beginning of turning inward.
‘If You do not look at me, I will try to look at You from within.’
This is the second lesson of turning within.
‘If You have not given me any direction verbally, orally, vocally,
externally, I will try to look to Your direction from within,
through the inner voice.’ This is the third lesson of turning
inward.
‘If You talk to me externally, I think You are encouraging me to
turn within. If You look at me, I will hopefully turn within
someday.’ All that happens externally should make us look within.
That is what spirituality is all about.
If I want to be known as a devotee, if I want everyone to honor me
as a VIP, all I have been saying until now is utter nonsense. Yes!
Some people always desire that Swami talks to them while others
are watching because it satisfies their ego. When He talks to me
alone in the interview room or in the Poonachandra, it doesn’t
give me as much pleasure as when He looks at me there in the Sai
Kulwant Hall, preferably during darshan time.
This is all nursery level, beginning or primary level. We cannot
end our life with primary education. We cannot end our life with
this elementary level of spiritual awareness. We cannot learn
about religion by just picking up letters in the alphabet. We
should go through the text of life in full. We should learn to
experience. This is the way to peace. Once I know life is an
adventure, I will be peaceful. Once I know that life is a
contradiction, I will be peaceful.
one Cannot be practical in Spirituality
The third point: There are some that say you must be practical. I
don’t know what it means to be practical. There are people who
say, “Mr. Anil Kumar, try to be practical.”
“What do you mean? Shall I be political so that I can be
practical? Shall I be strategic so that I can be practical? Shall
I maneuver, shall I manage, shall I manipulate? Is that what you
mean by being practical?”
My friends, in the field of religion, being practical is a
non-sensical notion. In the field of spirituality, trying to be
practical is a non-sensical idea. Why? That which is practical is
known to you. That which is practical will give the result you
expect. That which is practical will take you to a place you want
to reach. However, religion will take you to a place not known to
you. It will give you an experience, which you never tasted
before. It will take you to levels that you do not know.
How can we be practical? We can be practical when going to a
foreign country by taking the flight, which gets us there
earliest. We can be practical when choosing which food to take in
the canteen. We can be practical with respect to the world. But it
is impossible to be practical in relation to God, because you
cannot manage Him. Impossible!
A few days back, Swami asked one of the lecturers, ”Be ready to
speak.”
The man asked me, “Anil Kumar, when?”
I told him, “He asked you to be ready to speak; so why do you ask
me ‘when’? Ask Him if you want.” (Laughter)
“Sir, I am afraid to ask Him.”
“Do you think I am courageous enough to ask? I am more timid than
you. Please leave me alone.”
Arathi was over and this man was ready. He was not asked to speak.
Then he came to me and said, “Probably this afternoon, sir.”
I said, “Yes, possibly. Why not?”
That afternoon Swami did not come out of His room at all. He went
straight to the Mandir, took Arathi and left.
“Sir, what is this?” he said.
“This is that.” (Laughter)
You cannot be practical. That man came wearing a brand new white
dress, you know. He was prepared for the opportunity to speak.
“Don’t worry,“ I told him, “I enjoyed your dress. It is so bright
that it is good for a soap or detergent advertisement.” He was
being practical, yet he only needed to be ready, that’s all.
Readiness is different from being practical. Readiness is being
receptive. Readiness is being sensitive. Readiness is being
responsive, whereas practical is to be a man of manipulation, an
expert in maneuvering things, a man who can plot, a man who can be
political. Therefore my friends, let us forget being practical in
the field of Swami. All right! Then let us see what will happen.
A simple example: Suppose I lost this pen. I really want to have
it. I search, search and search. I cannot find it anywhere. So I
leave it. Then I drop the thought of searching for this pen.
During my work, all of a sudden, a thought comes to me. ‘It is
there in the bookshelf -- go there.’
Immediately, I go and find this pen there on the shelf. The
constant search utterly failed. The attempt was foiled, but when I
relaxed, a thought came immediately. Like a flash, it came where
this pen was laying. This thought came not because of being
practical, not because of searching, not because of an attempt,
not because of effort. It just happened!
Spirituality is a happening, not a thing done. A thing done is
different from a thing that happens.
ALLOW THINGS TO HAPPEN
Sunrise is a happening. You don’t do anything to make sunrise
happen. The waves of the sea are a happening. You do not make,
generate or manufacture waves. Similarly, spiritual things happen;
spiritual things are not done.
Things are done in a worldly sense, whilst things happen in a
spiritual sense. We can be really happy when we allow things to
happen of their own accord. The fruit should fall on the ground of
its own accord. When it is fully ripe, when it is full of sweet
juice, the fruit falls on the ground of its own accord.
“No sir, I cannot wait that long; I want to pluck that fruit.”
By plucking the fruit from the tree, you cannot get sweet juice.
An unripe fruit will be bitter. You will have to spit it out. An
unripe fruit is sour, astringent like the lime. You cannot eat it.
When it is ripe, it is sweet, and I want to have two more pieces
of fruit. Okay! Similarly in spirituality, when we allow things to
happen rather than try to make them happen, things happen of their
own accord.
When we are absolutely worldly and mundane, life actually ends. It
becomes tasteless. Life is tasteless because we find nothing
novel, nothing unique, there.
Make your life a Poetry
Yesterday, one professor who has been working with us for the past
thirty years said, “I am not zealous; I am not enthusiastic; I am
not dynamic. Why?”
I said, “My friend, your life has become prose. Prose is nothing
but sentences. It is dull.”
“What shall I do, sir?”
“Make your life like poetry. When your life is poetry, it will be
enjoyable; it will be blissful. But when life is prose and
prosaic, it is dull and tasteless. This is in our hands. Prose and
poetry are composed of the letter and the language. Let our life
not be prosaic, tasteless, dull, inert and passive. Let our life
be poetic because Bhagavan Himself is the Poet of poets. Kavi naam
Kavi hi: God is an excellent poet.
The other day, the school children from Alike and Mudhanahalli
celebrated their Silver Jubilee Celebration in the Divine Presence
of Bhagavan. They staged their cultural program, which was a
thumping success. We found Bhagavan smiling all the time, enjoying
the program. He did not cut it short at any time, though some of
us felt it was time to put a full stop. We had been sitting there
from two o’clock feeling joint problems, knee problems, arthritis
and what not. We wanted to have a break, but Bhagavan was enjoying
it throughout. Why?
The whole program was full of His compositions and full of His
songs. “Siva Siva Siva Yenerada Nee Chintanella Bapi Kona
Annaradha. Siva Siva Siva Yenerada Nee Chintanella Bapi Koni
Annaradha.” It was a song composed by Him fifty years ago.
When I start speaking to you about your childhood, how do you
feel? “Ah, so let me tell you some more details.” Don’t you feel
like that? When Bhagavan was reminded of His own song composed by
Him fifty years ago, He was reliving that time. The cassette
replayed. Therefore, He was happy.
Sathya Dharma Shanthi Premala Tho Nee Nischa Jeevana Yatra
Sanginchu. Sathya Dharma Shanthi Premala Tho. “Lead your life with
these human values: Truth, Righteousness, Peace and Love.” This
was a song composed by Bhagavan. He enjoyed hearing the students
singing it. Therefore, there is a thrill in being poetic. If life
is prose, it is disgusting; it is vexing. Religious life is
poetic; spiritual life is poetic. A poetic life makes peace of
mind possible.
Spirituality is illogical
We can enjoy spirituality only if we can accept the illogical.
Please bear with me while I make certain unacceptable statements.
There is no logic in a religious experience.
“Swami, I have been here for the last two months and You have been
ignoring me. This other fellow just landed here yesterday.
Immediately, You granted him an interview. Is this justice? I
don’t find any logic behind it. I don’t find any rationale in what
You do. You don’t seem to be scientific. You have forgotten basic
arithmetic and calculation. I have been here for two months. Don’t
you know that? There is a simple law whereby the first person in
the queue must be called in first. I have been here for two
months. Why haven’t You called me?” There is no answer!
“Swami, why do You call him repeatedly? You have not looked at me
even once.” No answer, no logic!
“You gave him a chain, but You only gave me vibhuthi. (Laughter)
Once you swallow vibhuthi, it is gone, whereas he can show his
chain to everybody. (Laughter) I cannot bring vibhuthi from my
abdomen and show it to everybody. No! Why don’t You give a chain
to everybody?” There is no answer; there is no logic!
“Why do You make him sit in the front and make me sit behind?
Why?” No reason, no logic!
A religious experience is illogical, irrational. I cannot explain
it in terms of rationality, logic or science because He is the
‘controller’. He is the ‘remote operator’. The remote is in His
Hands. He knows when to press which button.
He presses the button at a time when I am not there. He does not
operate the remote control at all when I am physically present. He
will ask where you have gone at a time when you just left. So long
as you are there, he will talk to everybody except you. What is
the logic in that? There is No logic! What is the scientific law?
There is none! Is there any stipulation or regulation? No! Why?
That is the nature of religious experience!
The religious experience is illogical, irrational and
unscientific. Reason and logic are words applicable to the mundane
world, to human relationships, to human existence, to human
sustenance. That is all! They are not applicable to the life
beyond.
I would also like to bring your attention to another important
point. We can be peaceful only if we can understand this
irrationality, this principle of the illogical nature of
spirituality. If we can understand that the thing being given is
Swami’s choice and not necessarily to our liking, it will help us
to live in peace.
We are not able to find peace because we want to know the reason
behind His actions. We want to discover the logic behind whatever
He does. Some people see His car and ask,” Will He go to the
auditorium, to the college, to the hospital, up to the bypass
road, to the hostel or to the canteen?”
I say, “Please watch and see.”
One man is not prepared to hear what I say.
“No sir, I know.”
I think to myself, ‘When you know, why do you ask me? Do you do it
to let me know that you know?’ I say, “Oh, I see. Where do you
think that He is going?”
“Sir, He is certainly going towards the college.”
“How do you know?”
“I know police people with their walkie-talkies. They know; they
are in communication with the security personnel.”
“I see.” I do not want to contradict him, because experience will
teach everybody.
Both of us are watching the car. Instead of going in the direction
of the college, it went towards the canteen. “Please talk to the
policemen,” I said. “They must have gone to the college while
Swami is going to the canteen.” (Laughter)
Why does Swami act like that? Therein lies the fun; therein lies
the beauty. That is the splendour; that is the glamour; that is
the glitter. That is the bliss.
If He acts according to your plan, the flight on Lufthansa will
land on time in Frankfurt airport. What is the thrill in that? It
lands on time, that’s all. If it does not land at all well, that
is a problem. (Laughter) An event that takes place not as per
schedule and not as per timetable has more thrills in it.
Bhagavan is always after giving us a thrill. Sometimes He even
shocks. He will tell a person, “Be ready with your family. I am
going to talk to you tomorrow morning.” The people will get up at
4.30 A.M. and attend Nagarsankirtan, which they never did until
this day. Then they will go around the Ganesha statue a number of
times, as a thanksgiving, before the event, with a promise to go
around the Gayatri statue in the evening, as a matter of
expressing gratitude - a post-interview process. (Laughter) They
go on planning pre-interview techniques, and post-interview
techniques. Everything is ready.
That morning, He sees everybody except this family. Why? Not to
make them cry. No! The reason is to teach, “Do not expect. Do not
plan. Just leave it. I may call you anytime. Be ever ready.”
At times, you also find a person running on the verandah. I ask,
“Where are you going?”
“Sir, Swami wants to talk to my family. I am going in search of my
brother who is in the canteen. I am going for my father who is
still sleeping. We expected Swami here at 3.00 o’clock. This time
He came at 2:30. What am I to do? I have to find my father, mother
and brother.”
When you were all here yesterday, He did not see you. When all of
you are scattered, He will make you a running champion! (Laughter)
Adding to this fun, He will come out and say, “What happened to
this fellow? He seems to be mad!” (Laughter) All of us can enjoy
at his expense.
That is Baba! He acts like that purposefully because it gives us
all fun. An interview is a simple example. If He tells you that He
will call you for an interview tomorrow at 10 o’clock, there is no
suspense, no thrill. Therefore, all God’s actions are indirectly
indicating and teaching us that we should not be expecting, that
we should not be planning, that we should not think in terms of
reason and logic.
Expectations, planning, reason and logic will not help us to be
peaceful. To attain peace, we should give up these ideas. Then we
will have mental peace. I am speaking from the spiritual
viewpoint.
BELIEF, FAITH AND TRUST
Once I give up these things, what do I get? Trust is generated!
What do I mean by that? There are three terms that I want to bring
to your attention. One is belief, the second is faith and the
third is trust.
These three seem to be synonyms or synonymous, but they are
different. If they are one and the same, then three words are not
necessary. Saraswathi is the goddess of language, the goddess of
vocabulary. The goddess of language will not have anything that is
redundant or unnecessary. So, what are these three words?
Beliefs are social. Muslims do not want to see a chameleon. Hindus
do not want to face a black cat. Americans are afraid of the
number 13. If something else has come up recently, please let me
know. I will educate myself. (Laughter) We have these types of
beliefs. These beliefs are social, and they change from time to
time. Over generations, we have accepted them.
Second is faith. Faith is individual. Beliefs are social. I cannot
say that all of us have faith. Some fellow will say, “ Stop, I
have no faith.” I cannot generalise that faith is in everybody.
No! Faith is individual. I can say that we believe, but I cannot
say that we have faith. I can say that we believe because beliefs
are social. I cannot say we have faith because faith is
individual. So when faith is individualistic, there are times when
we lose faith.
Sometimes you say, “You faithless fellow.” Faithless fellow is a
negative term. Faithful is a positive term. We may be faithful and
we may be faithless. At times, faith may be lost when things do
not seem to work out. Yet, when everything is positive, we are
highly faithful.
We find some people maintaining distance from others because they
think that they are very spiritual and highly faithful. When we
understand the reason is that right now things are positive, we
know to wait a week. He will change. He will come down from those
heights and start mingling with us. It is altogether a different
situation.
Therefore, faithfulness and faithlessness is something that is
cultivated as a result of happenings, as a result of situations,
as a result of events. Happy events made me highly faithful.
Tragic events and instances of failure made me faithless. In other
words, faith may be reversed. At times, faith may be lost. My
faithfulness and faithlessness are dependant on the situation.
The third word is trust. Trust cannot be lost. Trust cannot be
negated. Trust cannot be reversed. Once it happens, it remains
permanently. Trust in God shall never go. Trust in God shall stay
with you for a lifetime. Therefore, we should travel from belief
to faith, from faith to trust. Trust alone confers peace. In order
to be peaceful, we have to cultivate and attain the state of total
trust.
This trust is not an intellectual activity. Can I think of how to
be more and more trusting? No! You cannot have more and more trust
by thinking. No! Thinking won’t help to develop trust. Shall I
apply all my reasoning, my intellect? No! Trust will never be born
out of our intellect. Trust will never find a place on a
psychological level. Trust is beyond psychology.
Trust is beyond our intellect, because trust is a phenomenon.
Trust is a happening. Trust is a reflection of God’s grace. Trust
is God’s gift. It is not something you earn. It is not your
achievement. Therefore my friends, we should deserve this trust in
God, which will be permanent, which alone will give us peace.
Nothing else will.
Peace is light
Peace is light. Why do I say that? It is only in light that we can
see each other. It is only in light that we can see objects. It is
only in light that we can move. In darkness, we cannot move, we
cannot recognize, we cannot identify; in fact we cannot do
anything. With light, everything is possible. Without light,
nothing is possible. So peace is light and under this light of
peace all are visible, all are conspicuous.
A simple example: You have a lot of money. If there is no peace,
what good is the money? You have six or eight bedrooms in your
home. People calculate how many bedrooms people have. In how many
bedrooms do you want to sleep? People say this is a two-bedroom or
three-bedroom home. Then I say, “Please occupy all bedrooms.” I am
really fed up with hearing these words. I include hearing these
words from the family members of this humble self here. They all
calculate in terms of the number of bedrooms. “Oh, you have
two-bedrooms. We have three-bedrooms.” Oh, you are the richest man
on earth! That’s not the way.
To enjoy comforts in life, to enjoy money in life, to enjoy
position in life, peace is necessary. Without peace, position is
useless. Without peace, money is dangerous. Without peace, health
has no value. You are very healthy, but you have no mental peace.
You have a good height and a wise weight, but there is no peace.
All things will have their value only if they are under the light
of peace. This peace is of the soul.
Peace is a quality of the soul, not of the body. Peace is the gift
of the soul, the quality of the spirit, the reflection of the
consciousness. It is nothing else. Peace is original. Peace is
natural. Peace is inborn.
Why do I say that? Look at a child. A child, while playing, will
never be without peace. A child, while it sleeps, will never be
restless. When you and I go to sleep, we will be getting up every
hour, thinking it is time for darshan! Sometimes, we come to know
that it is 2 o’clock in the morning. ‘Oh I see. I can sleep some
more.’ There is no peace.
Peace is our original quality
We were born with peace, but in the course of time, peace was
lost. Peace is our original quality. Peace is our birthright.
Peace is spontaneous. Peace is natural and it is the quality of
consciousness, of the spirit, of the soul. We get back the peace,
which we unfortunately lost, by acquiring the knowledge of the
Self.
A simple example: Here is a mirror. I stand before the mirror to
give a final touch to my hair and all that. It is time for
darshan, but I do not see my reflection clearly. Shall I break the
mirror or break my head? What should I do now?
I should wipe off all the dust collected on the mirror. The mirror
is good. My face is tolerably good. But, I am not able to see my
reflection because, over the mirror, dust has accumulated. I have
to remove the dust in order to see my reflection clearly.
Similarly, consciousness has this quality of original peace. Yet,
this peace is covered by the dust of desire, by the dust of
delusion, by the dust of attachment. In a pure mirror, when this
dust is removed, I can see my reflection. This reflection is not
new. This reflection is not newly bought. This reflection is not
from anywhere. It is seen because the dust has been removed.
Similarly, we are not enjoying peace, which is the quality of
consciousness, because the mirror of peace is covered by the dust
of worldliness. The dust of possessiveness covers the mirror of
peace. What we have to do is clean the mirror of peace. Then we
will find the reflection of our consciousness, of our latent
Divinity, which is the embodiment of peace or manifested peace.
That is peace!
Sometimes people think that absence of worry is peace. No! Absence
of worry is not peace. Absence of anxiety is not peace. These are
words from Sai Literature. If you want, I will give you the page
number and the line: “Absence of worry is not peace. Absence of
anxiety is not peace.”
Peace is self awareness
Peace is the unfoldment, the blossoming of your Self. This means
Self-awareness. Self-awareness is peace. The awareness that I am
not the body, that I am not the mind, that I am not the intellect,
but that I am the Self -- that is peace! I am the consciousness;
that is peace. It is not simply the absence of anger, tension or
worry. The blossoming of the consciousness is peace. The full
awareness of Self is peace.
DISCRIMINATION, RENUNCIATION AND MEDITATION
This peace is possible if you practice the following three
methods: First, by exercising discrimination, we can regain our
peace. Until now, I have not been exercising my discretion. I need
to discriminate between what is permanent and what is ephemeral.
If I discriminate between what is right and what is wrong, I can
have peace. First, one has to discriminate to regain peace.
The second thing required to regain peace is renunciation.
Renunciation involves detachment. If I do not renunciate, if I get
attached, if I go on thinking of what I really want, if I really
hanker after what I do not have, I can never be peaceful; I can
never live in peace. It is impossible! So, renunciation is the
second method to regain peace.
First is discrimination; second is renunciation; third is
meditation. Meditation will help us to regain our lost peace.
Meditation, discrimination and renunciation are the three
processes we must practice to regain our peace.
Control your senses
At another level, what can we do to regain peace? Let us pacify
our emotions; let us calm down our impulses; let us control our
senses. By controlling our impulses, our senses, our sentiments,
our emotions and our sensual pleasures, we are traveling towards
peace. We are very close to peace by pacifying our emotions. Let
us turn inward towards the Self. Let us go beyond the body and
rise above the mind. Let us go towards the Self. Following the
path of inquiry, we head towards peace.
Next, there is withdrawal of the mind. Let us try to withdraw our
mind. Let us be thoughtless. Let us be equanimous. That is a state
of peace. When we have deep sleep, when there is no mind, when
there is no thought, we are peaceful. We are peace itself. Then we
look so fresh in the morning when we wake up. This freshness is a
result of being in a state of peace.
These are the thoughts that I wanted to share with you this
morning. Bhagavan has expressed these thoughts during group
interviews where the central theme has been ‘peace’.
May Bhagavan help us to live in peace, be peaceful and realise the
peace that is our birthright, with which we are born. May Bhagavan
help us in this endeavour.
May Bhagavan bless you!
Thank you very much.
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
Source:
http://www.internety.com/anilk2004/01.02.04(E)central.htm
© 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/
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