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Sri Sathya Sai Baba Articles

  Sai Pearls of Wisdom - 12
February 5, 2003

Professor Anil Kumar has presented this talk as an extra satsang. He has selected important messages Baba has imparted to the students gathered around Him during the afternoon sessions on the verandah at Prashanti Nilayam. These talks will continue.

ANIL KUMAR'S SATSANG:

BABA'S CONVERSATIONS WITH STUDENTS

“Sai Pearls of Wisdom”
Part 12


February 5th, 2003



OM… OM… OM…

Sai Ram

With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan

Dear friends,

I am glad to be back again in your midst to complete the rest of the Divine dialogues. We have been through at least half of what has been covered in the Telugu Sanathana Sarathi. So before Bhagavan leaves, I hope to complete all the previous material, giving you enough time to edit these conversations and circulate them among yourselves.

January 2002

This relates to the events happening in January 2002. After the Annual Sports and Cultural Meet, Bhagavan spoke to the boys and gave them some instructions, which are of immense value to everyone. Bhagavan took this opportunity to convey His message for all of us to follow.

Absolutely Necessary for Everyone to talk Less

His first point: It is absolutely necessary for everyone to talk less. Why? When talking, we lose energy, we lose memory, we are likely to speak lies and exaggerate the facts. So, in order to avoid these four mistakes of the tongue, Bhagavan wants us to talk less.

Further, He also went on to say that wrinkles on the face and old age are also due to too much talk. All of us wish to be young, so we should follow this caution.

Avoid Bad Company

Bhagavan’s second point: He told the boys, “Always remember A - B - C.” What does this mean? Avoid Bad Company.

Tell Me your company, I shall tell you what you are.

Therefore, you have to be very careful about the company you keep.

Swami said, “You have to join good company and run away from bad company. As is the company, so you become. Sand, in the company of air, goes up. That very same sand, in the company of water, goes down. Fire, in the company of green grass, gets extinguished. That very spark of fire, in the company of dry grass, will burn everything. Therefore, you have to be very careful.”

Be involved in Good Actions

Bhagavan’s third point: “You should always search for an opportunity or wait for an opportunity to be involved in good actions, in good deeds. They are very necessary in life. They speak of your spiritual path. Without good service activities, you cannot be spiritual and you cannot be religious.”

FEWER Contacts

Bhagavan’s fourth point: “It is better to have fewer contacts. Too many contacts take you toward socialisation and that will disturb your state of mind and your thinking process. So, with fewer contacts you can be true to yourself, maintain your own ideology, hold on to your own character, continue your own process of thinking and go by your own chosen path of life. For all these benefits, you have to have minimum contacts.”

Don’t Touch Anybody

Bhagavan’s fifth point: “When you mix and mingle, you should see that you do not touch anyone. Because when you touch, those vibrations of the other will reach you. The vibrations of the other person will come to you. By the constant touch of the other person, you naturally lose your concentration.”

Meditation Is Possible Only when alone

Bhagavan’s sixth point: He made it very clear that meditation is possible only when you are alone, not in a community or in a group. Some people want to meditate in Kulwant Hall. Is that possible? One seva dal will ask you to move to the front; the next seva dal will ask you to go to the back; the third one will ask you to go to one corner; finally, another will ask you to get out! How can you meditate under those circumstances? Therefore, meditation is only possible when you are all alone, left to yourself.

Awareness of Divinity

Bhagavan’s seventh point: He also made it very clear that one must have awareness of the Divinity, which is present in every atom or anu. This Divinity is present in every cell or kana. This kind of awareness is true spiritual experience.

There is no Path to Awareness

Somebody asked Bhagavan, “Swami, what is the path to awareness? What is the path that takes one to awareness?”

Bhagavan answered, “There is no path to awareness. The experience of the awareness is the ultimate. There is no path. If you say there is a path, it indicates that some time or space factor is involved. But true awareness is beyond time and space. The very experience of awareness is at the centre, and has nothing to do with the path, which is related to time and space.”

Every Sports Meet is Unique

Now I want to share with you what Bhagavan usually tells the students after every sports meet. As you know, in January we just had the Annual Sports and Cultural Meet of Sri Sathya Sai educational institutions. Since the message and the occasion are the same, this information applies to both the 11th of January 2002, as well as the 11th of January 2003. Bhagavan talked to the students and staff on both occasions. I want to share some of His points with you. Here is what Swami said.

Point One: The Sathya Sai Institutions’ Sports and Cultural Meet is not a routine affair. Every sports meet is unique. Every sports meet is special. It is not a routine or a regular affair, no! Every sports meet is special in its own way.

Sports, Music and Drama

Point Two: The Sathya Sai educational institutions emphasize three areas -- sports, music and drama. Students are well trained in all these three areas.

When students perform a music programme, it is up to professional standards. The boys are also outstanding in the area of sports and, surprisingly enough, these same students get an ‘O’ (for ‘outstanding’) grade in their academics. This is what you call ‘total personality development’ -- where students show excellence in every field, whether sports, dramatics or academics.

Only Fifteen Days to Prepare

Point Three: Usually people spend a lot of time to prepare for such an event. You may not believe it when I say that the students have hardly fifteen days to prepare for the sports meet. If you watch the programme, it is unbelievable. In just 15 days, they are able to make that kind of presentation. Well, I don’t know about you, but I just can’t believe it!

You also know that a lot of money is spent usually for sports events. But here no money is spent. No money is involved -- can you believe it? Students make use of the material that is available in the hostel. They make the huge cutouts, they make the backdrops -- everything is done by the students with the materials available in the college and hostel. Nothing is purchased; there is no expenditure. If you calculate what is spent in other institutions, it would come to lakhs and lakhs of rupees. But here, nothing! That is very amazing.

All of Them are Disciplined

Outside, sportsmen and athletes are usually very good in their field, but they are not very disciplined in their individual lives. But here, all of them are disciplined!

In the earlier period of my service here, I could not believe what was happening. Outside, students were the best in sports, but they were very weak in academics. Students, who were very good in dramatics, didn’t attend other classes. Students interested in music were not interested in their other studies. But here, they are involved and show excellence in every field. This is nothing but Bhagavan’s influence -- the impact of Bhagavan on the students.

You will notice that outside, when a group of excellent football players leave college, the college begins to fall behind in football matches. True? But here, groups come and go but the standards keep going higher and higher because Swami will not compromise as far as standards are concerned.

Some of the spectators and dignitaries on the dais tell me, “Look here Anil Kumar, it easily takes six months of preparation for the students from our area. It is amazing how the students here can make this kind of presentation within 15 days”.

Now the question is this: What are the reasons for this stupendous, successful presentation? What are the reasons behind this wonderful performance? If you investigate, you will certainly find some reasons. One is discipline -- discipline of a very high order. The second is their firm determination to accomplish and achieve, their unflinching devotion to Swami and their spirit of dedication.

The Motivation is to Make Swami Happy

Above all, the motivation behind it is to make Swami happy. Whatever they do, whether gymnastics or athletics, motorbike or karate, their only motive is to make Swami happy. When Swami is happy, the whole world is happy. When Swami is not happy, there is no point in making others happy.

If you ask the students, “What is your incentive?” they say, “Sir, we are not doing this for recognition or for any medals or to win trophies, cash awards or for newspaper publicity, no! We just want a pat on the back from Bhagavan or just a photo with Him. We will be happy just to receive a smile. All we want is Swami to say, ‘I am happy,’ that’s all.”

Particularly for youngsters to have this feeling is really something great.

The Boy Immediately Got Up

During the last sports meet in January 2003, you must have noticed that a boy fell on the ground off the back of a horse. Usually the horse would run away and the boy would quit, stopping further acts or performances. But this boy got up immediately. He ran up to the horse and jumped on the horse’s back. He finished all the stunts as planned, jumping over all the obstacles.

Swami immediately looked at me.

I said, “Swami!”

“Ah, what, what?” (Laughter)

“Swami, the boy fell!”

“Oh, I see,” He said. “Oho?”

“Swami, he ran and got back on the horse and did all the stunts as per their plan.”

“Hmm, good, good, good! See -- see what has happened? Usually this would not be the case.” said Bhagavan.

Nothing Can Happen Because Swami is There

Also, you must have seen a boy on a motorcycle hit a wall and fall down. The boy was on one side and the motorcycle on the other. Nothing happened to the boy. He immediately got up, picked up the motorcycle and started riding again.

Swami said, “See, nothing happened to him. You know why? They are confident that nothing will happen because Swami is here. It’s really good."

And regarding the audience and all the spectators – why did they come? They did not come for entertainment, no. They did not come on a holiday. They came to see Bhagavan and the boys do so many wonderful things on the playing field.

The discipline and peaceful atmosphere that prevailed on the sports day are not seen anywhere else in the world. Elsewhere you will find clapping, cheering, shouting, slogans and all kinds of disturbances. But here the sports and games are spiritualised -- the whole atmosphere is calm and peaceful. It is made into a ‘religion’. That is something fantastic!

No Unhealthy Rivalry

Here’s another interesting point. When the Bangalore boys from the Brindavan campus were on the field, the Prashanti Nilayam boys were equally appreciative of their presentation. They cheered and applauded loudly whenever there was something fantastic happening. And when the Prashanti Nilayam boys performed, the Brindavan boys equally enjoyed their show.

It only means that there is no unhealthy rivalry, no stupid competition. It is a question of sharing; it is a question of caring; it is a time to display their talent in front of Bhagavan. This sort of brotherhood among competitors, among students of different campuses, is a healthy sign worthy of emulation by everyone. This is really great.

You will also find that it is fun and frolic, where no one wins and no one loses. You probably noticed that Bhagavan gives sportsmanship cups of equal size to everybody. (Laughter) Who stood first? All stood first. Who was second? No one is second to anyone. All are first. Why? It is an event or presentation by students of all the campuses. It is a collective effort, a group effort -- not an individual effort, no!

Therefore, everyone has a role -- from the students who made the cutouts, to those who made the frames, to those who made the decorations -- they are all to be credited for that. We never say, “This person did such-and-such a thing,” no. In this respect, it is really a very, very great event indeed.

This year if you attended, you would have seen the boys from the Prashanti Nilayam campus presenting a very big, revolving globe held in the palm of a very large hand. Whose palm was it? It was the palm of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s hand was depicted holding the whole globe, which has a message to convey -- the Creator and His creation. The globe is creation and the Hand is the Creator. It drew everyone’s attention.

March 1st, 2002

Now I’ll move along to the 1st of March 2002. Bhagavan came out on the veranda as usual and was so gracious to ask me for a question.

A Challenge, Not Difficulties

I asked, “Swami, how is it that all noble, good people face difficulties? Why? Swami, why do they have difficulties?”

Bhagavan’s answered, “They appear to you as difficulties. But to them, these are not difficulties. Noble people, good people appear to have difficulties; but to them, these are challenges. They view them as God’s tests, so they can get through them successfully. They don’t take them as difficulties, as you people do. Kashtalu kadu. They take it as kartavyalu, duties and responsibilities. They view them as kartavya, responsibilities, not as kashtamulu or kashtalu, meaning difficulties.”

Swami Materialized a Jewel -- ‘Chudamani’

While talking to the boys, Swami suddenly materialized a jewel, called a chudamani. A chudamani is a special ornament that ladies put on their head here (Anil Kumar motions to the crown of his head). This one was worn by Sita.

Anjaneya went in search of Sita. Sita gave her chudamani to Anjaneya so that he could show it to Sri Rama as proof of having been with her. How else would He know that Anjaneya had actually been with Sita? To prove it, Sita gave Anjaneya the chudamani she was wearing. It was a very good piece, full of diamonds.

Swami showed it and said, “This is the ornament she wore on her head.”

Everyone was surprised and began looking at it.

Swami Materialized a Fruit I could Not Identify

On the dais that day in Kulwant Hall, Swami’s chair was in the centre between the two lions. To His left sat the vice chancellor, the registrar, and the controller of examinations -- some big people. In their company happened to be seated another man by the name of Raju, a builder, an industrialist from a very big company, Nagarjuna Builders.

Swami was talking to everybody and suddenly He waved His hand and materialized a fruit of this size -- atti pandu, something like a wild fig, forest fig or berry. I'm a student of botany, but I'm very ashamed to say I could not identify what it was.

Swami asked me, “What is this fruit?”

“I don’t know, Swami.”

Swami said, “You are a botanist -- don’t you know?”

“I don’t know, Swami.” (Laughter)

Then He said, “This is not grown here. This is not available here, so how would you know? It has been brought from elsewhere.”

Good. But, what if I could not identify a fruit that grows right here? What would happen to my prestige -- and in front of the students? (Laughter) I would cut a very sorry figure. But anyway, how could I guess the name of a fruit that is not available here and is from an unknown, far-off place, maybe even the Himalayas?

Holding the fruit, He cut it into two pieces. He gave half of it to Raju, the industrialist. Then I thought, “The other half is meant for me.” (Laughter) But it did not happen that way. He gave the other half to the vice chancellor. He asked both of them to eat it right there. They ate.

Raju, the builder said, “Swami.”

“Raju, how is the fruit?”

“Swami, I have visited many pilgrim centres spread all over India. I have eaten fruits available from all over India. I have not seen this sort of fruit. I cannot express the sweet taste.”

He kept trying to describe it: “It is sweet from here -- from the navel.”

He continued to describe the depth of the sweetness, “Ah, ah! How deep it has gone! Very sweet, very sweet,” he said.

Then Swami said, “You can’t find this fruit anywhere. I just wanted to show it to you.”

God Expresses His Divinity in the Way He Chooses

Then Bhagavan turned around and started telling an episode. There was a lady by name Hemireddy Malamma, a great devotee. She was married to a person who was mad. Many people thought that the bridegroom was mad, but truly speaking, he was Siva himself. And Hemireddy Malamma was Parvathi. Both of them were Divine, but they came down in human form. Everyone considered the lady’s husband to be a lunatic, a psycho, but he was Lord Siva.

Like any mother-in-law, Malamma’s mother-in-law gave her trouble. One day she wanted fifteen bags of corn to be ground. Fifteen bags! They were to be ground in a mortar, and to be ready by the next morning.

The next morning when the mother-in-law came, to her utter surprise, all the fifteen bags of corn were well ground. Why and how? It is because of Malamma’s mad husband, who was Siva in disguise -- he was Sankara in disguise.

Bhagavan said, "God expresses His Divinity in the ways He chooses, in the ways He prefers. The one you call ‘mad’ is truly speaking God Himself. That is how God manifests."

Bhagavan in a Poetic Style

Raju, the builder, is a writer. To let him know that God is also a poet, Bhagavan started speaking to us in a poetic style. He said, “Not only you, I am also a poet.”

Then He said, “What is the real decoration of a village? The decoration of a village is a group of houses constructed there.” Being a poet, Swami chose special words -- grama and griha. So, griha or house is the decoration of grama, the village. His poem was full of similes and metaphors.

Next, He said, “What is beauty? Where does the beauty of an ocean lie? The beauty of an ocean lies in the raging waves on the surface. Where is the beauty of the sky? The glittering stars of the sky add beauty to the sky. What is the decoration of a peacock? The feathers constitute the decoration of the peacock.”

He composed a poem and started to explain in that manner.

Raju got up and fell at Swami’s feet, “Swami, what a poet you are!”

“Ah, good, it’s all right. You sit down.” (Laughter)

He demonstrates His Divinity clearly. He is the Doctor of doctors when He is in the company of doctors. He is the Engineer of engineers when engineers surround Him. He is a scholar and writer in the company of writers and scholars. He is a diamond with so many facets.

The Patient is Fine

And then suddenly He looked at a doctor working in the Super Speciality Hospital. He asked, “Doctor, what happened to that patient?”

The doctor said, “Swami, he is fine.”

Well, I was very curious to know the details.

“Swami, what is interesting about this? Let everybody hear."

Then Swami said, “A patient was admitted to our hospital. He had heart trouble and his lungs were out of order. Above all, he was suffering from cancer -- stomach cancer. Such a patient was refused admission by all other doctors.”

Naturally, who will take the risk?

Our doctors also said, “Swami, this patient is not going to survive. We better ask him to go home and have a peaceful death.”

Swami said, “Nothing doing! Admit him in the hospital. Give him the treatment.”

The doctors had no alternative. They had to operate on him. It took eight hours. Bhagavan sat there all through, until the operation was over. Swami then inquired about that patient the very same evening.

The doctor said, “Swami, he’s fine.”

Here is the case of a patient who recovered, when doctors had totally given up! It is the unseen hand of Bhagavan Baba.

Then Swami made a statement that we should remember: “Wherever there is God, there is bound to be victory -- there is bound to be success, that is all. So you cannot deny treatment to the patient.”

This statement implies that Baba is God. First He said, “Wherever there is God, there is bound to be success.” And second He said, “You cannot deny admission to the patient.” Both statements were revelations to everyone that Bhagavan Baba is God.

A Great Scholar was Depressed

Then Swami started narrating a small story. There was a great scholar who was utterly poor. He didn’t even have one square meal per day. He could not maintain his family. Every day in a temple he gave discourses on the Bhagavad Gita, while leading a life of helplessness.

He was angry at his life. Sometimes we also fall into depression – naturally, as we are humans. Sometimes we are frustrated. Life is disappointing at times. Since we are now in Prashanti, we can get relief from it more quickly. Had we been in our hometown, perhaps we might have needed a psychiatrist!

This scholar was very, very poor, very depressed and frustrated. There is a sloka in Gita that says:

Ananyas Chintayanto Mam,
Ye Janah Paryupasate,
Tesam Nityabhi Yuktanam,
Yoga Kshemam Vahamyaham.


That is the text of that sloka. The meaning is:

Whosoever thinks of Me with unwavering faith
will be successful.
It is My duty to take care of your welfare


“I think of You and I speak about You, but I'm still very poor. You promised to take care of me, but You have not taken care of me,” said the scholar.

He removed the sloka and tore it into pieces -- not only that, he took a blade and cut across it with all his vengeance. And then, since it was noontime, he went to bed for his afternoon nap or siesta.

He Has Cut Our Backs

At that time, two boys came by – one was very fair and the other was a little dark.

The scholar’s wife received them and said, “Boys, what do you want?”

The boys said, “Amma, we have come here to pass on two bags of rice. We have been commanded to place these two bags of rice here. Let us unload.”

They unloaded two bags of rice and complained to the wife of this scholar, “Look here mother, your husband is not a good man.”

“What!”

“He has cut our backs with a blade. See? It is bleeding. Watch!”

The lady said, “No, no, no, my husband is not that type. He is a preacher. He speaks on the Gita. He is not violent. He wouldn’t cut anybody with a blade. He wouldn’t do that.”

“No, mother that is what your husband did.”

And so saying, the two boys left. The scholar, after a good sound sleep, got up and saw the two bags of rice. He called his wife.

The wife said, “It seems two boys were commanded to hand over these two bags of rice. They unloaded them.”

“Oh-ho, good! Who were those two boys?”

The wife said, “Why do you ask me that question? They are the two boys whose backs you cut with a blade.”

“Me? Cut them with a blade? I never did it! I wouldn’t do that.”

Then the scholar asked, “How did they look? What was their age?”

The wife said, “Two young boys -- one was very fair and one was a little dark.”

Then the scholar understood. The dark-complexioned one was Krishna. The fair-complexioned boy was His brother, Balarama. They were Krishna and Balarama!

Then immediately he fell at his wife's feet and said, “How fortunate you are! You saw Krishna and Balarama. I could not see them, even after all these years of speaking on the Gita. You are really lucky!”

Bhagavan narrated the story to us and said, “Those who seek refuge at the Feet of God will never be denied anything in this world. They will never be poor because God will take care of them as they have totally surrendered to Him.”

Vibhishana was Greater than Bheeshma

Then Bhagavan mentioned two characters: one from Mahabharata, Bheeshma, and one from the Ramayana, Vibhishana.

Swami said, “Vibhishana of the Ramayana is greater than Bheeshma of Mahabharata.”

Indians do not know this and Hindus will not accept it, because Bheeshma is a senior man. Vibhishana is not great in archery or in penance or in wisdom. Vibhishana is just Ravana’s brother, an ordinary inhabitant of Lanka, but Bheeshmacharya is a great man.

Baba says, “Vibhishana is greater than Bheeshma.”

But who will accept it?

Swami added another dimension: “Bheeshma, although a great man, although a great scholar, an expert in archery, a man of deep penance, is less than Vibhishana, who is so simple and ordinary.”

Why? Because when Vibhishana came to know that his brother Ravana committed a mistake, he immediately confronted his brother: “You should not do this. Brother, you should not kidnap the wife of another man. This is wrong. If anyone did the same to you, wouldn’t you feel badly?”

Vibhishana opposed Ravana. He wanted to teach him a lesson. But elder brother Ravana refused to listen. So, Vibhishana left Ravana and surrendered to Rama.

But Bheeshma of the Mahabharata, in spite of all his greatness, continued to remain with the Kauravas, those brutal fellows. He never left their company. So, you may be wise, you may be aged, you may be a scholar and you may be an expert, but if you still continue to cooperate and support wicked people, all will fall into nothingness. You may be simple, you may be humble, you may be ordinary, but if you leave your own kith and kin when they are bad and surrender to God, you are really greater than any powerful man in this world. That’s what Bhagavan said.

He gave another example concerning Prahlada from the Maha Bhagavatha. Prahlada differed with his father. The father, Hiranyakasipu, tested Prahlada by giving him poison; he had elephants trample over his body; he had him set on fire -- but nothing ever happened to Prahlada. He withstood all the tests.

King Kong Realised His Mistake

Swami gave another example. I want all of you to hear this carefully because there is a lesson to be learnt from this. You must have heard of King Kong. (Laughter) Yes! King Kong, well-built body, the wrestler – ahhh! The moment you hear his name, you imagine his personality. King Kong had a well-built body, like a huge mountain, with muscles all over. He always did morning exercises to maintain his body. (Laughter).

One day when he was doing physical exercises, a girl happened to pass by that street. She looked at that funny creature, who was like a mountain with all his muscles. The girl laughed because King Kong was only wearing shorts. (Laughter).

When the girl laughed, King Kong got very angry and said, “You’re laughing at me?”

He was ready to give one or two blows. (Laughter) The girl laughed more.

Then King Kong said, “Why are you laughing?”

And the girl replied, “Sir, you have got so much muscle power. Why could you not control your temper? Your body is a waste because you could not control your anger. After all, when a small girl laughs at you, what do you lose? You don’t lose two pounds of flesh. Why are you angry?” Then King Kong realised his mistake.

With this illustration Baba said, “Boys, it is not enough if you are physically strong. It is not enough if you are mentally alert. It is more important that you control yourself. It is more important that you have a balanced state of mind.”

He then turned toward the warden and said, “Look here warden, take care of our boys. See that they study well. See that they are healthy and strong. When My boys are happy, I am happy.”

Further He told the wardens, “Our institutions are not for business, or for profit-making, no, no, no, no! Don’t compare our institutions with other institutions. We are quite different. I don’t want you to make any profit. I don’t want you to make it a business. I want you to see that our boys are strong, that our boys are healthy -- that is very important. Our boys should learn values more than bookish education. It is for that purpose I started these institutions.”

I Know Everything

Suddenly one gentleman, a professor, got up and said something to Swami. “Swami, this happened; Swami, that happened.” He talked to Swami about something that had happened.

Swami immediately turned around and said, “I know. Why do you tell Me? Where am I? Where am I? I know everything.”

Then I thought to myself, ‘How do You know?’ (Laughter) I did not open my mouth because I knew it would be risky.

Then, without the question being asked, Baba said, “Who taught the fish how to swim? (Laughter) There is no need to tell Me or teach Me. I know everything,” He said. “I know everything.”

Even without asking, my doubt within was neatly answered.

That is all -- I think I covered it all. We’ll continue at the next session, okay?
 


Source: http://www.internety.com/saipearls/05.02.2003%20(E)%20central.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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