| Workshop with a group in Puttaparthi
2009-01-02
Professor Anil Kumar gave a talk.
Singing is a prayer and a heart to heart communication with the Divine
Singing is prayer; singing is poetry singing is a prose. God is poetry God is a
song, God is music but life is prose. So when you sing you make life into poetry.
Music and poetry will make our life interesting and dynamic. It is something like
the flow of a river; an invitation, a prayer and communication with God. A life
without music is dry and lifeless. In Bhajan and music we sing from our heart and
the words we express is a love poem to God.
Sentimental love is beautiful but when love is expressed it sometimes loses its
strength and beauty. Words separate you and are dependent on articulation and mutual
understanding. Words speak from our knowledge and if words are born from the head it
can become egoistic; if words are born out of our heart it becomes music or poetry.
All words coming from the heart will meet other hearts; words coming from the head
will meet other heads. The speaker or the singer becomes the song or the words, it
is a union with the inner and outer truth which can reach far and be felt by many.
Communication is necessary in full awareness and understanding of its limitations
and parameters. Communication is necessary in its full awareness of its limits. All
that we have cannot be expressed and all that we communicate may not be true. Why?
Because truth cannot be communicated, love cannot be communicated, peace cannot be
communicated, so love peace and truth are experiential, they are existential but not
communicated.
In life we are forced to talk, express and use words but if we have inner silence
our words will have a deeper quality and a deeper strength. If we manage to speak
from a silent state, speak from a wordless state we will experience the truth.
Between the words truth is manifested and love will express itself. As long as we
are busy using words, love, peace and truth are hidden. When we are silent in our
mind and expression, love peace and truth come out openly. The flowering and
blossoming of love and peace will happen between the words and expressions and the
fruition of bliss happens. Communicate my friends, but be aware that words are not
total in its depth and content. All that is in our heart cannot be put into words.
In music and poetry we can get a stronger feeling of love and peace and in silence
the full harvest. In music and silence there is no duality where as in communication
there is duality, the listener and the speaker in Divine music has the potential to
become one with the song. Worldly music goes to our head and nourishes our ego;
Divine music goes to our heart and nourishes our soul. The science of the soul is
religion, the science of the mind is psychology and the science of the body is
medicine.
The Divine energy is everywhere and wherever we are we can recall the feeling of
Divine energy in our heart. God is present in your heart, available to you by a mere
call, prayer or Bhajan. Sometimes when we are away from our loved ones, we start
missing them thinking more of them and the energy and focus get stronger because we
do not see them on a regular basis and it also becomes stronger when we see them
after a long time of absence. When we physically do not see our beloved Baba we
start to see Him from within and start to have union within. When you see Him
outside communication is the relationship. Communion is silent, communication is
verbal. Yes it is very important to experience the Divine everywhere, in fact where
else can we experience Him.
When prayer and inner union is strong we get immediate help and guidance or
immediate answers to any question we send to Him. That is why it is said knock and
the door shall be opened. Ask and answer shall be given.
Q: Yesterday in Baba’s Discourse He said we are creating our own world
through our own thoughts, actions and reaction and Baba is not doing what we think
He is doing.
Anil Kumar: Usually people turn to religion, different churches, mosques and
temples and run after Masters to escape personal responsibility. People want to
blame someone else, and someone else to look after your responsibilities. Man wants
someone to do according to his wishes and take care of him no matter the pleasure or
pain. But the truth is a Divine being reflects, that is all. We have to act
positively to change the world for the better
When you own the responsibility you do not have to go anywhere. O God forgives my
sins, meaning you want Him to take responsibility to clear you from all your sins.
O, God help me in this way or that way; you want Him to come to your help. All this
is not totally spiritual, when I own the responsibility for the good and the bad, I
am responsible then everything is fine.
When one goes to Baba one should go with faith compassion and love; and if one has
doubts one should pray to God to remove them. Whatever an Avatar is doing has its
reasons and ordinary mortals should not try to analyze it.
Q: When is God interfering in our lives?
Anil Kumar:His job and interfering in our life is to make sure we cannot
escape the consequences or the results of our actions. If I commit a crime I cannot
run away from the punishment. On the other hand if I did something good I cannot
avoid facing good results. God’s role is to see that things reach you at the right
time through reactions reflection and resound. He will himself see that you get the
good results as a result of your good actions and He will see that you cannot run
away from bad results if you commit bad actions. He will be the witness and
encourage you to understand and grow from all life situations we are in as human
beings.
We receive what we give. Baba wants to teach us how to give. We cannot escape the
law of karma. As we sow, so shall we reap. If you hate someone unjustly, God will
see that you are also hated by someone else to balance out your karma. If we destroy
nature, nature will destroy us.
The role of devotion is to get the strength and courage to withstand all kinds of
reactions and actions, up’s and downs from outside and from inside. We should pray
for that, O Lord give me the courage to face all that I need to experience to become
worthy of being at the feet of You.
No Avatar shows their trump cards to us as an open book or as we will, which is a
part of the game. He says He is not doing anything He is playing the role of an
innocent child not to embarrass us or let us know He knows our bad thoughts and
behaviors. “Treat man greatly and he will show himself great. Baba”
Q: Where and when is Grace coming in to our life?
Anil Kumar: Grace will help you to cut short the intensity and period of
Karma. Baba said it can be like a pain killer in time of need. Baba also said many
times that all incarnations are the same divinity, only physical expression is
different. If we do not understand this principle, we will be confused in our path
of spirituality.
Let the change come spontaneously as a result of following the path of righteous
living. RamaKrishna said: there is no need to leave anything, things will leave you.
When the right time comes one will automatically become non-attached.
Q: Swami has said we will only come to Him if He wants it, how to understand
that in that context?
Anil Kumar: His will is to keep me here and His will is to keep me somewhere
else, is the same thing. The coin has two sides, both is according to His will. As a
paradox God is everything and nothing at the same time, fullness and emptiness, the
sun and the moon, the darkness and the light. God allows a lot of distressing
experiences for mankind. When we are heated to the core and desperately crave for
self-realization it is easy for God to grant us transformation; everything is His
plan, only we do not know it out of ignorance. When we realize that our will is not
done and we are a limited being through failure in different parts of life, we
surrender to the will of God.
Q: We have heard that the time might be difficult in the future?
Anil Kumar: Baba said that those who pray properly to God will survive the
calamity. Love is the most important thing. We are all equal despite the country we
come from, we are all a unity. We must shed all jealousy and envy because they are
harmful. We are all one with each other and with God. Seva and service will pacify
any difficulties. Baba says; Love is my form and it is love alone that can change
this world. It is also said that happiness is union with God, so be happy.
Thank you Sai Ram
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