Teachings of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
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8 9 The Five Ds Dedication, Devotion, Discipline, Discrimination, Determination Master the Five Ds and Receive God’s Love Dedication Means Offering Your Heart to the Lord Devotion is the Highest Form of Love Strictly Follow Discipline in Daily Life Discrimination Is Essential for Everyone Everything Can Be Achieved with Firm Determination and Persistence Be Free from Desire, Envy, and Greed Dedication means offering. As soon as Swami arrived, teachers and students made offerings of flowers and offered their salutations. The flower symbolises the heart. When you offer the flower of your heart to the Lord, it should be free from the pest of desire, hatred, envy, greed, and the like. Only flowers are offered to the Lord or those whom you revere. The flower of the heart is subject to infestation by two evil creatures: one is self-conceit; the other is envy. Self- conceit is based on several different factors: wealth, physical prowess, birth, scholarship, beauty, power, and pen- ance. Of these, the arrogance born of wealth is to be despised most. As long as this self-conceit is predominant, it is impossible to recognise the Divine or one’s spiritual reality. Self-conceit is a great barrier between the individual and God. It has to be utterly demol- ished. T
in which every human being is a student. Every student pursues one subject and acquires a degree. Each one chooses a subject he likes. But whatever different subjects they may study, there is one thing common to all of them, one common pursuit and goal: to ob- tain the degree of divine love. Master the Five Ds In the cosmic university, though there are scientific, political, economic, and other studies, what is fundamental to all of them is spiritual knowledge. Even in the spiritual field there are spe- cial subjects. There is one group that may be described as the five Ds: Dedi- cation, Devotion, Discipline, Discrimi- nation, and Determination. Those who have mastered the five Ds are qualified to receive God’s love. References 1. Summer Roses on the Blue Mountains 1976, Chapter 15: Your Conscience Is Your Master and Guide. 2. Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 13, Chapter 14: Four Fs. 3. Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 32, Part 1, Chapter 5: Glory of Bharatiya Culture. 4. Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 31, Chapter 45: Love God Wholeheartedly. 5. Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 13, Chapter 21: Expand the Heart. 6. Sathya Sai Speaks, Volume 31, Chapter 20: Install Divinity in the Heart. 7. Summer Showers in Brindavan 1990, Chapter 3: The Moving Temple. Know the Truth about Yourself However long you may live, what- ever scientific knowledge you may ac- quire, whatever position you may oc- cupy, some time or other you have to know the truth about yourself. Start knowing it now. You should be on the alert all the time, because you can never know when the Lord’s grace, His love and benediction will be showered on you, at what time and at what place and in what circumstances. Unlike in the case of worldly matters, you can- not understand what is happening in the spiritual domain or what the Di- vine plans are. Therefore, if you go on discharging your duties and obligations in the proper manner with enthusiasm and joy, that itself will confer bliss on you. Don’t worry about the future. Don’t brood over the past. All are pass- ing clouds only. In this world, there is nothing per- manent, whether persons, objects, or other things. The very name jagat (universe) means “coming and going.” Knowing this truth, why should you worry at all? So give no scope whatso- ever to any kind of worry. Only then can man be entitled to become divine. 7
10 11 Discrimination Is Essential for Everyone Young people in their tender years tend to follow the inclinations of the mind. They do not rise to the level of their intelligence. Consequently, they are subject to various agitations and frustrations. They have, therefore, to learn to use their powers of discrimi- nation. “I am a human being. In this condition how should I conduct myself so that I may win the respect and re- gard of others?” These are the questions that each student must ask himself. He should inquire on every occasion as to what is the right course and what is to be avoided. He should decide on what he should do and where he should go after due inquiry. Having acquired knowledge, he should not behave like an illiterate, uneducated person. His conduct should be in keeping with his learning. Humility is the index of true education. Without humility, scholar- ship will lack lustre. Discrimination is essential for every student and edu- cated man. 1 Have Only Fundamental Discrimination Discrimination is of two types: indi- vidual discrimination and fundamental discrimination. Individual discrimina- tion arises out of selfishness, whereas fundamental discrimination is con- cerned with the welfare of one and all. One should discard individual discrim- ination and have only fundamental discrimination. This was the teaching of Buddha to Ananda, son of Gautami, before he attained Nirvana. 2 Exercise Your Discrimination Properly Before undertaking any activity man should discriminate whether it is good or bad, right or wrong. But man is us- ing his power of discrimination only to suit his selfish ends, which is individual discrimination. What is needed today is fundamental discrimination, that which is based on the sacred principles like truth, love, and righteousness. Truth is God, love is God. So, live in love. 3
to do something, take time and ask yourself: “Is it good, or is it bad?” It is very important to exercise your dis- crimination properly. It is fundamental discrimination that you should apply, not individual discrimination. Your action should benefit others — that is what fundamental discrimination is all about. Avoid haste, be patient, decide carefully on the basis of fundamental discrimination, and only then act. 4 Consider the Good of Others The less you talk, the more your mental power will grow. With the in- crease in your mental capacity, there will be an increase in your power of discrimination too. Consequently, you will give up individual discrimination and resort to fundamental discrimina- tion. Because of this, you will begin to consider the good of the world at large rather than your own individual wel- fare. 5
Strictly Followed in Daily Life Next comes discipline. This is most essential for students. From the mo- ment you wake up, you have to carry out your morning ablutions, meditate on God, and then do your prescribed duties in an orderly manner without deviating from the regular routine. Variations in the routine from day to day are undesirable. You should not wake up at one hour on one day and at a different time on another day. The day’s activities should be regulated by the same schedule. Immediately af- ter finishing the morning chores, one should devote, in the calm and serene atmosphere of the morning, at least a few minutes to loving meditation on God. The human estate is based upon regulation and self-control. These have to be strictly adhered to in daily life. Follow the Directions of the Intelligence Then comes discrimination. The world is a mixture of good and bad, of joy and sorrow, right and wrong, vic- tory and defeat. In a world replete with such opposites, man has to make con- stantly the choice between what is right and proper and what is wrong and un- desirable. Man should not let himself be guided by the mind. He should fol- low the directions of the intelligence. As long as you follow the mind, you cannot obtain Divinity. Pride of wealth is another human failing that causes the downfall of man. All forms of pride, based on birth, wealth, power, or scholarship have to be given up totally. Only when egoistic pride is offered as a sacrifice at the al- tar of the Divine can man discover his true nature. This is the dedication that is called for as the first step in the spiri- tual journey. Devotion Is the Highest Form of Love Next comes devotion. This is the highest form of love. Devotion means constant contemplation of God. The term bhakti is derived from the root
loving contemplation of God, repeti- tion of His name, worshipping Him, and doing penance for Him. Service to the Lord is the highest expression of devotion. There is nothing that is not attainable through loving service to the Divine.
Devotion does not mean merely singing devotional songs or performing puja (ritualistic worship). These forms of devotion at present are based on some kind of self-interest and self-seek- ing. True devotion should be free from selfishness of any kind. Devotion is not something to be proclaimed or demon- strated. Exhibitionistic devotion may result in disaster. True devotion should be an expression of love both internally and externally. Yüklə 0,58 Mb. Dostları ilə paylaş:
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