Date:13 Jul 1996 | Occasion:Divine Discourse | Place:Prashanti Nilayam |
Need For Love And Truth
If inner motives are good, the fruits of our action will be beneficial or successful. If the feelings in the mind are wicked, the fruits will be accordingly bad or the action will result in a failure.
Jealousy and ego have increased beyond all limits in today's world. If anyone stands first in the class, the other fellow students feel envious. Anyone who is healthy and strong are also envied. Watching the rich, poor people feel jealous and create a lot of trouble. Animals too show this type of behaviour. The cranes don't relish the presence of swans in their neighbourhood. The crows are unable to tolerate the sweet song of the cuckoo. Worldly men are like these crows and cranes, unable to bear other's prosperity!
What is Sadhana? Is it meditation or chanting the Lord's name ? They are merely worldly ways. Real Sadhana is to give up the body identification which comes in the way of knowing the Divine; to give up the feeling that we are the body! We have to always remain aware of the indweller in the body, and not the body. Giving up worldly feelings and developing Divine feelings, should be considered as a true and proper Sadhana, having faith that everything else is only external. All that we listen, think, see and imagine pertains to (Pravritti) outward path. The true feeling is transcendental to everything. That is the quality of (Nivritti) inward path.
Today whatever spiritual practices we do, we are not able to enjoy the bliss of doing it. All the worldly yearnings have to be left behind. Truth is the only one which will protect you all the time. So we have to tread along such a path. It is not enough if we merely chant the name of Rama from the lips. A tape recorder also keeps playing the names of God, but what result does it attain? A gramophone record keeps singing, but how much fruit does it attain? So repeat the name of the Lord from the heart. Willpower is very essential. It is also called free will. Only God has free will and nobody else can attain this.
No one can protect the world. Truth and Righteousness alone will protect the world. So what you have to safeguard and follow is the Truth and Righteousness. Once you take care to practice these two principles, they will protect the country themselves. Therefore, we only have to take to the practice of Truth and Righteousness in our daily life. That is the meaning of 'Dharma protects the one who protects it'. Today we do not know what Dharma or Righteousness is? Truth is also not known. Truth is changeless in all three times. What changes is fact. Fact is worldly. They change. Morning it is Yoga, at noon it is Roga (disease), at night Bhoga (pleasure). If it keeps changing thus, how long will it last?
Students, under any circumstances do not forsake Truth, even at the cost of your life. Then Truth will be around you and protect you as eyelid protects the eye. Harishchandra was transformed into Sathya Harishchandra. He faced so many trials and difficulties, sacrificed his kingdom, sold his wife and son and became a keeper at the cremation ground. But still he was not bogged down by his difficulties and he did not give up his adherence to Truth. Ultimately God Himself had to yield to him. God manifested Himself and gave him back everything he lost and bestowed upon him the title "Sathya Harishchandra". You are the son of immortality. You are not the son of falsehood. You are not born to falsehood, you are born to Truth. God is the very form of Truth, therefore all are born out of Divine. As all the bubbles are born out of water, so also all mankind is born out of the ocean of Satchitananda, and are the forms of Being, Awareness and Bliss. Recognise this: This body is a human body and I am the embodiment of Satchitananda. If we make this feeling strong how blissfully can we carry on our life's journey. Don't feel this artificially. You have to feel it from the depth of your heart. I am the very form of bliss, the body is going to perish and mind is bound to fall, ego will depart, emotions will be blown away like clouds, but I am ever present. I am not restless, I don't move or slip, or oscillate, I am one of unity. We have to strengthen such feelings. The day we give rise to such feelings, we find God manifesting. But if we have no faith on that feeling, then how do you expect to see God? Therefore first have faith in yourself and then faith in God. If we have these two we can achieve anything. Be fearless. Don't be afraid of anything. Why should we fear? Truth is there within us. Truth is not afraid of anything. Truth is always victorious. We have to achieve this Truth through Love alone. So under all circumstances speak the Truth. In the beginning it may be a little tough, but Swami is telling you really it is very easy to speak Truth. Speaking Truth requires no strain at all. To tell lies you have to think and plan much and put in so much effort. Why should you strain so much to utter lies? Very easily and in a simple way you can take speak the Truth. How easy it is to tell what you heard as it is! If someone were to ask you who translated Swami's discourse, in a moment it can be said that it is Mr.Anil Kumar, but to avoid telling Anil Kumar's name you have to do much planning and thinking. Why should you suffer? Why can you not tell the Truth as you have seen with your own eye.
In Swami's discourses, be it on any subject I start with these two cardinal principles of Truth and Love and end with the same. There will be no discourses without these, because everybody's life is based on these two principles. One is inhalation and other is exhalation. How can you live without these two ? Therefore, SO is Sathya or Truth; HAM is Prema or Love. Students! develop Truth and Love in this tender age. See the Truth is put into practice in a proper way. Selfishness and self interest might change the definition of Truth! It does not matter if you do not undertake any spiritual practice, but develop Truth and Love. Where there is Truth, Love, Righteousness and Peace there will not be any violence of any kind and Ahimsa or Nonviolence will be total. Since these four are absent, the world is full of violence. Violence is everywhere, at home, outside, in the market, in the buses, trains, and planes too. Life is full of fear. The whole life is like Padma Vyuha or lotus formation of warfare in which a person is attacked from all sides. Without going anywhere, even if you want to sit at home it is fearful. If you want to travel by train, plane or even if you just want to walk, it has become dangerous. Where are you fearless? Only in the presence of God you are fearless. When God is within, there is no scope for fear. Therefore, first install God in your heart. God our Hridya nivasi; indweller of the heart, manifests Himself in our heart.