Posted @ 1115 hrs. IST, May 24
REALISE THAT YOU AND I ARE ONE
Everybody is afraid of Yama, god of
death. He goes about in every corner of
the world and takes away the life
principle of those whose life sojourn on
earth comes to an end.
Chastity Endows Women with Immense Power
When he took the life of Savitri’s
husband Satyavan, Savitri was full of
grief and prayed to him to bring her
husband back to life. She said, “Either
you give back my husband’s life or take
my life also. I cannot live without my
husband; we are one”. When Yama wanted
to go away after taking the life of her
husband, Savitri blocked his way and did
not allow him to move. Yama had no
choice but to listen to her prayer. He
asked her, “Mother! What do you want”?
“Give my husband back to me because it
is not possible for me to live without
him,” said Savitri. Ultimately, Yama had
to yield to her prayer and revive
Satyavan. Yama not only brought Satyavan
back to life, but granted many boons
also to both Savitri and Satyavan, happy
as he was with the chastity and
determination of Savitri. It was because
of her power of chastity that Savitri
could bring her dead husband back to
life.
Chandramati was another great woman of
the sacred land of Bharat who set a
shining example of chastity in the
world. When she along with her husband
Harischandra and son was crossing a
forest, it was suddenly engulfed in wild
fire, which threatened their life. Then
Chandramati prayed, “If I am truly a
chaste woman and have been adhering to
Dharma all my life, let this wild fire
be extinguished”. And lo and behold, the
fire was extinguished in a trice and the
entire forest became calm and serene. So
great is the power of penance and
chastity of a chaste woman! But she was
always humble and expressed gratitude to
God, saying, “It is by the grace of God
that I have been able to uphold the
Dharma of a chaste woman”. She always
followed her husband and could never
bear separation from him even for a
moment. That is the hallmark of a chaste
woman. Both husband and wife should live
together in harmony whole of their life.
(Here Bhagavan narrated the story of
King Harischandra and his chaste wife
Chandramati, who in spite of undergoing
untold sufferings upheld the virtues of
truth and righteousness and set a
shining example of virtuous life.)
This land of Bharat has given birth to
many noble women like Damayanti who
reduced an evil-minded hunter to ashes
with the power of her chastity and Sita
who proved her chastity by coming out of
blazing fire unscathed. (Telugu Poem)
Life Finds Fulfilment when Husband and
Wife Live in Unity
When Sita was put to fire test, the fire
god himself manifested out of it and
told Rama, “Sita is a woman of great
chastity”. There were many women of
chastity in the sacred land of Bharat
like Sita, Chandramati, Damayanti and
Savitri. People are afraid of Yama, the
god of death, but Yama is afraid of the
women of chastity. Just as Savitri could
bring her dead husband back to life by
the power of her chastity, Sita could
also come out of blazing fire unscathed
by the power of her chastity. All these
examples of chaste women of Bharat set
the ideal that for a woman her husband
is God. These ideals set by such chaste
women made India a teacher of the world
and leader of all nations. Except in
Bharat, in which country of the world do
you find examples of women who brought
their dead husbands back to life? Even
if you search the entire world, you
cannot find such chaste women. Such is
the sacredness of this land of Bharat.
That is why God loves to incarnate in
Bharat. Just as women should observe
Patrivrata Dharma (Dharma for a chaste
woman), men should also adhere to
Sativrata Dharma (Dharma for an ideal
husband). A woman must be a Pativrata
(chaste woman), so also her husband, a
Sativrata (ideal husband). The wife
should never go against the command of
her husband, similarly, the husband
should conduct himself according to the
wishes of his wife and should look after
her with great love. But, unfortunately,
there are only a few men today who
observe Sativrata Dharma though a large
number of women adhere to Pativrata
Dharma. God is pleased with those women
who observe Pativrata Dharma. When there
is unity between husband and wife, they
can achieve anything and find
fulfillment in life. Draupadi had five
husbands and she considered them as her
five life-breaths. Women today should
observe chastity like Sita, Savitri,
Draupadi and Damayanti. It is the sacred
land of Bharat where you find such a
large number of Pativrata women and
nowhere else. People who leave such a
sacred land and go to other countries
waste their life.
You say, my body, my handkerchief, so on
and so forth. But who is this ‘my’? That
is the Self or I. I means Atma. Without
realising the Atma, all spiritual
practices like Yajnas and Yaga are of no
use. You say, this is mine and that is
thine. What is the use of doing any
spiritual practice unless you give up
the feelings of mine and thine? Get rid
of the narrow feelings of mine and thine
and realise that you and I are one.
- From Bhagawan’s Divine Discourse in
Sai Kulwant Hall, Prasanthi Nilayam on
18th May 2010.
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sssbpt.org - Sri Sathya Sai Media
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