Teachings of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
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9 hard to make the fire emerge. Butter is latent in the curd, and you have to churn hard to make it come out. In the same way, if you want God’s love, you must constantly do good work, do it solely for God’s pleasure, and also offer it all to God. Happiness Comes Only after Hard Effort It is only when you work with such a spirit of surrender that you become eligible for God’s love. Surrender does not mean that you are vanquished and that the other one has emerged victorious. In spirituality it means that the two merge into one— there is nothing like giving or receiving. Recognise the cosmic unity that pervades everywhere. Rec- ognise that this substratum of unity is nothing but God. You will then automatically experience God. All this may sound very difficult to practise. Know the truth that happiness comes only after hard ef- fort. Without difficulty, there cannot be joy. 2 The True Devotee Is One Who Practises What He Has Learned If you are true devotees, examine for your- selves how long you have been listening to Swa- mi’s discourses. Years have gone by. To what ex- tent have you grown spiritually? How far have you put into practice Swami’s teachings? What is the use of merely listening? Is it not all a waste? You are listening, but not putting the teachings into practice. Hunger can be appeased only when the cooked food is eaten. Only the devotee who prac- tises what he has learned is a true devotee. Your practices are different from precepts. You are leading selfish and self-centred lives. Such a life is led by birds and beasts. Even these exhibit selflessness often. Man alone leads a totally selfish existence. It is a shame to call such persons devo- tees. One must strive at least to practise one or two of the teachings. This calls for purity in thought, word, and deed. Without such triple purity, man ceases to be human. Earn Respect through Sincerity Today, human values have given place to de- monic tendencies. Animality has become domi- nant. The Divine has been forgotten. Consequent- ly all spiritual exercises are filled with ostentation. What is needed is sincerity. One should not do anything for the sake of earning others’ approba- tion. If one acts with sincerity, he will be duly re- spected. But if one merely preaches and does not practise, he will be ignored. How can such a per- son expect to win the grace of the Lord? 1 One who possesses the above-mentioned qual- ities is a true devotee. Only such a person is near and dear to the Lord. You should cultivate these qualities to be a deserving recipient of God’s love. 4 Man Is Redeemed by Six Qualities Only the devotee who has these six qualities is dear to the Lord. It is such a devotee whom the Lord loves. Man is ruined by six enemies: lust, anger, delusion, greed, pride, and envy. Equally man is redeemed by the six qualities described in the above mentioned Bhagavad Gita verse. With- out cultivating these qualities, without cherishing such pure feelings, what is the use of immersing one’s self in so-called devotion? It is only a halluci- nation, which cannot lead man to the experience of the Divine. 1 References 1. Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 26; Chapter 1: Pu- rity—the Path to Divinity. 2. Summer Showers in Brindavan 2000; Chapter 11: How to Become Dear to the Lord. 3. Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 26; Chapter 29: A Righteous Emperor and Virtuous Subjects. 4. Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 32, Part 2; Chapter 6: Install Padukas in Your Heart. 5. Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 23; Chapter 31: The Devotee Dear to the Lord. 6. Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 29; Chapter 48: Who Is Dear to the Lord? 10 Twenty Virtues Essential for Wisdom
Arjuna asked, “Oh Lord! You said that twenty virtues are essential for becoming entitled to wisdom. What are they? Please describe them to me in some detail.” “Arjuna! I am delighted at your earnestness,” said Krishna. “Listen.” 11 1 Humility “The first virtue is humility, the absence of pride. As long as you have pride, you cannot earn wisdom. A person’s behaviour should be like the behaviour of water; whatever colour you pour into water, it absorbs it and never asserts its own colour. It is humble without conceit. But now the behav- iour of people is quite contrary. When they do the smallest service or donate the slightest amount, they are anxious for people to know about it. For this, they go about prattling or arranging to get it published. The absence of such pride and ambi- tion is what is recommended as humility.” 2 Absence of vanity “The second is absence of vanity. This is a very great virtue in people. It means the absence of pretence, pompousness, boasting that one is great when one is not, claiming that one has pow- er when one has nothing, that one has authority when one has no such title.” Here, readers will note one point. The world today is full of this false pretence, this hypocrisy. Whichever field of activity you watch, whomever you observe, you discover this dire defect. The governments of nations are in the hands of people who are pretenders to power, authority, and ca- pacity. Those with no knowledge claim to know everything. Those with no one even to help them at home claim that they have a huge following. In every activity, this hypocrisy is the very first step. It ruins people in every field, like a pest that destroys the crop. If this hypocrisy is wiped away, the world will be saved from disaster. Pretence will make you lose this world and the next. It is harm- ful at all times and places. It does not suit ordinary people; how can it then be beneficial to the spiri- tual aspirant? 3 Non-violence “The third virtue is non-violence. This also is an important virtue. Violence is not simply physi- cal; it means even more: the mental pain that is inflicted, the anxiety and worry that are caused to others by your actions and words. Even if you desist from causing physical pain to others, you cannot claim to have non-violence. Your activities must not cause pain and must be unselfish. Your thoughts, words, and deeds must all be free from any motive to cause such pain.” 4 Patience, fortitude “The fourth is patience or fortitude. It means that you should consider as unreal the evil others do unto you, the loss you suffer through them, the hatred they evince toward you. Treat these as you treat a mirage. That is to say, you must develop that degree of patience or fortitude. It is not the helpless putting up with the evil that others do because you are powerless to retaliate. It is the ex- pression of the peace that reigns in the heart, this outer behaviour.” It is true that many people put up with the injury that others inflict because they lack physi- cal, economic, or popular support; this suffering cannot be honoured as real fortitude. 5 Integrity “Next, let us consider the fifth: straightfor- wardness, integrity, sincerity. It means the agree- ment of action, speech, and thought; this applies to secular and spiritual activity. This is a facet of the second virtue, absence of vanity.” TWENTY VIRTUES ESSENTIAL FOR WISDOM Yüklə 1,09 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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