Give up Selfishness and Strive for Self-Realisation Sri Sathya Sai Baba
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Dasara Discourse 27 September 2006 Give up selfishness and strive for self-realisation Sri Sathya Sai Baba Dasara Prasanthi Nilayam 27 September 2006 The physical world as perceived by the naked are only temporary. They are never real and eyes is considered as truth. permanent. But Divinity is not like that. Di- But it is only illusory. vinity is what it is —yesterday, today, and Divinity is the only reality. tomorrow. It is Divinity always! Unable to realise this truth, people are wasting their time. Not reposing your faith in such a true and (Telugu poem) eternal God, you are deluded into thinking that what you see in this objective world is Embodiments of Love! true. Hence, first and foremost, try to recog- God is only one, now and forever. Not realis- nise the eternal truth. Only when you have ing this truth, you are wasting your precious recognised the Truth are you deemed to have time thinking that all that you see in this ob- recognised everything else. All others are jective world is true. No! None of these ob- only transitory. The entire universe is subject jects is real. Truth is eternal, beyond the three to change. It is temporary and unreal. Today's periods of time —past, present, and future. mountain may be reduced to a mere hillock That is Divinity. tomorrow. Today's rivulet may transform it- self into a mighty river tomorrow. How foolish it is to think that the worldly vi- sion, which is subject to change from time to The country of Bharat was once beautifully time, is real. You are a student today. Tomor- described as: “lofty mountains, large rivers, row, you will become an officer in an organi- huge trees with many branches, which make it sation, and, after some years you will be a re- a beautiful country.” tired officer. Then, which is true? Is it the life People today repose their faith in ephemeral as a student or as an officer or as a retired of- and unreal world and forget God, who is the ficial? embodiment of truth. That is the root cause A boy and a girl wish to get married. Before for all the sorrows and difficulties faced by their marriage, who is husband and who is humanity. You say you are encountering dif- wife? Once they are married, they are referred ficulties. From where did they come? Diffi- to as husband and wife. But how long does culties are the consequences of one's past this relationship last? It is only temporary. deeds and thoughts. Thus, all that you see in this objective world Everything in this world is susceptible to and all the relationships between individuals change. It appears to be unchanging, but it is not true. God is the only changeless principle. 1 Dasara Discourse 27 September 2006 We have therefore to install such a changeless As long as one has attachment to the physical and eternal God in the altar of our sacred body, one has to experience sorrows and dif- hearts and offer our love to Him. Thereby, we ficulties and sin and merit. can experience bliss. That is the foremost The body is made up of five elements and duty of a human being. What is human life, is bound to perish sooner or later. after all? Is it merely eating, drinking, sleep- But the indweller has neither birth no ing, and dying ultimately? By doing so, how death. can the human life be termed as sacred? The indweller has no attachment whatsoever and is the eternal witness. Man, at the time of his birth, is very pure and (Telugu poem) sacred. As he grows old, gradually he loses his purity. This is not proper. A human being The dehi (Indweller) in the deha (physical has always to maintain their purity. body) is eternal. It is referred to as the Atma. We identify the physical body with certain Take, for example, My case. I was born. I names. For example, the name “Anil Kumar” grew up to be a boy, youth, and old person. is an identification of a particular form. Simi- But the childlike simplicity and purity are al- larly, the name “Sathya Sai Baba” represents ways there in Me. I am always like a child. As this physical body. It is not possible to iden- age advances, there might be several changes tify the physical bodies, without names. in the physical body. They are all at the physical level. It is only out of our delusion A human being lives in the world, donning a that we are exposed to the arishadvargas (the physical body that is ephemeral. All that we six enemies of desire, anger, greed, delusion, see in the objective world are the creation of pride, and jealousy). As a result, we are un- our own mind. What we cannot see with our able to realise the Atma (Self). physical eyes is the truth. That is the Atma. Hence, when someone enquires, “Who are It is said, Jantunam nara janma durlabham you?”, you should reply, “I am the Atma.” Do (Of all living beings, human birth is the rar- not refer to the name given to your physical est). Having attained such a rare birth as a body. human being, you have to strive for self- realisation. Do not waste our energies in The name given to your physical body is the worldly pursuits. one that is given to it by your parents. The whole world calls you by this name only. It is One who is a realised soul is the liberated per- not the name that is important. Both name and son in the real sense. Such a person constantly form are temporary and unreal. As long as contemplates upon the Atma. On the other you live in this world, they are relevant. The hand, one who is constantly engaged in the moment you depart from this world, none pursuit of material comforts has their gaze cares for them. fixed on the panchabhuthas (the five elements of earth, water, fire, air, and space), pancha For example, a millionaire has plenty of koshas (five sheaths of the soul) and panchen- money and is, in fact, rolling in wealth. His driyas (five senses). end is nearing. He is undergoing great suffer- ing. All his relatives surrounding him are rest- One who realises the truth that the physical less. In fact, they are weeping. Exactly in that body is ephemeral and the mind is like a mad moment, wisdom dawns on him. He is re- monkey will develop an insight into the inner minded of Adi Sankara's verse: Self. The physical body is like a water bubble. People know about it, yet they lead their lives Punarapi jananam punarapi maranam, reposing their faith in such a physical body. Punarapi janani jathare sayanam. 2 Dasara Discourse 27 September 2006 Oh Lord! dertaking sacred activities. That is why the I am caught up in this cycle of birth and death. nine forms of devotion have been prescribed Time and again, I experience the agony ofbe- as sadhana (spiritual exercises): sravanam ing in the mother's womb. (listening), kirtanam (singing), Vishnusma- He has realised the fact that all his relatives ranam (contemplating on Vishnu), padaseva- and friends care for him as long as he was nam (serving His Lotus Feet), vandanam alive. He felt very sorry for his pitiable state (salutation), archanam (worship), dasyam and wailed, “My dear ones! All that I have (servitude), sneham (friendship), and At- earned during my life has been handed over to manivedanam (self-surrender). you. Even the palatial buildings and big man- One has to adopt any one of these sadhanas sions that I have built have been handed over for pollution control. Humanness is not con- to you. My bank deposits have also been fined merely to jivatwa (life force); it is asso- given away to you. Yet, you do not care to ciated with Daivatwa (Divinity). Every hu- think about me and are worried about your man being, in fact every living being, is an own future.” embodiment of Divinity verily! Even the in- True. People are worried only about wealth sects and bacteria! and property as long as they live in this world. What sadhana is a human being expected to They do not think at all about what will hap- undertake? Sadhana does not mean mere pen to the life principle after their death. As physical exercise. It is an enquiry into Truth long as there is life-force in the body, people at the level of the mind and intellect. What is are deluded to think, “It is my body, my mind, Truth? Is it the body or the mind or the intel- etc.” lect? No, none of these. The mind is a mad You are now sitting in this hall. As soon as monkey. It is fickle in nature. If you follow you get up and take two steps, you do not such a fickle mind, you cannot reach your true know what will happen to you. Once you de- destination. It has to be discarded one day or part from this world, who is related to whom? the other. Who are your friends and relatives? No rela- However, food and recreation are necessary to tionships at all! Hence, the physical body a certain extent to protect the body. Even that should not be given too much importance. food has to be pure and sathwic. If you thus Purify the body by undertaking good deeds. carry on your activities and lead a sacred life, Since people develop many kinds of relation- what more sadhana is required? ship with the external world, they are afflicted Whatever activities you may undertake, you with several impurities.