Sai Darshan Home <darshan.html>
Date:28 Sep 1998 Occasion:Dasara Place:Prashanti Nilayam

The Quest For God

Even a millionaire has to be content with ordinary food,
He cannot live on a diet of gold.
When time is not favorable, a stick may turn into a snake,
While, when it is favorable, dust may turn into gold.
The wheel of time can turn a scholar into a fool and a fool into a saint.
A wealthy man may become a plaything of adversity at some time.
Whatever your efforts may be, you cannot get what you are not destined
to get.
O man, don't be over ambitious
Lead instead a noble life making proper use of the intellect.

Embodiments of Love!

In this vast world, among all living creatures, human life is the
noblest. One is born as a human being as a result of meritorious deeds
done in past lives. Just as a small gramophone plate contains many
songs, poems and dialogues; likewise the human heart contains the entire
universe in a subtle form. You can neither see the script of the
dialogues and songs by keeping the gramophone plate close to your eyes,
nor can you hear the sound by keeping it close to your ears. Only by
playing it you will be able to hear the music and the dialogues that are
in it.

The human heart, which can be compared to a gramophone plate, contains
in it all the traits of past lives. The reaction, resound and reflection
of all that you have seen, heard and experienced are contained in it.
The infinite oceans, the mighty mountains and all the different places
that you visited are imprinted in your heart. In short, the entire
universe is imprinted on the human heart. So, it can be said that human
being is Viswa Virat Swarupa (Embodiment of Cosmic Principle). But, man
not being able to realize this truth considers himself low, and is
affected by pleasure and pain, good and bad.

Where from this universe originated? The Sruthis (Vedas) have given a
proper answer to this. The universe has originated from where the I
principle has originated. That is 'Hridaya'. Sruthi has declared that
'Hridaya' is the origin of I principle. This I is all-pervasive.
Everyone uses this letter I while introducing himself or herself. There
is no place or person without this I principle. Even the birds and
beasts have got this I principle, though they are not able to express
it. Wherever I is, there is 'Hridaya'. Hridaya is not limited to body
alone, it is all-pervasive. 'I' is the name of Atma. So, in everybody,
Atma is present in the form of 'I'. It is associated with Buddhi
(intellect). Right from an illiterate person to a scholar, everyone
defines Buddhi as the power to discriminate between the transient and
the permanent. This is not the correct definition. Buddhi has five
aspects. They are; Sraddha, Rutham, Sathyam, Yogam and Mahatthatwam.

Sraddha has two powers: One is interest and the other is steadfastness.
Rutham refers to unity of thought, word and deed. Rutham expressed in
the form of words becomes Sathyam. Yogam refers to control over all the
senses ( Yogaha Chittha Vritthi Nirodhaha). The fifth aspect
Mahatthatatwam is that which is sacred and divine. When Buddhi has all
these five aspects, is it not an understatement if we define Buddhi as
that which only discriminates between the transient and the permanent?

Today, many talk of Manas (mind) and Buddhi (intellect) without
understanding their true meaning. They think that the mind is only a
combination of thoughts, but even the actions are associated with it.
When mind and intellect unite, humanness reaches a state of freedom,
which is referred to as Moksham (Liberation).

It is a mistake to undertake any spiritual practice to control the mind.
The nature of the mind is mysterious. It is unsteady and associated with
ego. Who can control such a mind? It is impossible. So, never try to
control the mind. Follow the intellect, then the mind naturally submits
itself. The master of the mind is intellect. The master of the intellect
is Atma. Atma has no master. So, Master the mind and be a Mastermind.

Search for Truth is search for God, because Truth is God. So, worship
Truth, follow Truth and practice Truth. People may deny God, but none
can deny Truth. You cannot fragment Truth saying, this is Pakistani
Truth, this is American Truth, this is Indian Truth and so on. Truth is
uniform for people of all nations and all religions in all periods of
time. Truth is one, so God is one. But you worship God in different
forms. This is Bhranthi (delusion). As long as there is Bhranthi in you,
you cannot attain Brahma. This Bhranthi is the cause for all your
sufferings. So, first and foremost give up Bhranthi.

It is a mistake to consider that God is separate from you. Once you
become one with God, you can never be separated. For example, when a pot
full of water is emptied in the ocean, the water of the pot becomes one
with the ocean. You cannot separate them. Similarly, once you unify your
love with God, you become one with God. How to unify? When fire and coal
are placed apart, they remain as they are. Only when both are brought
close to each other, fire enters coal. If fanning is also done, coal
gets transformed into fire. Likewise go closer to God and love Him
wholeheartedly. Going close to God can be compared to coal coming in
contact with fire (nearness) and loving Him wholeheartedly can be
compared to fanning (dearness). Such nearness and dearness to God will
ultimately make you one with God. This is what Vedanta declared,
"Brahmavith Brahmaiva Bhavath? (the knower of Brahman becomes one with
Brahman).

Human body contains all the three worlds, Devaloka (head), Naraloka
(throat) and Nagaloka (heart). The head is referred to as Devaloka
(heaven), as it has got all the five senses of perception that
recognizes Shabda (sound), Sparsha (touch), Rupa (form), Rasa (taste)
and Gandha (smell). The body is made of five elements and is bound to
perish, but the Indweller is immortal. The Indweller has no birth, no
death and no bondage. Truly speaking that Indweller is God
Himself(poem). Such a sacred body, the temple of God, is being misused.
Yesterday I told you that the world is made of five elements. Human body
is also made of five elements. God is present in the form of five
elements all over the world. The Vedas declared: Antar Bahischa Thath
Sarvavyaapya Narayana Sthithaha, which means Divinity is present in you,
with you, above you, below you and around you.

A Human being has five sheaths: Annamaya Kosha (gross sheath), Pranamaya
Kosha (life sheath), Manomaya Kosha (mental sheath), Vijnanamaya Kosha
(wisdom sheath) and Anandamaya Kosha (bliss sheath). In order to acquire
wisdom, you do not need to go through sacred texts or hear the teachings
of elders. The sacred sheath of wisdom itself is present in you. Once
you experience the sheath of wisdom, you will experience the sheath of
bliss. Just as the water bubble is born out of water, sustained in it
and ultimately merges in water; so also human being is born out of
bliss, sustained in bliss and ultimately merges in bliss. But you are
not aware of this, wasting your time, money and energy in search of bliss.

Truly speaking man is wasting a lot of time in worldly pursuits. But he
does not spend even a moment to know his Self. "Who am I? What for I am
born? What am I doing?" Man does not put these questions to himself.
Instead he questions others, "Who are you? Where do you come from? What
are you doing?" He has got the inquisitiveness to know about others, but
not about himself.

What is the purpose of life? It is not khaana, peena, sona, marna
(eating, drinking, sleeping, dying). Body is gifted in order to follow
Dharma. Your Dharma is to know your own Self. Consider everyone as
divine and the whole world as the mansion of God. Offer all your actions
to God. Let every word that you utter be a Mantra and every step you
take be Pradakshina (circumambulating God). Instead of leading such a
sacred life, man is wasting his time and energy in amassing wealth. What
is the value of earning? Truly speaking, nothing. Due to excessive
desires, his life becomes a big zero.

Zero gains value when number one (hero) precedes it. As the number of
zeroes increases, the value too increases if number one precedes them.
Similarly, if you keep God (hero) in view, all the zeroes such as your
body, mind and senses also gain value. Hero becomes zero if he forgets
God. The world is zero, human life is zero, the sky is zero, the sun is
zero and the moon is zero. All these zeroes have got value only because
of the Hero i.e., God.

Embodiments of Love! Take to service, do not think that you are serving
others. You are serving only yourself. Similarly, all the spiritual
practices such as Japa, Thapa, Dhyana and Bhajan are for your own
satisfaction. God does not need them. God wants only one thing - you
should know your Self. Only then you will know God. Confidence in you
and confidence in God - this is the secret of greatness. Prahlada had
total faith in Narayana, while Hiranyakashyapu had faith in the body.
God will always protect the one with strong faith like Prahlada.

Today, man visits temples and pilgrimage centers in search of peace, but
peace is not found in pilgrimage centers. Peace is not found outside, it
is within you. You are the embodiment of Peace, Truth and Love. So
search within, tread along the path of Love. Only then you will be
peaceful. Through Love, you can achieve anything. God is Love, live in
Love. Without Love, you cannot be successful. Love helps you to know
your Self. In order to experience Love, you do not need to approach
anybody, nor do you need to exert yourself. Turn your vision inward.

Krishna said, "Mamaivaam-sho Jeevaloke Jeevabhuthah Sanathanaha" (Human
beings are the sparks of the Divine). Serve anybody, it amounts to
serving God. The best way to love God is to love all and serve all. If
you lead such a life, all your actions will be pleasing unto God.

Embodiments of Love! You need food, clothing, shelter and some money to
purchase medicines if you were to fall sick. That is why I said in the
beginning, "O man! Never be over ambitious, lead instead a noble life by
making proper use of the intellect. Happiness lies in contentment.
Dissatisfaction will lead to misery. In order to experience peace, keep
your desires under control. Misery is the birthplace of all desires. In
this journey of life, desires can be compared to luggage. "Less luggage,
more comfort, make travel a pleasure." So, reduce your desires. This is
called Vairagya (Renunciation). As the desire for the world decreases,
the desire for God increases. This is what the Vedas declared: Na
Karmana, Na Prajaya, Dhanena, Thyaagenaike, Amruthathwamaanusuhu' (
Neither by actions nor by progeny nor by wealth, it is only by sacrifice
that one can attain immortality). Offer all your actions to God,
consider all as children of God, treat money as God's gift and make
proper use of it. So long as there is no sacrifice in you, you will have
only Anruthathwa (falsehood). Only sacrifice will give you Amruthathwa
(immortality).

What is the way to immortality? "Removal of immorality is the only way
to immortality." Without getting rid of wicked qualities such as lust,
anger, greed and jealousy, how do you expect to attain immortality? When
the tumbler is already filled with water, you cannot fill it with
anything else. Similarly, when the head is filled with evil qualities,
good qualities have no place in it. You have filled the vessel of your
heart with all types of worries. Then how do you expect to be happy?
Vyasa gave the essence of all the eighteen Puranas in one sentence:
"Help Ever; Hurt Never." Only then you can be happy. If it is not
possible to help, at least do not harm anybody under any circumstances.
You should serve wholeheartedly, not for name and fame.

Today, man is leading a worldly life, giving up all the ideals. Instead
of trying to know his true identity, he is wasting his time on useless
pursuits. "He knows the route to America, but not to Kaasi. He knows a
lot about Botany, but not the use of Tulasi plant." What is the use of
leading such a life? Develop Daya (Compassion) in your Hridaya. Today,
there is only fashion, but no compassion. What is the meaning of
mankind? Man should have kindness. The one without kindness is not a
man, but a demon. "The proper study of mankind is man". There should be
unity in Thought, word and deed. Whatever originates from the heart
should be expressed in words, and the words in turn should be put into
action.

Once a devotee prayed thus: "O God, people send many applications to you
expressing their desires. Where is the leisure time for You to go
through all this? When do You reply? We get headache even if we read two
letters. But You read many letters and send many replies, yet You remain
happy and cheerful. This itself is a sign of Divinity." I am doing all
this not for My happiness, but for your happiness. Many people greet Me
'Happy Birthday'. I am always happy. You do not need to greet Me thus.
Give happiness to those who are not happy. Happiness cannot be
experienced through spiritual practices. It can be experienced only
through Divine Love. You will never fail in your life if you have love
for God. As the previous speaker said, there are people who have failed
for lack of faith, but people with strong faith will never fail. Man is
put to suffering because he lacks faith.

In order to experience bliss, you need to develop Love. Love is like a
rose and lust is like a thorn. Cut the rose without touching the thorn
and offer it to God. You should offer yourself to God. That is
surrender. Love within you should be merged with the Divine Love. There
lies the bliss.

In Ramayana, Vali and Sugriva suffered because they lacked unity. In the
same way Ravana, Kumbhakarna and Vibhishana also suffered due to lack of
unity. Though the Pandavas had difference of opinion among them, they
stood united. Therefore, their name and fame spread far and wide. With
unity you can achieve anything. There are 95 crore people in India. If
there is unity among them, this country can be transformed into very
heaven itself. But there is no unity, no purity. Only enmity exists.
Heart is like a single chair, not a musical chair or double-seated sofa.
So, let Love be seated in that chair, then bad qualities have no place
in it. Modern devotion has become artificial. People say something and
do quite the opposite. There is no harmony in their thoughts and words.
This is not proper. It amounts to cheating themselves.

Each one has to face one's own destiny. Even Rama had to suffer because
of separation from Sita and the great Pandavas had to live in exile for
14 years. So, you should be ready to face difficulties. There can be no
pleasure without pain. Do not feel dejected on seeing a dark night.
Think of the moonlight that can be seen on the following night.
Similarly, think of pleasures when you are in pain. Without dark night,
there cannot be full moon night. There is happiness in sorrow too. You
cannot have happiness out of happiness. You can have happiness only from
difficulties.

Though you are the embodiment of Love, you have to necessarily do
Sadhana and Seva, till you realize your true identity. Some people say,
"Swami, why do we need to be devoted at a young age? We can as well
think of God after retirement." When the messengers of death come to
seize your life, when your relatives make arrangements to keep your body
outside, and when your wife and children cry bitterly, is it possible to
remember God at that moment? So, right from an early age, you should
think of God. That is why I say, "Start early, drive slowly and reach
safely."

Embodiments of Love!

Fight against bad thoughts and bad deeds. Run away from bad company and
join good company. Develop good thoughts, good feelings, undertake good
actions and attain Divinity.

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[Bhagavan concluded His discourse with the Bhajan, "Bhajana bina sukha
shanthi nahi ..."]