DiscoursesWorld Youth Conference
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Discourse Date
26 July 2007
Place
Prasanthi Nilayam
Occasion
World Youth Conference
Discourse Collection
Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 40 (2007)
WE see a large number of living beings in this world. But none of them has the greatness, wisdom and discrimination of man. That is why it is said, Jantunam nara janma durlabham (of all living beings, human birth is the rarest).
Everything in this world is constituted by five elements. These five elements are present not only in man but also in animals, birds, insects and trees. But what is the use if man does not make proper use of these five elements? Today man is engaged in the pursuit of knowledge. How vast is this knowledge? It is as vast as an ocean. Similarly, man makes efforts to develop common sense. His common sense touches the height of the Himalayan mountains. In spite of all his knowledge and common sense, man’s power of discrimination is zero. What is good and what is bad? What should be done and what should not be done? This power of thinking is zero in man today. That is why humanness has suffered a great decline. The value of humanness depends only on discriminatory power. Man may possess anything and everything, but what is the use if he has no discrimination? People keep on comparing themselves with others in many ways. But nobody is making efforts to know if his discrimination power is more or less. Today man is engaged in amassing wealth. But he does not use his knowledge of discrimination to know whether he needs that much money or not. Wherever we see today, we find people hankering after money.
You Are God Yourself
The mind of man is very powerful. But man’s mind today is deluded. (Bhagawan showing His handkerchief) What is this? This is cloth. How does it take the form of cloth? It becomes cloth by weaving thread. But where does this thread come from? It comes from cotton. So, first cotton, second thread and third cloth. In the same way, you are not one person but three: the one you think you are, the one others think you are, the one you really are (loud applause). The thread and cloth come only from cotton. Similarly, man is constituted by five elements. Krishna declared in the Bhagavad Gita : Mamaivamsho jivaloke jivabhuta sanathana (the eternal atma in all beings is a part of My Being). It means that we all are parts of the Divine. All of you are in search of God. But there is no need to search for God, because you yourself are God. When you have light in your own house, where is the need to go to the houses of others in search of light?
You develop the feelings of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ due to the delusion caused by body attachment. Body is, in fact, the cause of all attachments. But, how long does this body last? It is desired only so long as there is life in it. When the life principle goes out of it, the body is mercilessly put on fire. Then, to whom does this body belong? Therefore, you are not the body. You say, “This is my body, this is my hand, this is my leg, this is my mind, this is my buddhi (intellect).” Everything is my, my, my. Then, who is that ‘my’? When you say ‘my leg’, you are separate from your leg. Then who are you? You are you only. In this way, man today is deluded by his attachment to his body and senses. But you are not the body, you are not the senses, you are not the intellect, you are you. You should realise, “I am I.” That universal ‘I’ principle is only one. Ekam sath viprah bahudha vadanti (truth is one, but the wise refer to it by many names). But the individual ‘I’ represents ego. When you cut this ‘I’, it becomes the cross which is worshipped by the Christians. It means, when you give up your ego, you become your true self.
You are not an ordinary person; you are God yourself. There is no need to search for God. Wherever you see, God is there. This cloth is God, this flower is 1 God, this table is God, everything is God. It is only due to your ignorance that you give scope to differences like ‘I’ and ‘you’. You are not a separate entity. I am I. I am not Sri Sathya Sai Baba. Sri Sathya Sai Baba is the name given to this body. I don’t have any particular name. Your body is the gift of your parents. This body is endowed with Pancha Bhutas (five elements), Panchendriyas (five senses) and Pancha Pranas (five life principles). These Pancha Pranas are prana, apana, vyana, udana and samana . They are the same in everyone. Therefore, you are not different from others. Those who are unaware of this spiritual principle become victims of ignorance and are subjected to delusion.
Everything in this world is reaction, reflection and resound. Where does the resound come from? Here I am speaking. Where do My words come from? They come from My heart. You think that you hear with your ears. But it is not so. All your senses are, in fact, like decorations to your body; they cannot function on their own without the life principle within you. There is no need to search for God. Have faith that God is within you. When you have faith in God, you develop love. From love emerges peace; peace gives rise to truth. This truth is God. Truth does not exist separately. There is no need to search for truth. Truth has no form. Truth is truth. Who has created peace? Peace is peace. It also has no form. Love is love. It is not anybody’s creation. Love is God, Live in Love.
Educare Is The Process Of Bringing Out Latent Values
What are the human values? They are Sathya, Dharma, Santhi, Prema and Ahimsa (truth, righteousness, peace, love and non-violence). They have no form. These formless principles are imprinted on your heart. All that we read and write corresponds to physical and worldly education. It cannot be called education in the true sense of the term. What is true is educare. Educare means to bring out our latent values. They are immanent in our heart, but we cannot see them. They have to be manifested through self-enquiry. True Sadhana lies in recognising and manifesting peace, truth and sacrifice that are present in our heart. You undertake various spiritual practices like meditation and Japa (recitation of God’s name). What do you understand by Japa ? You think Japa means counting the beads of a rosary. But it is not so. All these spiritual practices are merely our imagination. They are all artificial, not real. Science teaches many things. It gives only that knowledge which we acquire through our senses. There can be no science without senses. We are leading artificial and mechanical life by acquiring this knowledge. It is not true life.
First and foremost, you must have faith. You can recognise your true form only when you have faith. From faith comes peace. Truth emerges from peace. This truth is God. God does not have any separate 1 form. God manifests from the truth within you. You undertake many spiritual practices. In spite of all practices, you are unable to experience truth. Do not waste your time in unnecessary pursuits. Time waste is life waste. First of all, you should understand that truth is your goal. You will have no obstacles when truth is on your side. Your senses and mind are very strong when you are young. Your intellect is also very sharp. Being endowed with such great power, why should you feel weak and helpless?
Love is not your individual property. It is universal and belongs to all. Love is in everyone. Love is there in you, Me and everyone. We attribute various names to this love and try to experience it. You should not think otherwise. Today even school children develop a tendency for artificial love. But this is not correct. This artificial love makes man weak. This weakness can cause many diseases. Do not develop such love which gives rise to diseases.
The principle of love is the principle of divinity, nothing else. Accept that love which comes from God. Do not accept that love which comes from others. Your love for God is true love. Whomsoever you love other than that, it cannot be called true love. Man develops attachment to many people, but he is unable to experience true love. True love originates only from God. God is the embodiment of love. Love is God. Live in Love. You should experience only divine love, not worldly love. I will explain to you this principle of love in detail later. We have already exceeded the time limit. Therefore, I don’t want to cause inconvenience to you.
It is very easy to attain God. If you ask which is the easiest thing to attain in this world, it is only God. You can attain God in no time without undergoing any strain. It is very easy to experience love. Love is very powerful. There is nothing in this world which can surpass it. When you look at it, love appears to be very small. But it is as deep as an ocean and as high as a mountain. It is inexhaustible and infinite. You should realise this principle of love. Nobody can describe the principle of love because of the limitations of the circumstances and experiences.
Students, boys and girls, you must get rid of this selfishness. You should attempt to promote in yourself an attitude of selflessness and divine love. If you want to get rid of selfishness, you should promote qualities like Sat, Chit, and Ananda. These qualities of Sat, Chit, and Ananda are not to be acquired from outside. They are naturally present in us. The quality of truth is present in us. It is not right for us to spend all our time in evil thoughts about others. It is always better to think of God rather than about others. Thus, the three divine qualities of Sat, Chit, and Ananda must be promoted. We should examine the manner in which we can promote these qualities. We must become people with good qualities. Through good conduct, such sacred ideas will begin to sprout in us. So long as we keep our attachment to the created world around us, we cannot get such good qualities. The eyes see bad things, the ears hear wrong things, the words are such that they criticise others. So long as we have such faulty vision and faulty talk, we can never develop good conduct. On the other hand, if our sensory organs are surrendered to God, we may get good conduct through the grace of God. While it is not an easy thing to acquire, yet by effort, man can achieve these qualities. Whether we receive praise or blame, gain or loss, sorrow or pleasure, we will have to struggle to get the grace of God by our good conduct.
– Sri Sathya Sai Baba