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|Daily Sai news|
17th
Feb. 2007 |
Maha Shivaratri |
Prasanthi Nilayam |
by
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Note:
Discourses of Sri Sathya Sai Baba
on this SBOIwebsite/group are unedited, authentic & only
sourced from the official Sai baba Org.
GIVE UP EGO AND ATTACHMENT TO BECOME GREAT
Shivaratri Photos
Dear students!
Can all the birds of green colour talk like a parrot?
Can the insects that crawl on the flowers become the bumble bees?
Can an over sized pig become an elephant?
Can one who does not know about himself acquire knowledge of the Self?
(Telugu Poem)
Man today considers himself as great. On the other hand, one who is devoid
of humanness is not a human being at all! A real human being is one who
manifests humanness. A real human being is one who practises the five
human values of Sathya (Truth), Dharma (Righteousness), Santhi (Peace),
Prema (Love) and Ahimsa (Non-violence) and preaches them to others. Even
if one out of these five values is deficient, it is unbecoming of a human
being. Man, in fact is very intelligent. His intelligence is unlimited and
unparalleled. But, it is not being reflected in his behaviour.
Parvati's firm dedication...
Once Lord Easwara was absorbed in intense Tapas (penance). Parvati wished
to marry Him. But, her parents tried to dissuade her. They started to
reason with her describing Siva’s form thus:
Oh! Gowri! You are very young and
Sambasiva is old;
He has matted locks and
wears a tiger skin;
He rides a bull and
is constantly on the move;
He is adorned with snakes;
How did you court Him?
Don’t you know all this?
He has no house of His own and
sleeps in the cremation ground. (Telugu Poem)
Parvati paid no heed to all these reasoning and ignored it. Lord Easwara
knew her nature and Parvati knew Siva’s nature. They are in fact, not
different from one another. Lord Siva is Siva-sakthi-atmaka-swarupa
(Embodiment of Siva and Sakthi). So too is Parvati. How can the ordinary
mortals understand such mystic nature of Lord Easwara and Parvati! Where
there is a feeling of duality, there arises doubt. A man with dual mind is
half blind. In fact, there is no difference between Lord Siva and Parvati.
Meanwhile, Saraswati arrived on the scene to counsel Parvati about Lord
Siva’s unsuitability as her bridegroom. She explained, “Dear Parvati!
Society will not accept such an odd combination. There is no compatibility
between you and Lord Siva. You yourself know everything. I need not
elaborate on the point further. I am sorry that knowingly you have fallen
into that illusion.” Parvati replied firmly, “Oh Saraswati! I am
interested only in Lord Siva and none else. I have no other interest in
life except becoming the consort of Lord Siva. No one can change my
decision.”
Divinity pervades everything...
Isavasyam Idam Sarvam (the entire universe is permeated by God). The power
of Lord Siva permeates the entire universe. The foremost duty of a human
being is to love Easwaratwa (the divinity of Lord Easwara). Actually, the
same divine power is immanent in every human body also. Just as the human
body is covered with a cloth, Divinity is enveloped in Maya (illusion).
Hence, though Easwaratwa is omnipresent it is not visible. In accordance
with the maxim Easwara Sarva Bhutanam (God is the indweller of all
beings), Easwaratwa is permeating every living being. Parvati explained
that this Easwaratwa transcends age and it is in no way related to
external appearance.
Parvati's woes
Mother Lakshmi too tried to dissuade Parvati from marrying Lord Siva. She
explained “My dear! You are quite young and beautiful. You have great
power in you. It is unbecoming that you seek to wed someone who goes
begging from house to house for alms.” Parvati was very upset and she
sternly replied, “My bridegroom is no beggar. In fact, He is the one who
gives alms to the entire world. It is not proper for you all to indulge in
this campaign of slander against Him.” Several others also were averse to
the choice of Parvati. They enquired, “He is adorning Himself with snakes.
How did you court such a person? Don’t you know about it?” Parvati
retorted, “The snakes have poison only in their fangs. But, a human being
has poison in the entire body. His vision, his hearing and his actions,
are all full of poison. You consider such a poisonous human being as a
good person. If the fangs are removed, the snake cannot harm anybody. But,
the human being with his two fangs of Ahamkara (ego) and Mamakara
(attachment) is roaming about nonchalantly and causing great harm to
fellow human beings and to the world around. He is considering himself
great. Man is full of poison. How can such a human being be corrected?”
One with pride will not be successful in any of his endeavours.
He will commit sins and will be ridiculed by one and all.
His own people will abandon him.
He will lose all wealth and respect.
His pride will ruin him completely. (Telugu Poem)
Recognise your innate nature
God is loved by one and all. Every human being lives by love alone. In
fact, one who has no love in him is not a human being at all! The love
that exists between God and the human being is comparable to that between
a father and a son. What a great sin it is to attribute ill-will to such
pure and unsullied love? In fact, it is the result of evil qualities that
has permeated society. When the innate divine nature of every human being
is recognised, there will be no scope for any kind of differences. All are
one, be alike to everyone. We have to achieve such transformation in our
lives. You study several texts. Mere reading is not enough. It will not
help you in any way. The truth contained in those texts has to be realised
and experienced.
Laila and Majnu were great lovers. Theirs was selfless love, which became
immortal. Unable to understand the true nature of their sacred love,
people attributed all sorts of motives to their love and created a lot of
confusion. The mind must be filled with pure love. One should not develop
attachment to sense objects and poison one’s own mind. It is only then can
real happiness be experienced. Every human being in this world must
analyse for himself what is to be changed and corrected and what is to be
accomplished. Accordingly, he should conduct himself. It is only then that
he would have realised real humanness. The Divinity called ‘I’ is immanent
in every human being. This Divinity ‘I’ is not to be construed as Brahma,
Vishnu or Siva. These are all names ascribed by man to Divinity for the
purpose of recognition. The names are not that important. The real
Divinity is ‘I’. ‘I am I’. We consider Brahma as the creator, Vishnu, the
sustainer and Siva, the destroyer. God grants Darshan to each one in the
same form on which each one contemplates.
Matru Devo Bhava
Once Lord Siva and Mother Parvati were strolling in the ethereal world.
They saw, on the earth, one person cutting the branch of a tree on which
he was resting. The branch was almost cut and was about to fall any
moment. Parvati was very anxious. She prayed to Lord Siva, “Oh! Lord!
Please save him immediately from falling on the earth below.” Easwara
replied, “It is you who saw him first. You only realised that he may fall
down by cutting the branch on which he was sitting. Hence, it is your
responsibility to save him.” Parvati then laid down a condition, “Swami!
Normally, any person falling from a height will express his agony by
uttering the words ‘Amma!’ or ‘Appa!’ If this man cries ‘Amma!’ I will
rescue him. On the other hand, if he cries ‘Appa!’ You have to rescue
him.” Easwara agreed for this suggestion. Meanwhile, the branch that was
being cut finally broke. The person sitting on it fell down. Mother
Parvati was ready to save him. Lord Siva was also ready. But, the person
prayed to neither ‘Amma!’ nor Appa!’ He just wailed ‘Ayyo!’ Though Lord
Siva and Mother Parvati were both waiting to rescue him, the man did not
call them! This story is a reminder to one and all that we must always
remember our parents wherever we are and in whichever situation we are
placed in. They are the living divinities constantly guarding and guiding
us. The Upanishads exhort, Matru Devo Bhava, Pitru Devo Bhava, Acharya
Devo Bhava, Atithi Devo Bhava (revere your mother, father, preceptor and
guest as God). You may be highly educated. You may be an adept in all
branches of knowledge in this world. Yet, to your mother you are only a
child. Your mother’s blessing will be always with you. The life of a son
who neglects such a mother is worthless.
It is only Mother Parvati who has a compassionate heart to protect a man
in distress. Hence, we must constantly contemplate upon that
Sakthiswarupini. Lord Easwara is The Father and Mother Parvati is
Sakthiswarupini. Easwara cannot take that much liberty and move forward to
save a devotee. It is only after the Sakthi takes a step forward, Lord
Easwara follows her. Hence, one has to worship the Sakthiswarupini in the
first instance. She is the mother, verily. That is the reason why it has
been said Matru Devo Bhava! It is the mother who has been given the first
place. Even one’s own country is compared to the mother. We say, “India is
my motherland.” Everyone refers to his country as ‘motherland’ and not as
‘fatherland’. It is a common practice in the country of Bharat that a girl
after her marriage goes to her in-laws’ house to live there with her
husband and in-laws. The lady of the in-laws’ house is referred to as
‘mother-in-law’ in the English language. But Mother Parvati is
‘Mother-in-love’ for the whole world. ‘Law’ is a word relating to the
world, whereas ‘love’ refers to one’s heart. Hence, first and foremost
develop love. Consider love as your everything. It is only then that you
would have led a fruitful life. Your mother may be very simple and not
worldly-wise. She may be very weak physically and intellectually. Yet, a
mother is a mother. You should not neglect your mother simply because she
is weak or has fallen sick. A mother is always full of love for her
children. That is the reason why Bhakta Ramadas prayed to Mother Sita,
“Oh! Mother Sita! Please represent my case to Rama and help me. When you
are engaged in happy conversation with Rama in solitude, kindly make a
mention about my pitiable condition.” Bhakta Ramadas worked as a Tahsildar
under Nawab Tanisha. He spent all the revenue collected from the people in
building a temple of Lord Rama, Lakshmana and Mother Sita and decorating
the idols with gold jewellery. He was imprisoned on charges of
misappropriation for not depositing the money in the treasury. Unable to
bear the agony in jail, he lamented, “Swami! I have dedicated all the
money collected by me in your service only.” In a beautiful Kirtan (song),
he sang thus:
Oh Ramachandra! I have spent ten thousand gold coins to adorn Mother Sita
with a gold necklace and another ten thousand sovereigns to decorate your
brother Lakshmana with a gold belt. That crest jewel which adorns You cost
me another ten thousand gold coins. Unmindful of my travails, You are
flaunting the jewellery as if You have got it with Your own money! (Telugu
Poem)
One cannot achieve anything in life, unless one gets rid of ego and
attachment. Anything can be achieved with humility and obedience. In all
spheres of life - moral, spiritual, physical and even political, one
should conduct oneself with devotion. Only then will the task achieved
shine in glory.
Women should be respected...
When a mother leaves her physical body, her soul will still be concerned
with her children and their welfare. One day a mother approached Me and
pleaded with Me, “Swami! My daughter listens to everyone. But, she gives
importance to only Swami’s words. My daughter is obstinate from the very
beginning. She does not listen to what I say. But, if You once talk to
her, she will follow Your advice. She has lot of faith in You. She will
not disobey Your words.” Thus, several mothers come and pray for several
things on behalf of their children. Mothers have an important role to
play. There is no God higher than mother. Hence, one should never
disregard his/her mother. Those who ignore their mother will encounter
several difficulties. Women shall be respected, loved and shown gratitude.
It is only then will men and women reach an exalted position. You may be
great or highly educated or you may be illiterate even - you must respect
your mother and give weight to her words as your foremost duty.
A mother and her son by name Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar used to live in a
small village near Kolkata. The mother used to struggle a lot to bring up
her son. Since there were no lights in their house, Vidyasagar used to sit
under the streetlights and study his lessons. Thus, he worked hard day and
night and studied well. Finally, he attained a good position in his life.
He became very famous as an orator. People used to gather in thousands to
hear his lectures. Once, Vidyasagar was travelling in a train to go to
some town to give a lecture there. An I.C.S. officer was also travelling
in the same compartment to go to the same town to hear his lecture. As
soon as the officer alighted from the train at the station, he called for
a coolie to carry his briefcase. Vidyasagar approached that officer and
told him, “Sir, give me that briefcase. I will carry it for you. By the
way, where have you to go?” The I.C.S. officer replied, “I am going to the
place where Ishwarchandra Vidyasagar will deliver a lecture.” On hearing
those words, Vidyasagar smiled to himself and started for the place of
meeting. As soon as they reached that place, Vidyasagar handed over the
briefcase to that officer and said, “Sir! I take leave of you.” The
officer offered some money to Vidyasagar for carrying his briefcase,
saying, “Look! Take this money.” Vidyasagar replied, “Sir! I have carried
your briefcase as an act of service, not for money,” and politely declined
the offer of money. The meeting commenced. Vidyasagar was profusely
garlanded and brought on the stage with honour. The officer, on seeing
Vidyasagar recognised him as the person who carried his briefcase a few
minutes ago. He felt very embarrassed. As soon as the meeting was over, he
fell at the feet of Vidyasagar and begged for pardon.
Humility brings greatness...
It is only humility and obedience that brought great honour to Vidyasagar.
Even today, you will find the life story of Vidyasagar in the textbooks.
Greatness is not in the education we pursue or the high academic degrees
we obtain. It is humility and obedience that bring greatness to us. There
are several educated people in this world. But, of what use it is? What
benefit does the world derive out of their education? It is only because
of ego and attachment that a person is spoiled. One can become really
great when he sheds these two.
During his debating tour of north India, Adi Sankara met a great scholar
named Mandana Mishra. He had a wife by name Ubhayabharati. She was
selected to be the arbitrator and judge to decide the winner in the debate
between Adi Sankara and Mandana Mishra. She considered truth as God and
was therefore eminently suited for the assignment. Sankara defeated
Mandana Mishra in the debate and he was declared the winner by
Ubhayabharati. As per the conditions of the debate, Mandana Mishra had to
take to Sannyas(renunciation), and he did accordingly. As a dutiful wife,
Ubhayabharati followed suit and she also became a renunciant.
Ubhayabharati serves eye-opener...
One day, Ubhayabharati was going along with her disciples to the river
Ganga for taking bath in the river. On the way, she observed a Sannyasi
who was relaxing, keeping a dried bottle gourd under his head. He was
using this for storing drinking water, and hence he was preserving it
carefully. Ubhayabharati saw this Sannyasi’s attachment to the bottle
gourd and said to her disciples, “Look! This man calls himself a Sannyasi,
but he is attached to a bottle gourd which he is keeping under his head as
a pillow.” The Sannyasi heard this comment, but did not utter anything
then. While Ubhayabharati and her disciples were returning from the river,
he threw away the bottle gourd in front of them in order to demonstrate
that he was not attached to it. Observing his action, Ubhayabharati aptly
remarked, “I thought there was only one defect in him – Abhimana
(attachment). Now I realise that he has another defect also – Ahamkara
(ego). How can one with Abhimana and Ahamkara become a Jnani and
Sannyasi?” Her comment was an eye-opener for the Sannyasi. He expressed
gratitude to Ubhayabharati for imparting true knowledge of renunciation to
him.
Emulate Karna
Diverse population must be following differing paths in the world. Lord
Krishna is the one who taught the path of wisdom and established the truth
that the quality of love is common to all. He forgave even people with
demonic qualities, like Duryodhana and Dussasana. Though Karna joined the
evil forces, he was a man of noble qualities. Hence, Lord Krishna praised
his qualities. Karna did not have even a trace of ego and attachment. He
was a great warrior and a person of highest charity. One should therefore
emulate his noble qualities. Every student should hear good things and put
them into practice. Experience bliss and share that bliss with all. This
is your foremost duty.
Source: http://sssbpt.org
***SBOI***
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