Issue 267 - 06 March, 2022 |
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ātmano mokshārtam
(Emancipation of one’s self)
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Sairam Dear Brothers and Sisters,
Action is inevitable for anyone who comes into this world. It is said that we must pursue only those actions which are prompted from within to fulfil the true purpose of our lives. Any action that we engage in must and should lead us to realising the ultimate truth. The ṛgveda says – ātmano mokṣārtham jagat hitāya ca – for the salvation of our individual self and for the well-being of all on earth. This is the only purpose of our lives. But, in the rut of our everyday lives we forget the true purpose of our birth.
Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai says, “Engage in action without focusing on the fruit of the action. When we surrender as an instrument of the divine, then no karma is accrued to us.”
This is what Bhagawan Sathya Sai Baba summed up so beautifully when He said, ‘Love without duty is Divine’, a statement which we should remember at all times.
Sairam
Bhuvana Santhanam
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sarvaṃ khalvidaṃ brahma – All is Divine – is the supreme law that was discovered by the seers of principle of all existence is the ultimate truth, and it is the only answer to every possible question that was, and that will ever be asked by anyone on this planet. This eternal law is called sanātana dharma. Often, Hinduism is used as a synonym to sanātana dharma. However, while Hinduism is more of a religion with its set of beliefs and customs practised by a certain group of people, sanātana dharma is a much deeper and comprehensive philosophy.
While all religions are derived from a certain leader, prophet or a messiah who is central to that religion, sanātana dharma does not have its roots in the teachings of any one person in particular, but rather it is the collective consciousness of several nameless seekers and enlightened ones over several centuries. Also, there is no particular God being discussed here unlike most religions, but the protagonist here, instead, is every single individual, who is essentially Divine. Not just that; since sanātana dharma proposes that 'All is Divine', it naturally includes every inanimate object too as an expression of the same divinity.
This book's first part, which is a collection of articles written for a bimonthly column of a popular newspaper, is an earnest effort to simplify and clarify the fundamental concepts of sanātana dharma and its practical applications in day-to-day living, especially to the unfamiliar and the uninitiated. In times to come, as more articles get written about sanātana dharma – the mother of all philosophies, more parts of the book will be published.
A Hope and Prayer I sincerely hope that the younger generation would greatly benefit from the chapters in this book, and would be able to appreciate sanātana dharma in its entirety, as a guiding philosophy, much different from the popular narrative of a religion bordering on orthodoxy. It's been unfortunate that over centuries this treasure trove of eternal truths has been misunderstood and misinterpreted, and I truly hope that this book would bring the much-needed clarity and conviction in its philosophy to all seekers of truth, young and old.
I pray for a world where man won't inflict pain on man, but rather having realised the innate divinity within all, will not just be tolerant but accept the diversity of cultures, customs, religions and races. I dream of a world where nature and all its inhabitants would be respected and revered as Divine, where there will be peace and harmony at all times, and I know without an iota of doubt that it is possible only through the practise of the principles of sanātana dharma.
A Word of Gratitude – My gratitude to those seers and sages who compassionately and selflessly passed on their spiritual wisdom in the form of vedic texts and its epitome in the upaniṣads. But for them, the world that we live in today would have plunged into further darkness of ignorance.
I express my gratitude to the team from Sri Sathya Sai Premamrutha Prakashana, the designer and printer, and everyone else who worked towards the publication of this book, and thus join the ranks of those thousands of nameless and faceless; and more importantly to all the selfless seekers and Masters, who handed down this spiritual legacy to us so very compassionately, without seeking any credits.
If this book helps even one sincere seeker on the spiritual path to understand and appreciate sanātana dharma better, I would have paid my debt of gratitude to all the seers and sages who talked this wisdom and to Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, who walked this wisdom.
Sri Madhusudan Sai
Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli
An excerpt from the book ‘sanātana dharma simplified’ authored by Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai, Pg no. 5, 6, and 7.
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A New Beginning
By Prema Shant Balakrishnan
Assistant Director of Finance, Singapore
A Sai youth born into the Sai fold, I had the privilege in my younger days to travel to Puttaparthi. Before each trip to Puttaparthi, I used to have beautiful dreams of Swami—Sri Sathya Sai Baba. In Swami’s physical presence, I craved for whatever most devotee wanted from Swami such as, Interviews, opportunities to perform infornt of Him, chance to touch His Divine feet, Him to materialise vibuthi, etc.
Throughout multiple experiences that I had with Swami, never once it occurred to me why Swami was giving me the attention and what He wanted from me. However, I was just basking in His Love and was craving for more love and attention. The relationship that I had with Swami was that of duality—as God and a friend.
When Swami shed His mortal coil, He never allowed me to feel His absence. I still felt the same presence of Him whenever I was at the altar.
The first 30 years of my life I was only praying to Swami for material pleasures but never thought of Swami’s Mission. I attended the Education In Human Value Classes, weekly bhajans, involved in service activities, participated in conferences but all these activities were just a tick in the box.
One day I chanced upon a statement – “Your Life is My Message” which Swami changed it from His earlier quotes, “My Life is My Message”. It donned on me that I have been taking things for granted and conveniently calling myself a Sai youth without understanding His Mission. I started to pay more attention to Swami’s teachings and conscientiously worked on myself.
The new journey started in 2012 and ever since, I have been practicing Swami’s teaching and journeying from God, who is separate from me to, 'I am God'. During this journey I started to be mindful of my actions by doing self-audits and identifying if whatever actions I did were Divine. An incident took place at work in 2019. One of my colleague wrote an ethical allegation against me and submitted via the company’s portal. I was called in for investigation based on the allegation that was submitted. The allegations made was baseless and was written to blacklist my reputation and character. When the allegation was read to me, I realised it was because I previously stood up for my staff who was being intimidated. Through the process of the interrogation, I did not feel any animosity towards the person who had written the allegation, instead I felt the need to pray and send love to that individual. The verdict came a week later and I was cleared but the person who wrote was given a warning. I did not celebrate the verdict but I continued to send love.
This incident helped me to realise that I am evolving and I am on the right track in my journey of self-transformation.
The journey still continues as I transform myself, with the intention that the company that I am with will transform, and like a spiral effect transformation will happen in the society, country and the world.
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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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Often everyone thinks and believes that one breathes and therefore lives. Whereas the truth is one lives therefore one breathes and the same applies to everything that one does and experiences. None of the individual entity/soul has incarnated/descended on this planet because they would get a body to enjoy the pleasures of the world, or to experience and perceive different flavours and expressions of the world through various emotions. It is a sole decision made by the highest existence which is also called as ātman or brahman in the ancient Indian scriptures due to which every single individual is born on this blue planet.
Now the question may arise, as nothing is in the control of an individual, then how long will one experience this world in that specific body bestowed on to him/her? It is not dependent on the body, but dependent on the person, the resident within, who is experiencing every single aspect happening to him/her.
Right from the birth till the death of the body, all rests in the power of that cosmic consciousness. The mantra which one can derive out of this knowledge for leading a happy and worry-free life is – ‘Nothing is in one’s control. So, there is no need to worry or overthink on anything’.
In episode 47, Sadguru Sri Madhusudan Sai brings out the minute nuances of the body and life, clearing most of the common doubts which keep arising in the minds of every individual.
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INSPIRATIONAL QUOTE FOR THE WEEK |
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“Real living is living for others.”
– Bruce Lee
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jagat hitāya
(Welfare of the World)
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The Sai youth & elders from Penang continued the on-going sevā activities despite the rise in COVID cases. Dry rations were provided to around six needy families and two families were extended with financial support. Homeless were served with packed dinner which was complemented with hot drink on every Thursday.
In Kuala Lumpur, the daily feeding for 80 needy people continued. Sumptuous lunch was cooked, packed and delivered to their respective homes. Apart from this, monthly dry rations were given to 100 families in the end of February.
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