Satsang with Anil Kumar for a youth group from Kerala -21/10 – 22/10 2008
 

Part 1
SaiRam all young sisters and brothers from the state of Kerala, welcome to all of you to Prasanthi Nilayam.
I am so happy to see so many of you this morning.

It is the Divine will that manages such a good arrangement for us even though it is raining heavily today. The State President of Kerala has managed this kind of unforeseen situation before.

Youth of today

I have taught youth for forty years and you are the youth and we, the elders are useful; the teacher is beyond the age because he is in the company of young people all the time so we owe our healthy smiles and young appearance to the youngsters. I am very much aware that Kerala has the highest rate of literacy in this country, India and the youth are bringing this forward. Swami praises Kerala state to the sky for its high standard and from the point of view of the Sai Organization, you are in the very front. The state of Kerala has also a developed culture of art and literature. I do not miss any opportunity to watch the Kerala channel in the morning, particularly the classical dance and music programs.
Adi Sankara the founder of Adwaitic philosophy hailing from Kaladi village in Kerala State, his interpretations of all the ancient scriptures are unique and stand on their own with the highest standard up to this day, personally he gives me joy and all my hair stands up on my body when I hear him. Recently I gave a couple of talks bringing parallels between Adi Shankara’s talks and Sai Baba, it was broadcast in the Sai radio and very well received by the Telugu listeners.
I would like to draw your attention to certain special points that can be useful for youngsters these days. Some youngsters think that old people are fools but the elders usually have the experience and knowledge to know that in our youth we are fools. So I hope that some of what I have to say will apply to your life situations and hopefully be a help in solving some thoughts on truth, peace, love, righteousness if and when thoughts appear.
I have to accept that you belong to a generation which is highly intelligent, where computers and other electronic instruments are easily used from a young age; also knowledge about evolution, exploration of nature and botanical knowledge as a whole, has been revealed to you due to past studies and research. So teachers have to be updated to match the intellect and interest of their students. We teachers are facing a challenging generation, questioned by youth who are brought up with experimental broadminded intellect and are eager to know more and more, to go deeper and deeper into the subject in hand.

Swami attracts the whole world

I also know that this generation of engineers is drawing lakhs of rupees every month but lack health and mental peace. We should not envy them or try to compete or compare ourselves with them. But the fact is they are not as happy as we are who live a modest and balanced life. Some are miles away from smiles, and it is not unusual that man in the business world have heart problems and high blood pressure due to stress. The previous generation was healthier than this generation and future generations will suffer from many stress symptoms and sickness if they do not change their attitude and lifestyle. We have comfort and convenience but no mental peace or minimum bliss; many have knowledge but no wisdom. Many youngsters go to Gurus and Ashrams because they do not have the basic material needs, others do not have happiness or love.
Sri Sathya Sai Baba attracts the maximum of people in the world, youth, middle age and old age people from all over the world. Baba is not only comforting with health, wealth, and peace, He also preaches about lifestyle and patterns. Sai people are different from others, they have a direction and purpose of life, they work for values and think of the culture not only the civilization, and they work for the needs of all and not only for fulfilling desires. The work Sai devotees are doing all over the world is wonderful, tremendous and beyond all estimation. I welcome you all to Baba’s Ashram which is international in its texture and composition. It is also inter-religious and it is a center of spirituality embracing all religions. Prasanthi Nilayam is the only one of its kind in the world; the presence of a living Avatar, multidimensional in religions, nationalities, colors’, language and age. A young boy or girl responds in the same way to Swamis smile as a person in advanced age. You see the map on the globe and you find all the countries here in Prasanthi Nilayam, you will also find people from all professions, classes and status visiting Baba.
I also want you to know that nobody is here in Sathya Sai Baba’s presence without His selection and knowing, it is not merely an accident, life is not accidental life is existential. We all belong to existence and have a specific place and duty to fulfill while we are here on earth, no one is alike, no one is the same, if we are not here the whole energy of the world will miss us; we are all interrelated and if one moves we all move, we are valuable and precious we are unique. Never let us consider ourselves belonging to a crowd; animals and birds may move in a crowd but as a human individual we are important, existential and special. When we are aware of this and are humble we will have all the respect and honor we deserve.

Develop Creativity

To maintain the quality of uniqueness we have to develop creativity. What do I mean by creativity? God is the best example of creativity; Baba the Creator. No function is organized in the same way as before, no pattern of decoration is repeated, and no speech is delivered in the same way. Nobility, change and freshness is the quality of the Divine. Let’s all be creative, act, think and do something new, fresh and original, that will bring joy into our lives. Swami doesn’t like the same Bhajans to be repeated He wants the singers to make it new every morning and evening, He does not expect the one who gives talks to repeat the same talk again and again at different functions. Repetition is boredom, routine and mechanical like a robot or a machine. We are humans and we should be creative in our style, talk, dress, qualifications and performance.
I believe some of you are working and some are studying, I will tell you the best way to start being creative it is to love what you are doing, love what you are doing right now that will take you further and further. The world and your life are being created while you are walking; that is creativity. Simple example; as a teacher I have to try to do my job in creative and new ways otherwise I would lose my students attention and they won’t learn anything and the job will be boredom and stagnation for me as a teacher. Teaching is life and the profession you study is your potential in the world. As an engineer, doctor, pilot, chef or a business man you have to be creative and the best way is to love your job, pay attention and be aware of all details then you will find it wonderful whatever you do.
Never think that you should be in someone else’s shoes, you are you and you are in the best place at this moment. I myself studied biology to become a doctor but ended my career as a professor in botany. I feel proud to be a professor; I would have been a total failure if I had become a doctor as I cannot watch anyone suffer, be in pain or cry; before the patient starts to complain I may have started crying myself so God knows where I am useful. Now I see flowers blossom in the company of my students.

From Physical to Divine Love and Compassion

We have to develop inner spiritual love, most of us know love through cinemas, books and stories, and through these we have some ideas about love. Love is the seed which can become compassion if and when it matures and blossoms. The lowest form of love is physical and love in its highest form is compassion. Love is the seed that grows within every individual. The love of compassion is unconditional, kind and soft interrelated to everything. When our love is not only a desire or a need, when our love is a sharing and not asking for something in return, but is ready only to give, that is compassion.
We have very limited experiences of true love. First of all, love yourself, many people complain about themselves: I have bad habits, I am a failure; but try to improve. Even in the spiritual field people complain for lack of results and blame the Guru. If we have comparison and competition in our lives and are always thinking that someone is better than us, we do not love ourselves; we cannot love others as long as we are comparing. Love and respect yourself first then you will be able to love and respect others.
What is it you find in a person who loves himself; it is peace, serenity, calmness, sweetness, kindness equanimity and happiness!!!

To be alone is not the same as to be lonely

Loneliness and aloneness; there is a great difference between these two words and I would like to clarify them. When we are lonely we miss the company of someone else. To be lonely is a negative state because then we are depending only on others, if so we are bound to feel lonely when they are not there. How to get out of this loneliness?
If we are filled with love and there is a communication between the Divine Baba and you, you will never feel lonely. If the Divine heart to heart communication is there we are less dependent on other people’s company, we give others the freedom to be with us in joy, when they are not there we are still in joy. The relationships will be based on freedom and respect both ways which will be deeper and longer lasting.
Therefore the key to our own happiness is not with the others it is with me. It is our own choice to withdraw ourselves and be in the company of our inner self, to explore our inner world, our mystical world where miracles and the Divine can be found. This is the state all Avatars, Mystics and Gurus speak about, the Divine romance. My friends when we reach this heart to heart communication with Baba then we will never feel lonely; we will develop courage to face the challenge of life.
Loneliness is absence of another; aloneness is the communication with your inner self. Ultimately all of us must develop the capacity to trust the Divine in our own heart.

Courage is needed for the seed to germinate

What do I mean by courage? As a youngster you can study far away from your family, be comfortable in your own company, open and relaxed to meet and find friends wherever you are. I have met many young boys and girls who study and lived by themselves far away from home, these people develop courage to stand on their own feet.
Now as I am a Botanical Professor, I will tell a story about the unknown, a flower and courage;
The life journey is like a seed, and a seed cannot know what is going to happen, the seed has never seen the flower and cannot believe that it has the potential to become something beautiful. The seed is secure hidden deep down in the soil. The journey that will bring the change from seed to flower needs effort, and it is always safer to stay as a seed, because nothing is guaranteed and the path is still unknown. The seed tries and makes an effort, it let’s go of the shell and starts to move, the struggle starts immediately, with the soil, the stones, exposure to wind, water and sun all around. There is no danger to be a seed, it can survive for hundreds of years but for the sprout the dangers are many, even so the sprout begins its journey towards the unknown, the sun, the light, not knowing what the future holds. It is only the dream which keeps the seed moving, because the challenge to become a flower is so great; finally a perfect strong flower will be standing there that has met the challenge of the stones and the wind on its path and emerges into the light.
This can also be the path of man, much courage is needed, so please be courageous enough to grow into the flower you are designated to be.

This too will pass

We all have several break downs in life; no one can escape the ups and downs. Failure will be there, it might be in an examination, failure to be promoted, failure to maintain a relationship, failure to earn as much money as our neighbor. Some famous people fail to be appreciated by their spouses; the whole world may appreciate them but not their own spouse. Some are successful in public but a failure at home; these breakdowns can lead to depression and frustrations in one’s life. Even as a youngster you have some breakdowns which will be more serious for you at the time than a major one later in life when life experiences and wisdom give you safety.
My friends whenever you happen to be in a time of hardship take it as a breakthrough and not as a breakdown. When you have experienced too much suffering for your taste and understanding, you may come to a point when you say “enough is enough.” The work of a Master is to transform breakdowns into a break through. It is one of the deepest journeys we can make in life, going through a breakdown with awareness, spiritual knowledge and wisdom. Our inner chaos is gathered from ancient and many past lives, without going through it we will never be an integrated, whole, balanced, individual. Trust and have faith in Baba, surrender to His Divinity and we will successfully emerge back into the light again stronger than before after every challenge.
We need to apply a different attitude towards life. As humans we always want to be the best, the most beautiful or handsome we desire always to be at the top, at the peak. But once we reach the peak and we have everything in the material world we will experience boredom, restlessness and have difficulty sleeping because our mind is in the grip of fear; fear of losing what we have or not getting what we desire next.
Attaining materialism is not all, it is not attaining much at all. Mountain tops are beautiful so are valleys, in the valley we can rest whilst at the top we are tense and nervous that someone will come and take away that top position. Boys and girls understand that night and day exist together; the dark and the difficulties are needed as much as the light and easy.
Accepting the ups and downs in a balanced state of mind is what we call success. What comes must go, either it is a failure or a success; life is a continuous journey as long as we are alive.
When your father is on tour you will be more excited to see him on his return than if he was there all the time. Therefore it is a good thing to be separated now and then from family and loved ones, we will be more aware of the good qualities the others are bringing into the family and as a result have stronger appreciation for each other. Children should go and stay for some times in a hostel, eat hostel food then they will appreciate the excellent standard of their mother’s cooking. They will also understand the caring concern of their fathers. Separation in love is not a loss it is a gain. Life is like a river which flows and flows to eternity, it is like the Ganges River, Yamuna River which flows continuously. Life is as vast as the ocean and the sky, so let’s enjoy the life from eternity to eternity.
 

The Grace to be at Prasanthi Nilayam

We are all here in Prasanthi Nilayam because of merits from the past. Many people have not got the possibility to be here so be happy and be thankful that we have the opportunity to spend time in the presence of the Avatar Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He will help and guide us if we open our hearts and our minds for that possibility. You have come on a pilgrimage from Kerala to Sathya Sai Baba’s holy Ashram that is a journey in itself. On your way you must have had a lot of music, jokes, dance, and excitement, is it not so? We enjoy the journey and the pilgrimage so take the whole of life as a pilgrimage, a journey in joy, bliss and happiness full of wonderful experiences. It is necessary to come periodically to a holy place like Prasanthi Nilayam as a break from our normal routine. Our cells in the body need to be recharged by the Divine Grace now and then, not only your cell phone needs to be charged you also need to be filled up with the vibrant energy from the Source of all Source. Many people ask me “Mr. Anil Kumar do you have a cell phone?” I say “I have millions of cells in my body why should I have one cell phone”

Thoughts and action should be in harmony

So life and life experiences, good and bad times will pass, nothing is permanent in the outer world. Once you know this truth and believe in it you will relax, that awareness that ‘this too will pass’ will make you relaxed. Why are we so tense and tight all the time? Our worry, conflict and pretension gets stronger day by day, all this because we want to have all the popularity, wealth and health due to an inner wish to be loved and appreciated by each and everyone, is it not so? You like to do good deeds and be good to others. When thought, action and reaction are in harmony we are in harmony. Usually these are not in harmony, we know what a good thought is and a good action but we do the opposite, we say one thing and do another. For example: suppose we say “I love my country, I am deeply patriotic” but apply for a visa to move to USA. We say “gramma seva is important in my village” but settle in Los Angeles; this creates conflicts. Between husband and wife we like to be good to each other yet we try to dominate and control. Usually a man wants to be the boss, but actually he is the servant of his wife (Laughter). When your thoughts and actions are in opposition it creates a split and divided personality.
Be humble and yet have a strong personal character
What we should do, when aspiration is different from reality, when ambitions are different from reality; is to integrate both. Accept what is the reality at the moment; see the present moment as it is, be courageous enough to be honest with yourself. If you are a “slave” accept it, make inner enquiry about why you are something you do not want to be and slowly and gradually make changes to what you do want to be. When you are integrated in spiritual wisdom you are able to be humble and yet strong in your character, you can have the latest and first class dress and yet be simple, that is a combination of a person who is integrated in the outer and inner world.
Look at Sathya Sai Baba, He has the latest most beautiful cars, yet He is humble. His dress is of the best quality and always neat, yet when you see Him he could be a beggar or a film star. Although it looks like He is living in luxury, Baba lives in total simplicity in all areas of His worldly life. He is humble but at the same time highly integrated, and assertive, He is soft as butter but tough as a diamond; a combination of logic and illogic, rational and irrational, belief and doubt.
In respect of the Divine and spirituality our logic and rationality will not work. God doesn’t bother about our logical mind; He is going His own way, so therefore we have to accept the mystical and miraculous in life, totally and unconditionally, especially when we walk with the Avatar. But in society you have to be scientific, logical and rational. If we only go to one extreme we will miss the other; so my friends what we need today is an integrated, comprehensive, united personality of both kinds. When that integration of both personalities happens, a transformation of our total being is possible. Transformation is not a shift from one pole to another pole; true transformation is acceptance and integration of both. As a parent we accept all our children, a not so intelligent child is equally loved as an intelligent child, is it not so? In that transformation we will discover our self.

Know your inner self and your outer self

We think we are experts and know what is best for others to do but we do not know our self. We see a thorn in others but not the stalk in ourselves. We think we know the whole picture but we cannot explain one single piece of detail. Discover yourself, know yourself. Start with what is closest in you, closest to you and advance from there. Know your culture, your language, know your people, after that the world might be explored, that is what discovering our own self is all about.
Baba says; India is the mother land which has been given birth to Sages and Saints since the beginning of time and has spread its wisdom around the globe. This land manages to retain its freedom after many years of occupation. This country has so much excellence in the field of art, literature, science and technology. Have we discovered our nature and our nation? In this land of Bharath, what is beauty? It is not lipstick and cosmetics no, no the beauty is the spirit of tolerance and acceptance, of what is.
The peak of all spirituality is born out of this country and is still the highest of its kind. What is the most nectarine and sweetest feeling other than the motherly feeling? India is the country where the character is held higher than life itself. By following someone else’s culture we lose our inner strength and will be left with dresses and fashion that is all. Therefore my friends along with inner knowing we have to discover our own culture, our own state and nation.

New Vision

Once we discover ourselves we will have the Grace of Divine Love and attraction. Charisma and an aura of peace surround every person who knows themselves. With this self discovery we will have a new vision. What do I mean by a new vision? So far many of us have been selfish and self centered by unawareness or not knowing the essential spiritual truth behind every action and reaction done by us. You have heard what we sing at the end of Bhajans every day “Samastha loka sukhino bhavantu. Old vision is restricted to our personal self only, but with discovery, we will have a new vision of other priorities which are not limited to the small self but extended to the whole universe. We react, we respond to the whole of nature, we feel for the whole world.
Here in Prasanthi Nilayam people from all over the world mingle as brothers and sisters even though they have never met before. There are no questions of westerners and eastern people; no, no Sai devotees are what we all are, that is all. The new vision of life is that “I care for you and you care for me, love all and serve all.” This is what we all transform into, from ordinary level to the level of maturity and integration, from limited to unlimited. Our new vision also helps us to adjust to any circumstances with equanimity and understanding.

Be cheerful

Life is a rainbow with different colors and every color is beautiful you cannot say that blue is better than green. New vision wants you to appreciate a rainy day as much as a sunny day. To wait for Baba should awaken the same feeling in you as when He enters the Sai Kulwant Hall. This vision will help you to be cheerful and playful. Unfortunately many people take life very seriously and show a hard face and a stiff body language. He will allow himself to be in a chair like luggage, he does not say “Sai Ram” or “good morning” with a smile. Many people are even serious when they are in a temple or when they are singing Bhajans. It is sickness and a lot of hospitals are full of people who end up with different diseases because they have lost the joy and acceptance of life and its play. Happiness, laughter, joy, bliss, love will keep you healthy young and on the right track for spiritual growth and understanding. Religion is not for emotional paralysis or non accepting fellows. We will never find Bhagawan Baba’s face serious, He goes on smiling and He knows everything, every part of everyone’s life. If someone is saying ‘Baba, my leg got fractured,’ He will say “very good” or ‘my mother died,’ He will say “very good,” ‘I am going abroad’, “very good”. This is cheerfulness, this is religion this attitude is Divine. A cheerful man will continue to be cheerful in spite of setbacks or what sometimes looks like a negative situation on the surface.

Rich in life and rich in God

Another fundamental truth I would like to shed some light on this morning is that some people have an opinion that religious people are poor. Some think that religious people do not have money to buy clothes or shoes and it is a common feeling that religious people live a beggarly life. No, no you should be rich in life as well as in spirit and in God. You should be rich in science and technology and you should be rich in meditation and consciousness. If a man is not successsfull in life how can you expect him to be successful in religion? If you cannot earn rupees how can you earn grace? The roots are in the soil and the fruits are up above the ground. You cannot get the fruit without the root, roots without the fruits are fire wood. Roots should be established firmly and deeply in the ground to be able to bear juicy fresh and sweet fruits. Root is life, fruits are God. In the tree of human personality the root is our thought, the fruit will be our visible life and circumstances. We should all work for or aspire to being whole, which will bring holiness and godliness into our life. When we are whole, and with whole I mean integrated, in all parts of life, we will be holy. This is a benediction or a blessing, the fragrance of life.

How to be even happier

I can also tell you how to be happier. Be a participant of life and not a spectator. As a watcher we will not have the thrill; if we participate in life we will have the experiences and the excitements of what life is all about. A simple example a few fellows are eating sweets in front of your eyes and you are only a spectator, will you be happy? No, you will say please stop or give me some. If you are participating in life it will be more effective, you will be more receptive and you will enjoy everything more. Life situations will be more purposeful. When you only listen to Bhajans it is one thing, but when you join in and sing yourself, you are vibrant with the melody and the body moves on its own when you get ecstatically involved. If you listen without any feelings involved your expression will be stiff and your face closed, in participation there is real enjoyment and ecstasy.
Whenever you forget your small self and participate with your whole being you are with God; you are one with the whole, one with existence, the Creator. If you look at natures beautiful view over the mountains or the ocean, you may have a feeling of bliss, love and oneness. Get out of the feeling that you are not one with the whole, every thought and feeling you have will effect and have an impact on the other. It may be a person, an animal, a flower anything that has life will be affected by your inner attitude. You are one with all, we are all from the same source and we will all go back to the same source. It is like electricity; even if the bulbs are different the source is the same. Never consider your inner self small, Baba says: we are the image of God and there is no difference between Him and you.

Do not compare

Never compare yourself with others. Look in nature how beautiful everything is arranged. I do not think a cow would think that it would rather be a dog or a peacock thinks that an eagle is more beautiful than he is. A bamboo tree will not compare itself with an oak. Everything in nature is just as it is and the grass is not jealous that it is not a flower. Tell me who is not beautiful, I have not yet come across someone who is ugly, to me all are beautiful and handsome. It is your own complex that makes you feel small and compare yourself with others, you are not aware of your own potential and strength. Comparison brings inferiority and superiority, when we stop comparing, all inferior and superior complexes disappear.
Some people think they are sinners if they have done something wrong, that they will never be forgiven. I tell you to stop that nonsense, we are all doing our best and sometimes things are not going the way we would like, we might find ourselves in situations which are difficult to know how to handle. We are all accepted by God from the beginning of time so we are all heroes, we are the children of immortality and eternity how can we be small? Self praise is bad enough but self condemnation is worse. Our life belongs to the Divine and we are given a life to live by the Grace of the Divine. In fact we have no right to complain, compare, or be negative towards the life we have, everything is a reflection of our own attitude and thoughts.
Please my friends have a positive attitude towards life, say; “Sai Ram” or “Hello” with a smile to people you meet. If you tell your mother that you love the food, she will feel joy cooking for you also; if you have a positive attitude towards your Doctor he will engage himself more in your welfare. Be happy and thankful for what you have and more will be given to you. You are all special and unique.

Be aware of feelings and thoughts

Our feelings are a feedback to our self about whether we are on track or not, if we are on course or off course. When we feel bad it is a warning from our inner awareness to prompt us into changing our thoughts. We are not embracing our life energy if we are in a negative frame of mind. We can begin right now to feel the love that is surrounding us, think positive thoughts about others, and think positive thoughts about daily situations and future situations. Life will always correspond and respond to our thoughts and feelings and manifest exactly what we believe.

When you shake hands with someone feel the warmth of that person’s love, when someone gives you a smile feel the vibration of joy in you. Watch a child and give it a smile, the child will respond to you with a lovely smile, so everything my friends will come back to you as a reflection, reaction and resound. Watch nature, flowers, trees, a sunset; it makes you happy.
Science has shown that even a plant which is given love will grow faster than a plant which is neglected. People who have pet animal’s go on touching them, talking nicely to them then the pet surrenders totally to the owner. Try to feel the touch of a friend, the touch of a parent, then you will experience the silent communication which flows from one individual to another. That is what padanamaskar is, once we touch Baba’s feet, we get vibrations; we get thrilled and totally transformed.
I myself am not so used to pet animals, once I went to a Sai friend in the US he introduced two of his sons and finally called Caesar, I thought the third son’s name was Caesar, but his pet dog of my size came and started climbing up on me like Tensing on Mount Everest. I was shaking like a break dancer while the owner asked me to say hello to Caesar, please let me say hello from a distance!

“Be Happy. Make others Happy; All will be Happy. God will be Happy”

I thank you all for being here this morning and see you all again tomorrow morning.



SaiRam

 

There is a reason why we cannot experience God. The sun is always shining and when we cannot see the sun it is because it is covered with clouds. If I happen to see you as two or three people there is nothing wrong with you, it is the fault of my sight or my mind. So better we doubt our own sight, procedure or technique and not The Divine. Even scientists doubt their own experiments and question their investigations in a positive way; that leads to further explorations in science and technology. Therefore boys and girls, nothing wrong in questioning, we will emerge successfully and with conviction if it is done in the right spirit and our clarity and understanding will be firm and outstanding. Nothing will be able to shake you from your belief and trust.
There is a reason why Baba says “come to me examine and experience” Swami doesn’t say “believe me”, he likes you to doubt before you have your own experience and draw your own conclusions. I was watching you smiling with beautiful faces full of yearning for God; looks so straight and deep with personalities so fresh and lovely; that makes me want to share more with you. If my attempt is pleasing you and inspires you to make another visit to Baba, and to go deeper into the spiritual wisdom and explore the mystical experiences we have around the Avatar, then my objective is fulfilled. Whenever you go to any Pilgrim center it is often said we wish and pray for your repeated visits. My present prayer is that God should bless you with repeated visits. I will give you two more experiences which just came to mind.

First experience is from a Doctor in Andhra Pradesh. He came to Baba for a brief stay, some of you must have noticed that Prasanthi Nilayam is a place where it is easy to forget the time and date. The mind which stands for memory is in the hands of Baba and He is holding the remote control and He knows when to make you think and when to make you forget. Therefore when Swami enters the Hall we forget our questions and handing over letters to Him, we just sit and watch while He is doing His silent work on us. This Doctor stayed for more days than he had planned for originally, finally he decided to go back. On his return home he saw his house had been visited by robbers and his watchman was badly beaten up. The watchman told him that a gang came last night and when they had collected all the valuable things in the house and were on their way out, they saw the photo of Bhagawan and started to shake and run away from the house without any of the valuables. The Doctor understood that Baba must have shown Himself in a form that was so frightening for the thieves’ that they just ran away.

The second experience is about a lady named Hamsavini a teacher in Baba’s school. She had to undergo an operation by the advice given from Baba. Baba said, “I will come to the operating theatre.” She did not think that could be possible, but on the day of the operation a red robed man with a big hair style appeared in the operating room. This red robed man stayed there until the operation was successfully finished and then vanished into the air. Dr. Laxmanrao of Thirupathi, who was in the operating room at the time, was a witness to the incidence. I am telling you all the names so you can check if necessary and also because I am a scientist, certain data has to be there for reasoning. I can go on speaking of Baba’s miracles and devotees for days and days. During my 30 years of association with the Sai movement I have experienced and heard an unbelievable amount of beautiful stories.

Keep your heart open and shining with the love you experience with Baba

If anyone asks you, what is the most beautiful and unforgettable thing that happened to you in your life, take it from me the answer can only be one; the highest achievement in life is to come and see Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Our duty is to experience more and more and it is entirely depending on our Sadhana. The seed germinates into a sprout or a tender flower. This flower has to be watered, manured and protected so it can grow to its full potential. Similarly the seed of faith and experience is laid down in your beautiful tender hearts, which will develop into a vibrant and radiant lotus. You have to nourish it with love, manure it with Bhajans and protect it by prayer and service. Faith will be its fruit. If we do this it will grow into a gigantic tree of faith and conviction wearing fragrant flowers of virtues and character with a sweet fruit of joy and bliss.
My students, I address you as students to be more close to you. Now what shall you do to keep this first meeting with Baba alive and growing in your hearts? First love is the strongest and we remember it and can recall it always. This love will very seldom stay as it was initially, it will change into understanding, friendship and compassion for each other. If we think we can stay in a passionate love always we will fall; falling in love (laughter). Divine love has a quality to go on increasing day by day. We want love to shine with the same light all the time, as it does in the oil lamp when we continuously refill it. Similarly if we want the divine light of love to shine brilliantly in the lamp of our life we have to continuously add the oil of devotion.

Sing Bhajans
My first appeal to all the young men and women here is to keep the love and the inner connection with the Divine shining. To start thinking of Him, sing Bhajans to His Glory. Kerala being the State of music can go to great heights by singing Bhajan by your Sai Group standards.
When you reached out to your mother and father for something they would respond; likewise when we make an attempt to come closer to the Divine, the Divine will run towards you and you will get an immediate response. Telephones may not work and sometimes the post is delayed and the fax machine out of order, but prayer and Bhajan is a guaranteed immediate, spontaneous contact with Baba. Before the songs come to an end He comes to your aid.
There are different Bhajans for different occasions. If you are happy and ecstatic, devotional, prayerful or need to contemplate; certain Bhajans can match that blissful state. Other songs will pacify and make your mind peaceful. The response will be instant but you must sing from your heart not from your mind; that is the challenge. If we sing in a mechanical way and are bored and tired, it will naturally not give the required response. It is never a waste of time to sing Bhajans, something beautiful will always come out of it however we sing, the full benefit will be experienced if we give it our full energy and attention.
“Bhajan must spread good will, love and ecstasy; it must invite all to share in the joy and peace”. Baba

Activate yourself in Service

Service activity is another thing which will keep the love connection and a love link open with Swami. Once we have tasted the joy while rendering seva, we will never leave a life of service. The “reward” is immediate and you get it in the form of Grace. Grace can come to you in many ways and forms, often at times when you need it most. Faith is your security and your insurance; never forget that. Be rich in devotion, be joyful and sing His Bhajans. Service and singing should go together, like bread and jam.
The second and third thing you can do to keep the love connection flowing is to read Swami’s books and the monthly magazine, Sanathana Sarathi, or the Kerala publications. You will have wonderful knowledge and information, such that you can talk to any group and draw near and dear to peace and truth; be the center of attraction both to intellectual as well as innocent people. Therefore read Sai literature; when you open the book you may find a message or advice that you need most at that time. You may get directions for life when you read the discourses; you may get consolation and sympathy.
I know the number of youth attaining a camp like this in the future will be double. You are the champions of this Sai mission and you might be the leaders of the future Sai Organization. I have full hope that the Sai Organization will be a success because we have got promising youth in large numbers in the state of Kerala as well as other states in India. Also many involved youth around the world. This Sai mission will continue to burn, spreading light and joy in Kerala as well as around the whole world.
Remember when you do Swami’s work He will do your work much better than you could do it yourself. You are going to be excellent in your studies, best in your performance at work and your face will shine and be more vibrant than a sunrise. A cheerful, joyful man will continue to be cheerful in spite of setbacks.

The reputation of a Sai student around India and the world

Sai devotees have the reputation around India of being reliable, truthful and doing their work in a graceful and precise way. There are some companies who go headhunting Sai students from this university before graduating time is near and will give them an interview straight away. A student from the Sai University may come from a simple, humble background but they reach high standards in their professions by promotions, and go anywhere in the world as a Sai devotee or a Sai student. You will not need a visiting card or any relatives to help you because Sai Devotees are present all over India and the world. Be sure of your professions, finances, prospects by singing His glory, reading and following His teaching, literature and by doing His service.
I want you to be participators in this rich legacy of the Sathya Sai Organization. I want you to be the powerful dynamic messengers of Sathya Sai. We are participants in the silent, active spiritual evolution of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. He is going to set new trends in the psychology of modern man; He will change the attitude of the society. We will question the existing rules in society and will we clearly work for the objective of life, not merely for prosperity. We need spirituality in our political positions and we need to serve. Let us not promote enemies and hatred, let us instead promote love by living the spiritual truth and serving society and the needy.
As true Sai Devotees we have a Divine insurance which will cover us in grief and difficulties throughout life. The ultimate result will be success, and the tension in between is a challenge and a test that is all. If the result is known in the beginning there will be no taste in the drama of life. To maintain the tension there will be anxiety in the process but the ultimate result is a perfect success. It is also necessary to enjoy winning and the victory.

The individual and the collective goal

My friends; change your attitude, change your thinking, and work towards transformation. Set new goals for life. What is our individual and collective goal now? At the individual level the goal is to experience God within. In the collective goal we see the entire community as the body of God.
One day when I was talking with Bhagawan I said, “In our state things are different” Baba said “why do you say ‘our’ state, you can say Andhra Pradesh is your state but all states are Mine, all countries are Mine, all people are Mine.” That is the universality, unity and Divinity of Bhagawan Baba. Therefore we should experience that totality and take an integrated comprehensive approach because at the source we are one; superficially we may be different.
The highest of all human values: peace, love, righteousness, truth, non violence are all one in its essence; they are only separate when they are polluted by ego; the moment they become pure they become one.

Better to Be then Become

Think of a circle, the circle will have a centre, you can put any number of circles around but the centre is the same. That center is our very being. The center is our life and in that perspective, we are one. We are different in the periphery, one is tall another short, one is black one is white but the center or inner core of one and all are the same. It is the being that is important not the becoming. If anyone asks you “what do you want to become, what do you do to become?” Tell them that you are working on being and not becoming. In spirituality you are not going to become, because you already are That. Our inner source is there to be discovered, to be explored and uncovered not to become. The sun is covered by clouds, the mirror is covered with dust; your work is to remove the cloud, the dust and then the light will shine brightly. The sight and your reflection will be clear. The dust and the cloud are our ignorance, the sun and the clean mirror is our reality.
As you work for purifying your inner being you will become enlightened, you will be bright and light. If you stay too much in the periphery you will be burdened and overloaded by emotions and affected by all things around you. How to experience the center, the inner being of your life? That is possible by developing the quality of acceptance. People may praise you, insult you, humiliate you, put you to shame but by developing the spirit of equanimity, your life center will slowly and gradually come into your experience.
Life is continuously changing, evolving, dying and being reborn. Unless we become mindful it will go on repeating itself like a wheel. If we hang on to the edge we will get dizzy, we have to move to the centre where we can relax. The more distant we are from our center the more we are disturbed; even in a cyclone there is a center which is undisturbed.

Develop Character

I want you to develop another important quality and that is character. Fashion, behavior, habits go on changing from time to time; character is deeper, something more than individuality, it is not merely the personality. Character and individuality do not simply go on changing like the wind and they are not bothered by the superficial changes in the fashion.
We remember Ghandiji was not thinking of fashion, he wore only one piece of cloth, but his character and inner strength was something everybody noticed. India and the whole world experienced his charisma and revered him as a Mahatma. Why are people with charisma and inner strength held in high esteem? it is because of their integrity and inner wisdom. It is often declared that knowledge is power. No,no; Baba says character is power.
Personality and individuality is based on materialism, and character is based on value. Baba says “Thoughts automatically give rise to actions. Action in turn produces habits and habits then form mans character. It is the character which decides our destiny, good or bad. Without good qualities all other ornaments are worthless.” We should be prepared to meet the challenges of life half way; we should not be shocked or taken by surprise because the unexpected evinces in our life. We have to expect all possibilities with awareness.
Baba says: “Purify your feelings and impulses; do not worry if others are not doing it. Each man carries his destiny in his hands. You are not bound because others are not free. You should strive for your own salvation.”

The structure of the mind

What is awareness and how can we develop awareness? What are the obstacles in our way that keeps us unaware? Mind is the biggest obstacle; the mind doesn’t allow us to develop awareness in its true sense. That is why Baba says that the mind is a mad monkey. The mind is ego centered and wants to struggle and excel. It wants to be extraordinary and superior to others. Mind also reacts to pain and pleasure. If I get one thing, the mind will say why not one more. If I have one dress the mind would like to have another. The mind puts us through misery in life, it entertains hallucinations and imaginations. Pride, hatred, anger, competition, jealousy, judging, attachment and greed are all products of the mind. Anger is the most common ego. If we are successful in going beyond the mind, we will experience awareness and a no mind state.
First know the mind; when you know the mind you will understand it is the center of duality, then you will be able to use the mind and you will not allow the mind to use you. The mind is a good servant but a bad master. Masters and wise men that have experienced the ‘no-mind state’, hold their own magic, with their words. When they use their mind there is charisma, a magnetic force, and a tremendous spontaneity. When Baba speaks, His words have a certainty in them. If we are ready to receive and listen, then we will feel His words in our hearts; the self evident truth.

Consciousness is awareness; we have to pay attention to what we do and why we are doing it. If we desire something, pay attention to why we have that desire; when we ask a question, be alert and we will be able to understand, experience grace and connect with our inner being. It is possible to become aware. In life we go on missing many things because of mistakes made in the beginning, our minds are impatient, we want to do everything quickly which then ends in failure. With just a little patience, awareness can open all the doors and bring us to the temple of God. If we become miserable, angry, egoistic and greedy we are heading in the wrong direction. In the right direction we will experience blissfulness which will grow more with each passing day. When the mind is directed to the praise of God it becomes non dual, it enjoys beauty, contentment and joy. Once you go beyond the mind what will happen? Do not fear that we will not be able to function if we don’t have any mind; this fear is not justified, and the only thing that will happen is the experience of awareness that you are truth, beauty, goodness and the infinite soul.

At the no-mind level you never judge anybody. It is the mind alone that is judgmental; the mind that is transcended is non judgmental and in that total state of no mind, we rise out of our unawareness, old habits and misery; that state can be called bliss.

Witnessing is the beginning, and no-mind is the fulfillment, to witness is the method to reach the no-mind state. How does witnessing lead to no-mind? Thoughts do not have their own life; they live on our identification with and attachment to them. To watch our thoughts, means not to give them any attention, any life or energy, we have to decide that we will not feed our thoughts, then slowly and gradually we let go of our thought habit.
Therefore, do not fall into the trap of impatience; the ultimate mysteries are open only to those who have immense patience; it is an essential quality for reaching the Divine.

Life is a pilgrimage

My friends; please do not waste time, trust life, love life, love and enjoy the journey. Life is a pilgrimage, life itself is the journey, be happy and do your best in the present moment. To know that every moment is a gift of God that it is an ever flowing river; that is what I mean when I say trust life, trust that Baba will show you the way. Baba will take you to all the places you need to be and He will make sure you are on time. Some people say that they do not want to live anymore. Never fight with life, if you do you will never win; if you want to be defeated, try to win, if you want to win, don’t try to win.

Meditation will help us to transcend suppressed emotions and desires
Desires are many whilst needs are few. Needs can be fulfilled, whereas desires can never be satisfied. We have certain desires which cannot be expressed, because of fear of the people around us who may not agree or have the same view of life as we have. Desires which are not expressed may be suppressed or repressed. If we are not aware, this can lead to depression. A simple example; those who carry a lot of anger inside without being aware of it, and without the ability to express it are more likely to be attacked, verbally or even physically by other angry people; and often, for no apparent reason, hidden anger will trigger others with hidden or latent anger. The unfulfilled and suppressed desires are in the subconscious level and the solution is meditation. Meditation helps you get rid of boundaries; awareness helps you to transcend the limitation of the body and mind, making you aware that you are pure consciousness and nothing else.

 
Chose your friends with care
As a youngster you have many friends and Bhagawan says, “Tell me your friends and I will tell you who you are”. We should be very careful which friends we choose. In the company of noble friends with beautiful characters our own character will be strengthened, likewise if we are with careless friends, these qualities will be encouraged in us. Observe your own limitations and do not be too intimate with everyone you meet, keep secrets to yourself, and use your discrimination about what you like to expose to others.
Relationships can be bondage and lead to pleasure as well as pain. So long as I say ‘yes’ to you we are good friends, when I say ‘no’, we may not be friends anymore. Baba says; “no one has the justification to hate another, you have only the right to love someone or to serve someone, or to keep ourselves free, that is all”. If you are a sociable person, you can be friendly to many but you cannot be a friend to everybody. Therefore my friends, I advise you not merely to be a friend but to transform yourself into friendliness.
Friendliness is love and eternal. It has a higher quality that is truly unconditional, without expectations or demands. A relationship if it is not in a spiritual frame of mind can be temporal, and born out of neediness. We can be friendly with strangers, plants, animals, in fact we can be friendly with everything and everyone. Now my friends I am sure you will develop this noble quality of friendliness. Simple example, we are examples of perfect friendliness, why? We are related because of the value of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. We are all related because of these values of Sathya Sai Baba and that is a true friendliness. In society we have relationships which can be gone by tomorrow.

Anil Kumar sings a Telegu poem from Sai Baba:” without truth, without non-violence, without righteousness, without love and without peace, all our education and what we do is useless. Without human values even the exalted possessions you occupy are useless. Acts of sacrifice and charity will be nothing without these human values. All good actions and their fruits will as well be useless without these values”.

Your inner silence will enable you to hear God’s voice
We should also spend some time with ourselves. Baba sang some time ago:” Constant thought of the Lord; that is meditation that is penance; because that constant thought and glorification of God’s name, will bring out the Divinity within us”.
True silence is the state which is beyond thought and with that silence we hear the footsteps of our God. God is walking with us, but we are not hearing His footsteps, why? Because we are busy in the outer noise. When the outer noise stops the inner voice begins to talk to us; the voice of God becomes clear and will comfort and soften the heart. The period of silence will enable us to hear His Divine melody, the melody of the flute of Lord Krishna is heard when the outer noise stops and the inner voice is clear. We are in direct and private romance with God in silence. This intimacy with God has to be treasured because it is only in the depth of silence that voice of God can be heard. Go deeper and deeper in that depth of silence; we will have inner sight, not only outer sight.

If we want inner sight we need the Divine Doctor Sathya Sai Baba. He is the Divine Surgeon and He will remove the cataract within. The inner ‘cataract’ is ignorance and absence of awareness. With an eye cataract, we cannot see people and with the inner ‘cataract’ we cannot see our Divine Being. Silence is the process to develop insight and when this insight manifests itself in the outer life we will be the most successful Buddha. Buddha is not only a historical person; Buddha is a presence, and symbolizes the enlightened stage. With this understanding, life will be different; you do not have to wait for an occasion or a festival; every day is a festival and joyful. One day I said to Baba “Swami today is the Onam festival” “No, no every day is a festival” He said. With insight life is a festival, a celebration, life is joy, dance, laughter then we are open to the treasure of life which is eternal.
My friends it is also nec

essary to have balance and harmony in every part and step of the spiritual life as well as the outer life. Learn to be alone, but never get attached to the aloneness; always remain capable of being in the company of others. Be silent, peaceful and still, but don’t get obsessed by the stillness, or you will never be able to face the marketplace. Once you are able to be silent with people, nothing can destroy you, says Baba.

Live in the moment

What we have to do is to find the inner treasure God has given us. How to experience that? There is only one way, and it is to live in the present moment, right now. The future is uncertain, the past is beyond recovery. If I ask you what life is, will you say: life was or life will be? Life is here and now. Where is God? We do not say God was or God will be, no, God is here and now at this very moment in the form of Sri Sathya Sai Baba. A true life is living in the moment. The present existence holds the key to God and the secret is to have a no-mind state, an inner awareness.
We can like someone and feel they are lovely and beautiful today, but tomorrow we may change our thoughts about them. How can we say someone is good and later bad, when they are the same as they are now? Understand this fundamental point. It is only our projection of the mind as in a cinema hall. The film is not really on the screen, it is a projection from the projector, shadows of light. Similarly our mind is like the projector at the back of our whole life, but we always look at others, because the other is the screen.
When we are in love, the person seems beautiful. When we hate, the same person seems ugly; whatsoever we see is just our projection. Now we can imagine that there are so many minds and every mind lives in its own world! Therefore my friends, I can give you a suggestion. When we find a judgment arising in our mind, turn it around and ask yourself; is what we see in the other, really what is hidden in our selves; are our mind-projections clear, or is it covered with what we want to see?

Guilt

We might have committed something that is creating guilt in us; but know one thing; guilt is part of the egoistic mind. To go on and on feeling guilty for something is much worse than guilt itself. Simple example, if someone smokes a cigarette, they know it is not good. Then they go on feeling guilty for days and days for that cigarette, and the negative thought will go on and penetrate all that they do. So whatever you are ashamed of, you will hide inside in the unconscious. It goes on manipulating you from the backstage. Don’t feel guilty, accept and learn from the situation and move on.

Fulfill your own potential

Another suggestion I can give you is to never develop any kind of complex in yourself. Some people think they are great and superior to others; they come from a good family and have a good personality and stands first in the class. We have to know there will always be many people who are better than us, more talented, more intelligent, happier and on the contrary, there will always be those who are less than us in all these ways as well. The way to find out who we are is not by comparing ourselves with others. It is for us to look to ourselves, to see if we are fulfilling our own potentials, the potentials Baba has given to us in this lifetime. To live is a gift, a beautiful gift which contains everything we ever wish for. Baba guides us, Baba gives us much more than we understand and can dream of. We do not have any claim on existence, so whatever is given is a gift.

Entering the Golden Gate

The path for those without awareness is, they think they are coming from the unknown, living in the known, and go back to the unknown. Devotees with awareness will have a different path. The unknown will be known. The mind will be transcended into the unknown where God, love and life can be experienced. We are entering into the golden gate of heaven, the golden gate of wisdom and understanding, the golden gate of Prasanthi Nilayam the golden gate of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Remember this golden gate is not a futuristic promising hope; this golden gate is wide open to all of us here and now. Be happy and enter into that golden gate; see and experience the Divine love of the Avatar Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
Be thankful, be happy, have faith, enjoy your time. And if you are open and receptive, suddenly a great stillness might arise within you, an unbelievable sense of peace. Within that peace there is joy, and within that joy there is love and in the inner most core there is a sacred, immeasurable experience which cannot be named. Praise God and you will be praised. Thank you.
Om
SAIRAM


Please Anil Kumar, they have been such extraordinary talks, and on the behalf of the whole Kerala youth group, we would like to ask you to kindly give us an evening session with question and answers. It would make these days with Baba totally complete for the Kerala youth group.

I have very much enjoyed speaking with you these two days and I will happily and by the Grace of Baba see you this evening 18.30 for a short question and answers session.

SAI RAM

“If you wish to safeguard your future you have to be grateful to those who have helped you in your difficult time” Baba
 

Source: SBOI - Editing by Ch. Nord


 

Anil Kumar: The past life is the seed and the present life is the plant and the tree. One is born in a wealthy family another is not, one is a scholar and another is not. Children around 10 years go to the world top in the field of music; others are genius in mathematics and can calculate by heart faster than any calculator and computers, it is the previous life experiences.

Q: The sins of last birth are they necessary transferred into this life?

Anil Kumar: There are three kinds of reactions, one is immediate. If I cut my finger blood will come out immediately; action and reaction immediate. If you drink a glass of milk you will have some appeasement for an hour or so and when you eat a big meal that action will last for more than 4 hours before a reaction is needed. If you sow a seed now it may bear fruit after a year or two. Some of the reactions are immediate, some are just after a while and others later and some reactions may come in next life. Therefore we face reactions now from actions we did in the previous life or a few years ago or just a few seconds ago but be sure no one will escape the experience of the past actions. Like income tax, income is the action and tax is the reaction. Janma means strict and Dharma means enforcement. Raj means authority; Janma Dharma and Raja (Death, Life and God). It is the king who enforces the law strictly without fear and favors.

Q: What is a reaction and what is a response?

Anil Kumar: A reaction can be positive or negative while a response always is positive. Reaction may sometimes be revolutionary and come out of agitation and reactions may sometimes be violent, while response is peace. Response comes from the heart, leads to unity and agreement and reaction comes from the mind and leads to conflict. This is why we say inner response and outer reaction.
Sathya SaiBaba often says, everything outside yourself is a Reaction, Reflection, and Resound of your inner being. Stones also respond; stone can also melt if it is given true love. Simple example; Sathya Sai Baba converted a stone by His Divine touch into a Shirdi Sai idol during His childhood days. This stone responded to the Divine call, the Divine wish was that this stone should become Divine and take the form of Shirdi Sai. We also know a miracle when Sathya SaiBaba collected a few flowers and all the flowers were then transformed and became a beautiful parrot which flew out of His hand. It means that the flower responded to the Divine love.
When it comes to human beings, let us see how we react reflect and respond. If Swami touches you, touches your emotional heart or your physical hand how do you feel? You feel Divine vibration, a sort of a pleasant shock, something is shaking you. When you look at Swami’s eyes something is happening, spontaneously some devotees start crying, tears starts rolling down for no reason. It is our own bliss, love and light which respond to the Divine form. The ears are very eager to listen to Bhajans and the whole body responds by vibrating with the music. Another level of response is the mental level and the intellectual level. When we hear about Swami’s message, His form and His miracles, we experience peace, contentment and as a response you start to worship Him; you start to visit Prasanthi Nilayam. You start to serve Him; you start to serve the community.
We have to be careful not to lose this most precious gem given to us by God. When you lose this response, you become insensitive and will make your life almost dead and gone. Response is life, without it, it is lifelessness.

Q: What is the result of living a spiritual life?

Anil Kumar: What is the result of a spiritual life? It is the secret of magic, it is not an additional income, and it is not professional prospects. The result of spirituality is a positive attitude; the temperament of readiness and acceptance. The Christian prayer goes; Thy will be done on earth as it is in heaven. We accept Gods will joyfully and unconditionally. This is surrender. The outcomes of spiritual life are positive attitude, acceptance, surrender, and seeing the situation we are in only for our own good. This is the result of spirituality. Not to win in a lottery or promotion immediately all this is secondary.
Another advantage is that we get to know ourselves; the most important is not the opinion of others. We will be capable of seeing ourselves as we are, not as others think about us.
Finally I can say that spirituality is for transformation. A man who knows he has an immortal soul has a deeper commitment to existence itself, to God himself. When we come closer to the truth, a great desire to share it with people arises. To live is to live in God, to breathe is to breath in God, where else can we be? This is the supreme magic! Once the higher heart has started functioning, it is a magical miracle that happens; all confusion disappears, clarity arises and life becomes transparent, we simply do that which has to be done.


Q: A vegetable is also living, is it a sin to eat vegetable?

Anil Kumar: A rock has consciousness which is passive, the consciousness in a plant is a little more and the awareness and consciousness is again a little more in an animal while in a man the consciousness is in its climax added with impulses, sentiments and feelings. Therefore when you kill an animal which has more consciousness than a plant, it is killing and it is violence; whereas in the case of vegetables, which God has provided for our sustenance, it is not violence. When you kill an animal it dies completely and everything is lost. When you cut a few vegetables the bush or vine won’t die. In a plant it is not total loss of life. If you go to a place where they grow up animals for selling as food you would cry and never eat meat again. The treatment of animals in these live stock farms is a terrible sight and violence in every aspect we can think of. It is hard to digest. If I collect two fruits the tree will not die that is the difference.

Q: Swami is saying that desires leads to disappointment. Can we live without desires?

Anil Kumar: Let us have only one desire and that is to be desire less. Let us desire to be equanimous even if our desires are not fulfilled. Let us have a higher desire rather than a lower desire, when the higher comes, the lower always bows down, it rules only when the higher is not present.
Simple example: we have Akandha Bhajans and a cricket match going on at the same time; which desire do you want to fulfill? If you give place for higher desires such as service and singing the glory of God, your Sadhana will prosper. Desire for the Divine has a greater quality than desires for mundane and material things and the result will be different. As we spoke earlier, we reap the fruit we sow, it is our choice. We have to exercise the sense of discrimination, discretion and judgment. Baba says: desires are decided by personal prejudices and fancies, they are momentary urges demanding immediate satisfaction.
Instead of having thousands of desires lets us have one classical desire. A simple example: a King asked his first wife I am going abroad what can I bring to you? I want jewels my dear. The King asked the second wife the same and she wanted the best saris in the world. The last wife said she wanted only the King to come back safe and secure. When the King returned home, he gave jewels to the first wife, saris to the second and went straight to his third wife with all the gifts he could imagine she would like and because she only wanted him, he stayed with her from there on. If we catch the feet of the Lord we will have all the gifts that we want.
God is a wishful filling tree, God will fulfill our desires; having this human life which is so precious the aim is to visualize and experience Him. If you desire God only, all your desires will be fulfilled.


Q: You said before that our present life is controlled by our past karma. Is it possible for Sai Baba to interfere and save us from bad karma?

I understand the experiences of past life can be really painful. We need some refuge and a method to understand and to resolve past karmic situations.
Simple example: a person is guilty after having committed a theft; he was put in jail for 10 years. In the jail he was very well behaved, highly obedient, making others happy and cheerful influenced the other inmates to be disciplined. The police of authority was satisfied with him and sent his file to the government for recommendation. That day happened to be independent day in India and some of the prisoners are relieved by recommendation that day and his name was on the list so his time was cut short by 5 years for his well behavior.

Suppose I have a business and I have to pay one lakh in tax. I go to a chartered accountant to help me and he will give me advice what to do to reduce my tax payment in a legal way. If I paid money to a charity trust, some tax will be reduced; also, if I have a car in my business and it had to be repaired some tax will be reduced and so on and so forth.

Similarly out of 100% karma we can reduce its negative effect by singing Bhajans and participate in service activity. Going to listen to Satsangs and participating in study circles will reduce the effect of your karma as well. All spiritual Sadhana will help you to live through your karma in a balanced and conscious way. We cannot fully escape to our karma but instead of a big accident we will have to experience a small accident, we break one leg or arm not the back or the neck; we lose small money not all we have, we burn one finger not the whole body.

This is the grace of the Guru and the effect of the spiritual work you do for yourself in this lifetime. Our present life can correct past mistakes by spiritual work and heart connection with a Master. It is in Baba’s hands, so my friends don’t accumulate more suffering in this life by negative thinking, judgment, anger, greed, attachment, and abnormal behavior. Surrender your pain to Baba, follow His teaching, sing His name and have His Darshan; it will purify your soul, soften your heart, strengthen your understanding and you will encourage others to expand in life not shrink anyone’s vision or creativity. By the Grace of God you will not even know that you are suffering. He will make you pass through hard times very smoothly and securely. Bhajans, service and Sadhana is like a painkiller.

I can tell you a number of Baba devotees who passed through unbelievably hard times but still they are smiling and still in a balanced frame of mind. In fact they have added an important quality and that is to be humble and thank full for what they have.
I told you this morning about Charles Penn from America, who died and his wife came to Swami in Kodaikanal three days after. Swami asked her how are you and she said I am fine Swami; my husband has not gone anywhere he is at your lotus feet. That is true spirituality: to accept anything without losing the ground of firm faith.

Q: How many times is it necessary to take human birth?

Anil Kumar: Oh, Oh are you tired of this life already? Life is so sweet, but we cannot take it too seriously. When I was in Bangalore Swami asked me “what do you want”? I said “I don’t want anything Swami” “Don’t you want moksha or liberation”? “Swami I do not know the taste of liberation, I do not know if it is sweet or hot, light or dark. I know the taste of doing seva by the feet of my beloved Bhagawan so please; my desire is to be born again and again as a servant of the Sathya Sai Organization and carry on the Divine message in every corner of the world and every doorstep. Let me reach out to the unreached. There is thrill and joy in speaking about You. Swami laughed and said “that is a good desire.”
Please do not get tired of life. We are born not to be born again and the purpose of life is to transform our mind and cross the circle of birth and death. Simple formula; Karma = Birth. Action is the cause of karma. Dharma is the life we are following and this Dharma contains the secret of our future; our future experience and result. It is a chain reaction. If there is no Karma there will be no rebirth.
How to get out of that karma? The mind and the thoughts are the cause of action. If we go beyond the mind there will be no necessity to take another human birth. No-mind state, master your mind that is the key not to be born again. Passive witnessing your mind is the process to meditation which leads to a no-mind state and in that state you are one with the whole, you are one with all Masters, you are one with the Creator. That is the highest achievement on this earth; if we pass the test we can go on to other lokas, if not the class have to be done again. Wisdom and awareness is the way to peace, bliss, and immortality.

Q: Is moksha the aim of Sathya Sai Organization.

Anil Kumar: Moksha is an individual attainment and an individual goal. Moksha is attained by sadhana of an individual. Bhagavad-Gita says: We all have to work for our own liberation for our own emancipation. It is not freely given, we have to attain it through following teachings, practicing the meditation and other spiritual exercises, have inner connection with the Master. If we follow the path, we will reach the truth, truth will have to be our own experiences and surrender happens when there is love.
An organization can provide us with the right surrendering and the right tools, that is true but enlightenment has to be through individual effort. The Sathya Sai Organization is a service organization. The object of the organization is to see God in everybody, to do everything in the name of God; to feel Him everywhere and to be one with Him. Collectively we encourage and support each other so the vibrations will be spread and felt amongst our brothers and sisters. Who so ever is ready to enter the Golden Gate will be attracted like a magnet to this vibration.
If we sit in the presence of Sri Sathya Sai Baba and pay attention to Him and what is happening to inside our heart, (not your mind) we will be elevated. Understanding will arise in us, bliss will be felt and a strong wish to know the unknown and a wish to be in the same sphere as our beloved Master will automatically accrue. This is the Divine vibration and the Sathya Sai Seva Organization sends out the Divine vibration.

Q: Is our karma and our life already decided before we take birth?

Anil Kumar: We do actions with the spirit of doer ship. If we do anything as a doer we have to be the experiencer as well. If we don’t have doer ship we will not have to reap the fruit; it means if we have totally surrendered to God He will work through us; no blame or fame will affect us, all is surrendered to the Divine, the higher consciousness. We suffer because we identify ourselves with our minds thoughts and actions and have to live the reactions; it is the law of nature as simple as that. Bhagavad-Gita explains clearly this point in the chapter about Karma.
A story: one day Lord Vishnu was sitting in meditation far away on a mountain, and one of His disciples asked to perform some service for his Lord. Very well, Vishnu replied “I would like to have a cool cup of water” The disciple ran down the mountain singing in joy. He found a small house at the edge of a beautiful valley and asked for cool cup of water. The owner of the house could see he was a monk and said “Ah you must serve the holy saint upon the far mountain. Please good sir, enter my house and bestow your blessing therein”. “Forgive me” the disciple said “I am in hurry and I must return to my Master with the water immediately” “A short blessing will not upset your Master. After all he is a great saint and His disciples are obligated to help those of us who are less fortunate and it is such an honor to have you here.” So the story goes; he entered the house and blessed all therein. Then it was time for dinner and he was persuaded to stay and bless the food. It became late so he was persuaded to stay overnight. In the morning the cows were in pain, and after all cows are sacred to Lord Krishna and if the disciple could help them once. Days became weeks and still he remained. He married the daughter and they had numerous children. One day as an old man he stood and he thought about everything that had transpired since he arrived and he was pleased. Suddenly there was a great tidal wave and as he watched, it flooded the whole valley and in an instant all was gone. At that moment he saw his Master Vishnu riding upon a wave. Vishnu looked at him and smiled sadly and said “I am still waiting for my water” This is the story that is happening to everybody; we have forgotten why we are here, what we know and where we are going. And when the tidal wave comes as it always will, its name is death, and all will be gone.

Q: Is it predestined come to Prasanthi Nilayam?

Anil Kumar: Our past life has given us the instinct and impulses towards spirituality. Because of Darshan of the Avatar Sathya Sai Baba, Satsang and company of spiritual groups and people, this past interest and association is provoked and awakened and we feel drawn to participate more and more. The inner recognition of being together before is there as a light, a magnetic field; all this brings us here.

Q: Is Baba making us into His puppet?

Anil Kumar: It is all depending on how you think. With your ego you will feel you are a puppet, without ego you will take it as Bhagawans play. It is all the Divine’s play as you grow in your spirituality and awareness; but in the spirit of ego you take it in the negative sense. What made Ghandiji say Ram in the end of his life, he did not cry for his destiny or faith. Jesus Christ while he was nailed to the cross was praying for the people who hung him on the cross. High spiritually evolved souls know it is the Divine Lila and are at peace with whatever situation God puts them in because it is for the good; whereas you and I view situations with a sense of a doer ship with our mind and ego. So we blame ourselves, others and God for every situation we find ourselves in and do not like. Do not worry about past Karma; do not bother about the future, be careful right now as the present itself the result of the past and it is the foundation for the future. This moment, here and now holds the key for your future, right now we are in paradise, we are in heaven, let us celebrate this moment. Do not worry about why and what we have done in the past to experience this moment. In fact all that happens always happens now. Nothing ever happened in the past and nothing ever happens in the future.
Rama Krishna gave one example; a man went to the mango market, picked up a fruit and asked the owner many technical questions about the mango. The owner said, just eat the fruit and enjoy its lovely taste, do not worry about what tree it has grown from or how long time it took to ripen, just enjoy and be happy. Let’s live in the present joyfully.

Q: Does positive or negative thinking have a connection with our faith?

Anil Kumar: A religious man is always positive; it is a sign of surrendering. Positivity is an acceptance of the reality at the present moment, it is the submission to the Divine will, and it is to take everything that is happening for its own good. God is the embodiment of positivity; we go on making mistakes, He goes on forgiving and excusing, He is positive in His thinking that we will be transformed some day. If Baba was not positive Prasanthi Nilayam would be empty. Positivity is optimism, a half full glass of water is half full for a positive man and half empty for a negative man. Positivity is hope, let us lead and live a life in hope otherwise we will be hopeless in the end. Negativity is frustration, confusion and full of doubts. If anyone greets a negative man, he will think that a favor is wanted from him. Positivity is cheerfulness, negativity is misery. Many of us are aware of the ego of the other, but nothing can be done about the ego of the other. All that can be done is only with our own ego and in the present moment; that is positive thinking.

Q: If Swami is the Creator, why did He create some rich and some poor?

Anil Kumar: My dear friend, variety is the spice of life. You cannot eat only sweets all the twenty four hours of the day, there should be some hot stuff also. Life is a combination of both. Life is of polarities of positive and negative, life and death, light and darkness. Life is a paradox; our intelligence lies in our understanding the paradoxical quality of the nature of the universe. Watch nature, there are hills and valleys; there are fruits which are bitter and fruits that are sweet. Day and night makes the world go round, without the darkness there is no light. The variety is the beauty.
How can we understand an Avatar with our mind, it is a transmission, beyond words, beyond scriptures. The higher we go the thicker grows the mystery. The lower kind of facts can be relayed through words. Simple example; If Baba says a tree, we can understand because we have all experienced a tree, but if He says “you are God” or “there is no difference between you and me” it is a little more difficult to understand. The higher the truth, the fewer are those who will be able to understand. We have to learn to live with the mystery of higher truth. Darshan of Swami is one way; it has no words, it cannot say it is truth or untruth, it simply is. We just see, we become overwhelmed by His Darshan, we fall in tune with it and we are transported to some other realm, some other vision of reality. It simply takes our hand and leads us very lovingly into the mysterious.

Q: Why are so many people called to Swami; is it to transform us and bring out the good in us?

Anil Kumar: Your effort and His Grace go together and in that meeting point magic and transformation will without doubt happen. The connection with an Avatar goes deeper than the teaching, it is an energy transfer, it has to be heart to heart, soul to soul, and it cannot be verbal. People who come to Baba for a shorter or longer time are watching, experiencing and feeling the love that is manifested in and through the Master. Slowly just sitting by the feet of the Master we will learn many secrets, although they are never taught. One of the greatest secrets is that sitting at Baba’s side, the devotees starts to synchronize with Him and in that synchronicity Baba will meet us heart to heart.

Thank you very much let’s conclude with a Bhajan. First my heartful thanks and gratitude to my brother professor Mukundan for his invitation to speak to the youth of Kerala during the pilgrimage to Prasanthi Nilayam I am happy to see so many smiling and happy faces among the youth of Kerala and I appreciate your deep interest in the spiritual quest. I have not seen any tired and sleepy faces during these days. I will never forget your visit to Swami and I will pray to Baba to let me visit you all in Kerala some day. The Kerala Organization is a Sai Seva Organization to be proud of. Please my friends keep the spirit shining and reach out to everyone in need. Let your light shine.
I will also thank all Districts presidents and their team there for the kindness they showed towards me. I am deeply touched by my Kerala brothers and Professor .Vaidyanathan from Trivandrum who downloads my Sunday talks from www.saiwisdom.com translates them and edits them into books. Millions of thanks to Professor .Vaidyanathan and his family and Badran and his team

May Baba bless you all

Sai Ram

Source: SBOI - Editing by C.N