In fact, any human being who
has taken a birth in this world may not be re-born again, if he
attains Moksha (Liberation) in this present life. But on the other
hand, each and every human being, who is born in this world, is
bound to die. So death is the only certainty.
Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, has taken this human form, to
explain to the people and make them understand the secret of life
and death, by proclaiming that each and every human being,
irrespective of any caste, creed or colour, is the Atma (the Eternal
soul) and not the body, He further explains that the Atma does not
die. It is the body, which decays, and is declared dead, when the
Atma leaves it. The Atma is neither born, nor does it die, it ever
remains. On the other hand, the body, which is changeable, perishes
and dies. Anything, which is changeable, is not real. Anything,
which is permanent, is the truth. The Atma is permanent and Eternal.
Baba further explains the reason, why a person is reborn and the
Atma in his present body takes a new body. He says that Karma and
desire are the cause of the rebirth of man. The Atma takes a new
body for the sake of unfulfilled desires and in order to sort out
the balance of one's Karmic effects or the deeds done in many
previous lives. Until and unless man has sorted out all his Karmic
effects, he cannot be liberated and be free from the cycle of birth
and death. Baba says, "Man - Desire = God". Baba teaches us in
many ways, how to control our desires and be desireless. He
says, "The only desire one should have, is the desire to know
himself - that is who am I? Where have I come from? Where have I to
go? This will give one the self-realisation".
Baba says that mind is the cause of all the desires, and the cause
of the downfall of man. If one can learn the art of controlling the
mind properly, rather than taming the mind, one has won half the
battle. Unfulfilled desires give rise to anger, and anger boosts the
ego in man, and then man loses himself. Many times, Baba calls the
mind as `monkey-mind'. Baba says, "If you can make your mind a
die-mind, you can also shine like a diamond. He even gives a
therapy, how to make your mind a die-mind. He says, "If a person is
really dead, does it bother him, if he is being garlanded, or is
being beaten by chappals (Foot wear). He is not affected either way.
Similarly, while you are alive, let your mind not get agitated or
disturbed under any circumstances. Be calm and serene. Act like
a `sooka Patta' (a dried leaf), which is being pushed this way or
that way with every movement of the wind. This will enable you to be
the master of your mind and the mind will stop dictating to
you, instead it will start obeying you". Baba says, "Man's ego,
desires, attachments and sense perception to the worldly objects,
are the cause of man's bondage to the cycle of birth and death".
A scientist created a scientific luxurious cage, with all the
modern amenities, and put a number of mice, male and female inside
the cage, but deliberately kept the door of the cage open. He also
installed, two electrical gadgets, one of red colour and the other
of green. The mice while playing, if they touched the green colour
gadget, they got a piece of cheese, and if they touched the red
gadget, they got a shock. The mice were very happy in the cage,
dancing and playing and making merry, sometimes getting the cheese
and other times getting the shock. Surprisingly in spite the door of
the cage being open, none of the mice would attempt to get out of
the cage, to freedom!
The same is the fate of we human beings. We are so engrossed in
our day-to-day routine involvements, that we accept both happiness
and misery, but would not like to get out of this body prison to
free ourselves in spite of the fact that Baba is here and He has
kept the door open for us, to be liberated, yet we are clinging to
our bodies, love life immensely and are afraid of death. How foolish
of us!
Baba has given us two simple methods of getting Moksha
(Liberation) in this age of Kaliyuga. He says that Namasmarana
(reciting the name of the Lord) and doing Seva (service) to the
fellow beings (Manava Seva is Madhava Seva) will get us the required
liberation, in this present life itself. Let us take advantage of
Swami's assurance, and act as per His Will and Commandments and
earn His Grace, to win our coveted goal, Moksha (Liberation), which
is our sole purpose of being born as human beings.
Many people are perplexed when they try to fathom the meaning of
the word `Soul' or `Atma'. They assure and presume the meaning,
according to their own intellectual wavelength and remain contended
and satisfied.
In truth, the Atma is that supernatural power (The Inertia)
created by God with His Sankalpa (Will and Command), which always
was, still remains, and will always be present. The Atma never
perishes, nor it ever dies. It always remains because it is the
Truth. It is God.
Electricity is supplied from the power house to all the inanimate
objects, all over the world, known as various gadgets, such as
Ovens, Cookers, Refrigerators, Air-conditioners, Washing machines,
Televisions, Theaters, Automobiles, Computers and many more such
gadgets. Though the supply of the electricity is the same, yet the
functions of each and every individual gadget are entirely
different.
In a similar manner, the Atma is the supernatural power or the
energy created by God and supplied by God, not only to all the human
beings all over the world but even to the birds, bees, plants,
inanimate objects, planets and to the entire Universe. Without this
Atmic power or energy, the entire Cosmos will come to a standstill,
just as in the case of electricity, when the supply is cut off,
nothing functions and there is chaos and turmoil all over.
Now the difference between the electrical supply from the power
house and the Atmic energy from the source of God is that the
electricity is generated and produced through the human intellect
and resources, and can also be destroyed through the human
resources, like a sabotage operation or by waging a war. But the
Atmic energy cannot be destroyed, unless God Himself as per His Will
or Command withdraws it. Because Atma is God.
Many people always quote and it is also firmly believed
that, "Not even a leaf moves without the Will of God". Bhagavan
Sri Sathya Sai Baba also confirms this statement, in His present
human form. But people try to mis-interrupt the above statement and
put the blame on God for everything they do whether good or the bad.
God is only a witness to the circumstances. He is not the doer of
all the actions committed by the human beings. The fact of the above
statement is that the Atmic power, which is God who resides in our
hearts, prompts us through His energy to act this way or that way.
Without that energy, we will not be able to perform any action but
will be like a dead log. So, Atmic energy is the Will of God, and
not the actions deliberately done by the human beings could be
considered as the Will of God. This illusion is the cause of the
greatest error on the part of the human beings. God is Love. God
cannot hurt anybody or harm anyone. God is Caring, Consoling and
Healer of the all the wounds. How can He ever be revengeful? It is
a bad and vicious judgment on the part of the human beings to hold
God responsible for all their deeds and actions.
The most oft-used question of all the human beings today is, "Why
God created this Universe, with all the misery, agony, hatred and
confusion?" The answer is, "God never Willed it this way. It is we
human beings, who are the cause of all this turmoil in this
beautiful creation of the Loving God, who is so Compassionate and
Perfect".
As the story goes. God was all alone and He felt the urge of
loving Himself. He could not do it single-handed. If one wants to
express love or experience love, one needs at least two people. So
God said, "Let Me become many". This He did in order to experience
to love Himself. As per His Will He became many. Then He thought of
the pleasure and comfort of so many people created by Him. So He
created the entire Universe, with the intention to provide all the
comforts and happiness to them, because everybody was Him and Love
was the Source. He then implanted the secret knowledge in the mind
of human beings, to enable them to come back to Him, as and when
they so desired. Along with this true knowledge He also gave them a
little of free will, to enable them to know and understand the
purpose of their creation and ultimately to go back to the final
source that is Him. The human beings used this little free will for
their own benefit and physical comforts and got themselves so
entangled in the graph, they themselves planted around them that
they forgot the way back to their true home land and are wandering
hither and thither aimlessly and are constantly blaming God for
taking their memory away as they are not able to find the way to
their true home land.
The Merciful God is now caught up, in His own plight of creating
this wonderful Universe, which has now become a vicious circle. He
even cannot undo now what He has already Willed to do. But still out
of His own Compassion, He has been kind and generous enough to take
this human body as Sri Sathya Sai Baba and is doing His utmost to
revive the memory of all the human beings after entire world and is
personally guiding them and showing them the way to reach their true
destinations, the aboard of Eternal Peace that is Bhagawan Baba
Himself.
He says, "As you eat nourishing food to sustain your body and
keep it healthy, so that you can enjoy life, you must also give
proper food to your Soul (Atma) to remain fit and trim and that food
for the Soul (Atma) is doing Namasmarana (Singing the glory of the
Lord through the Chanting of the Bhajans) every day. This will
sustain your Soul (Atma) and keep it healthy". He further says that
it is only through the healthy body and the purified Soul (Atma)
that you can reach your destination - that is you can get Moksha
(Liberation).
Let us all resolve today and put an effort to lead our lives and
move to the path as shown by Bhagawan Baba, so that we all the
individual Atma can get merged with Parmatma (The Power House of all
the Atma).
I cannot refrain but to mention here a small story about the Love
and Compassion of the Lord, which I read somewhere, and cannot get,
it erased from my memory.
There was a man who always believed in God. Since the very young
age, he trusted God, and was sure that God was all the time moving
along with him walking, talking and guiding him all the time. When
he became old, he tried to recollect all his past thoughts. He saw a
vast forest and could always see the two pairs of footsteps
imprinted on the sand of the forest; only to find out that act the
fag end of his life, when he was passing through a desperate
situation of his life, he could notice only one pair of footsteps on
the sand. He then cried and prayed to God and said how can He the
all Merciful Lord leave him alone when he needed Him the most. There
came the reply from the God, "Oh, my dear precious child, when you
see the one pair of footsteps on the sand they are my footsteps
because during that period of time, you were so exhausted that I was
carrying you in my lap". This consoled the man and tears came to
his eyes.
Let us also learn to cry for the mercy of the Lord. We cry for so
many things in life; whenever desires are not satisfied, or when
something we want, we do not receive. But have we ever cried for the
God Himself? Cry for the Love of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Tell
Him that your eyes are yearning to see Him, and to have His Darshan.
Cry out to Him that you cannot live without Him. And see the Miracle
of all the Miracles to happen.
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