Issue 257 - December 31, 2021 |
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ātmano mokshārtam
(Emancipation of one’s self)
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Since a long time, man has been trying to describe the nature of God. It is said in the upaniṣad that the mind cannot comprehend Him, nor can the tongue describe Him. God is the resident of our heart and we can find Him only in our heart.
God is always full of three qualities – sathyam, śivam sundaram. The first quality - sathyam - Truth is that which never changes. God, who is the indweller is not subject to any change. The second is śivam (goodness), auspiciousness. That principle which confers auspiciousness, joy and bliss on everyone – that is śivam. The third is sundaram (beauty). When we see something which is very beautiful, bliss arises in our hearts immediately. God is Eternal. He is never born; He never dies but He pervades everything and everybody in the form of bliss. He always helps others; He never hurts others. He always confers bliss on everyone and never relegates anyone to sadness. Wherever you find these three attributes you will find God. Anyone who adheres to truth, who confers joy on everybody, helps everybody – he himself is God.
We should always adhere to truth. What is Truth? Body is like a water-bubble; today it is there, tomorrow it is not there. Mind is like a mad monkey. The mind tells you something today and something else tomorrow. And because the mind also keeps changing it cannot be the Truth. But the heart always tells you the same thing. Therefore, when you follow the heart, you can experience God. Heart is not the machine that works in your physical body. The true heart is the spiritual heart. That which is filled with compassion is the heart. Only in the heart where there is the sacred water of love, can we see God. When you give up selfishness and develop selflessness you can see God. Man is going around searching for God in places where He is not there, he doesn’t look for Him where He is. God is not in the external space; He is inside us.
What is the meaning of God Incarnating? With love and compassion for humanity, God comes down to the level of man in his world. Along with individual consciousness, he also enjoys divine consciousness. The God who is inscribed in the principles of truth, goodness and beauty cannot be found outside. Only God is real; the world is a mirage or shadow. The world is nothing but reflection, reaction and resound. The real object is God Himself. If you get the object, will you not get the shadow also along with it?
In God, there is the world. ‘G’ means generation – the one who creates. ‘O’ means organisation i.e., the one who sustains. ‘D’ means destruction - the one who annihilates. Therefore, in the word GOD there is creation, sustenance and destruction. If somebody asks you what you want, you should say – I want God. If you get God, you will get everything because everything is in God.
You are also God; I am also God; everyone is God. I know I am God; you do not know that you are God. Know that you are God and become God. When you follow the truth and give joy and happiness by helping others, you will also become God.
An excerpt from Divine discourse delivered by Sri Sathya Sai Baba on October 08, 2015.
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Heart Over Mind : A Lesson Learnt Through Service
By Saimaa Sivakumaran
Employee, United Kingdom
I would like to share a specific example of how participating in service has provided me with unique opportunities to progress spiritually.
The youth of UK have embarked on a unique service programme for the elderly called 'Ending Loneliness'. It presented me an opportunity to visit the homes of the elderly and interact with the people there. Swami lovingly refers to them as grandparents. During my initial visits, I found it to be quite a struggle to cut conversations with them. I would think: ‘What can I ask them without being insensitive or intrusive?’ However, whenever I went, it turned out that the elders themselves would often initiate the conversation! I would observe the other youth conversing with them naturally and with ease. It made me wonder why I struggled so much. It was only later, with introspection, that I realised that I was facing these difficulties because I was operating from the mind and not the heart. I mistakenly thought that I was "serving them" and this obstructed me from engaging and connecting with them honestly.
With the onset of the lockdowns, the visits to elderly homes were temporarily discontinued. However, the opportunities for me to continue learning did not stop.
My parents own a shop and I help out where possible. During the lockdowns, we had some customers that required groceries to be delivered to them as they were not allowed to go out. So, every Friday, I would make a trip to an elderly couple to deliver their groceries. In the beginning, I would drop off the items at the entrance as I was apprehensive about going any further. The elderly gentleman would then come to the entrance and take the groceries into their apartment by himself using a trolley. However, after a few weeks, I noticed that the trolley was no longer there. Looking back now, it must be our Swami who hid it!
I now had to go inside their apartment to drop off the groceries. At first, our conversations would be limited to a brief exchange of ‘Hi’ and ‘Bye’ only. But with time, we slowly began to engage in dialogue and get to know each other. I started feeling at ease slowly and could really feel the love from them as if they were my own grandparents. This was truly an eye-opening experience. I could now see what Swami meant. Unlike before, I did not go in with any preconceptions that I was 'serving them'. Instead, I was simply present for them with no expectations whatsoever. I had progressed from operating from the mind space to the heart space. It was in this benevolent emptiness of the heart that my service found its fulfilment and I moved a step closer towards my reality.
I would not have gained this insight so quickly, had I not continued to participate in service. I am truly grateful to Swami for guiding us along this path of service and providing situations like these so that we can identify our faults and correct them.
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To help reach Sri Sathya Sai Baba’s human values-based education to the world, and to resuscitate the humanness of humanity, the Sri Sathya Sai University for Human Excellence launched a unique, first-of-its-kind Institute of Human Values, to offer tailor-made courses totally free of any charges, curated by experts from around the world. The Vision of the Institute is to make better humans in their personal and professional spheres, by making them more sensitive towards society’s needs and exploring ways of their contribution to society in a meaningful and selfless manner, thereby creating a sense of global citizenship and responsibility.
The courses will help an individual balance the inside and outside, while progressively being a better human being, that will ultimately help him or her unravel the true meaning and purpose in life.
Learning from the heart is spiritual awakening, Baba would say. The Institute of Human Values is the first step to help lead the world into the beautiful awareness of its heart – a heart that operates from the universal human values of Sathya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema and Ahimsa.
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You are not the body-mind complex, neither are you the jivātman – a spark of paratmātman; you are that paratmātman – the universal consciousness, manifesting as jivātman in the body and mind.
The moment one questions oneself as to who is he/she is in reality, instead of asking others for their introduction, one would experience the true nature of himself/herself. The senses have the tendency to go outwards according to the law of nature. These senses cannot perceive or understand God, as it is beyond their capacities and capabilities. Only when one turns them inwards the latent divinity can be experienced.
In episode 39, Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai expounds the requisites for experiencing the universal consciousness which everyone truly is!
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INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE FOR THE WEEK |
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“The Lord is in me, the Lord is in you, as life is in every seed, put the false pride away and seek the Lord within.”
– Sant Kabir
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jagat hitāya
(Welfare of the World)
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On the auspicious occasion of 96th birthday celebrations of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, the Sai youth from Middle East cooked and served food to about 100 beneficiaries at a ladies’ labourers camp. The menu was vegetable biryani, raita, a sweet dish, and water.
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Over the past one year, some of the Greek youth have been volunteering at the 'Support Centre for Children and Families', near the centre of Athens. Many children of all ages, belonging to poor families, come to this centre to get their lunch and some assistance with their studies. The Sai youth have been consistently supporting these kids with their studies and setting a good ideal of helping others selflessly. |
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Feeding the Hungry
In the month of November, around 120 meals which included sandwiches, sweets, cookies and tea were served to the needy.
Supporting Single Mothers
Around six families with a total of 16 members were given the monthly basket of ration and hygiene products equivalent to 240 meals.
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‘Feed the World’ initiative is thus going on uninterrupted notwithstanding the difficulties society is facing. Close to 410 meals were served under this initiative in the month of November 2021.
The ‘Sai Grace kitchen’ in Rome is also continuing its sevā of feeding the poor twice a week. The Kitchen was able to serve around 1,400 meals to the needy individuals and families.
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