|
Latest
Discourses »»
{Quick
download text file of divine discourse: 11th Oct 05 } right click & save (only 1 second)
online source:.sssbpt.org/Pages/Prasanthi_Nilayam/Dasara_Discourse_8_10_05.htm
      
Home
Dasara Divine Discourse on
11th October 2005
VISION OF THE DIVINE
Dear students!
All people in the world desire to have the vision of God and, in fact,
crave for the unique opportunity to merge in His divine effulgence. This
intense yearning for that great privilege is not a novel phenomenon. It
has been there ever since human beings appeare d
in the world. In consonance with this yearning, several sages and seers in
the past have craved for the vision of God and ultimate merger with
divinity. This is truly an ancient tradition. Thus, the singing of the
divine glory has been passed on from generation to generation in the
country of Bharath. Right from start Narada has been an incessant singer
of the glories of the divine name. What is the use of mere chanting of the
divine name for one’s own satisfaction? He, therefore, advocated the
nine-fold path of devotion:
“Sravanam, Kirthanam, Vishnu Smaranam, Padasevanam, Vandanam, Archanam,
Dasyam, Sneham, and Atma Nivedanam” (listening, singing, constant
contemplation on God, serving His lotus feet, salutation, worship,
servitude, friendship and self surrender.)
One day, Narada prayed to Lord Narayana “Lord! we are only chanting the
divine name, but the essence of the divine name is in you. It is only when
you bless us to partake of that divine essence, our life will be
sanctified.” Some people misunderstood the prayer of sage Narada and
started doubting the efficacy of namasmarana in attaining the lotus feet
of God. Opinions differed. Arguments and counter arguments for and against
following a particular path continued. Such differences of opinion have
been there right from ancient times. Some people tried to argue with
Narada saying, “Sir, we are not able to visualise God.” Narada replied,
“As much is your yearning, in proportion shall be the grace.” Each
individual in this world follows his own chosen path. But, the Paramathma
is one for all!
In Dwapara Yuga, Radha, a great devotee of Lord Krishna continued to pine
for His darshan and constant proximity. She had a sister by name Prabha.
Prabha was, however, against such intense yearning, for Him. One day Radha
was going to Brindavan singing the divine glory of Lord Krishna. Her
sister Prabha and her husband were also accompanying her. Prabha used to
be constantly in the company of her husband. She could not bear her
separation from him even for a moment, just as Radha could not bear the
separation from Krishna. However, Radha continued to pray to Krishna to
change Prabha’s mind and develop devotion in her for Krishna. Krishna,
however, counselled patience saying, “Why do you worry? A time will come
when she will also develop intense devotion and yearning for Me.” Krishna
used a variety of plays to bring about a transformation in the hearts of
several people. He used to display several leelas for this purpose. Since
Radha was longing for a change of heart in the case of her sister Prabha,
Krishna told her, “You wanted Me to change the mind of your sister and
develop devotion in her. Let her witness the glory of My leelas and
develop faith in My divinity gradually. Once she realises the nature of My
divinity, she will herself become an embodiment of divinity, in keeping
with the saying “Brahma vid Brahmaiva bhavathi” (one who realises Brahma
will become Brahman verily). Some people worship Me with devotion
(bhakthi), others constantly contemplate on me with hatred (dwesha). I am
indifferent to both dushana (abuse) and bhushana (praise). I am beyond all
dushana and bhushana. I accept all in an equal attitude. Prabha continued
her hostile attitude towards Krishna for some time. In course of time,
there was a perceptible change in her attitude. One day, she accompanied
Radha to the place where Krishna was happily spending His time in the
midst of Gopikas, singing and dancing. Prabha from then on continued to
spend her time blissfully in the divine presence of Krishna. Both Radha
and Prabha used to share this divine experience daily. Thus, Krishna could
bring about a change of heart in Prabha with His divine leelas. God is
unblemished and pure. In fact, He corrects the mistakes that are there in
the devotees and takes them into His fold. He will not distance Himself
from anyone. Lord Krishna is a Leelamanusha vigraha (donning a Human
vesture as part of His divine sport). Both Radha and Prabha firmly decided
that they would not move away from the company of Lord Krishna. In fact,
Krishna gave a glimpse of His divinity to Radha on one occasion and
explained to her, “Radha! Humanbeings are entangled in maya (illusion).
They are deluded to think that God in human form is also a human being
like them. You can not develop love towards a person without developing
attachment to him. This is true in the case of God in human form also.
Hence, first you will have to develop attachment to a particular form of
God, in order to love God. In order that people should develop attachment
to the form of their choice, God assumes several forms. However, God is
unblemished and remains an embodiment of purity”.
None can fathom the divine Leelas of Lord Krishna. Sometimes, He
manifested in His full divine glory. Sometimes, He behaved like an
ordinary human being. Yet another time, He acted as a simpleton.
Nevertheless, Krishna was Krishna, i.e., God in human form! In fact, even
the Gopalas and Gopikas who moved constantly in the company of their dear
Lord Gopala and were witnesses to several divine Leelas could not fully
appreciate His divine nature. The question that constantly baffled the
minds of people was why Krishna should indulge in such divine Leelas. It
was only to develop in the minds of His devotees intense attachment to His
form and thereby develop devotion in them. He had no desires at all,
excepting this. The constant company of Radha developed intense devotion
in her sister Prabha. Finally, as is the company so is the transformation.
“Tell me your company I shall tell you what you are!” Accordingly, Radha
and Prabha became one in the end. In fact, Prabha’s real name was
Chandrika and her mother used to call her by that name. All others used to
call her Prabha.
It is very difficult to bring about a transformation in the human mind.
Only God can accomplish this task. Several people approach Me and pray
“Swami! Please change the mind of my son. He has developed hatred towards
his parents for some reason; we do not know why. Normally, he is a good
boy. He never takes to bad ways. Please Swami! Change his mind so that he
will behave well towards his parents.” A mind is a mind after all!
Sometimes, some people are beyond redemption. I therefore express My
inability in such cases. It is said “Manomoolam idam jagath” (the mind is
the basis for the entire objective world).
“A knotted gnarled tree trunk may be made straight as a pole
A shapeless hunk of rock can be carved to form a beautiful divine idol
Is there a one who can make the wavering human mind unruffled?”
(Telugu Poem)
It is only when man develops faith in God that God will come to the rescue
of man. In fact, divinity is not confined to any form. It is a power and
that power is infinite. Such an infinite power can accomplish any
difficult task. God may assume a number of forms, but the divine power is
only one and the same. The same Atmatattwa that is residing in this body
as the indweller is present in every human being as well. For example, you
may refer to the electric current as DC or AC, but the basic nature of the
current is the same. Similarly, the Atmatattwa is the same in every human
being. Considering the prapthi (deservedness) of the concerned
individuals, God interferes to bring about transformation in them.
While doing so, God will conform to some form of self imposed norms.
Transformation of the human mind can not be brought about by a human being
or by chanting some manthra. It is only when God wills so, is it possible.
God can accomplish anything and everything. He can be present anywhere and
everywhere. In keeping with the declaration “Ekam eva advitheeyam Brahma”
(Brahma is only one, without a second). God does not change. If He
changes, the whole universe will change. It is a serious misconception to
think that God has changed. God is truth, eternal and unblemished. None
can change such a Paramathma (supreme self). It is not easy to comprehend
the divinity.
Embodiments of Love!
No human being’s love equals that of God. God’s love is unchanging. He may
assume any number of forms, but His love towards human beings remains
unchanged. God is attributeless, pure, eternal, unsullied, final abode,
enlightened, liberated and embodiment of sacredness. You may call God by
any name – Venkateshwara, Rama, Krishna or Saibaba. Only names differ, God
is only one. That is why divinity has been explained as “Ekam eva
advitheeyam Brahma” (Brahma is only one, without a second). Some people
may think that God has assumed a human form like Rama or Krishna and hence
now there is no God. What has really happened in this example is that God
has not changed, He remains changeless irrespective of the form He
assumes. It is only a change in our perception of God. God’s will is
immutable.
Embodiments of Love!
Cultivate pure love; for, purity is unity and that unity is divinity. Let
your individual love be transformed into pure love for God. Sometimes,
people have a doubt whether God’s love towards them had undergone a
change. Never; God’s love will never undergo a change. For example, you
have a log of wood. You can make any kind of furniture with it, like a
chair or a bench. But the basic material, that is wood, remains the same.
Similarly, God’s love always remains unchanged. God can accomplish any
task. Sometimes He may give darshan to some people, while others may not
have this benefit. Much depends upon their mental attitude. Cultivate
unflinching faith and single-minded devotion to God. Several Yogis and
renunciants yearned for the darshan of God, but few could win that grace
with unflinching faith and single-minded devotion to God.
Sometime ago when I visited Rishikesh, I gave darshan to Swami
Purushothamananda living in the Vasishta cave located on the way to
Badrinath in the Himalayas. He was doing thapas, living alone in that
cave. He used to keep a small oil lamp in that cave. The cave was located
a little interior from the road point. He used to purchase milk and make
some tea with it. That was his only food. Rest of the time, he was always
immersed in thapas. Days rolled by. After sometime, he did not have enough
strength to come to the road point for purchasing milk and again getting
back to his cave. Hence, he made his trips less frequent, that is, once in
a week, to obtain milk. One day, he came to know that Bhagavan Baba was
staying in the Sivananda ashram for a few days. He was longing to have
Swami’s darshan. He, therefore, sent a letter through a messenger praying
“Bhagavan! Please come to our cave and grant darshan to me.” I was aware
of his intense devotion towards Swami. I saw his letter and I immediately
rushed to Vasishta cave to give him darshan. The entrance to the cave was
closed with a door. Purushothamananda had no energy left in him to get up
and open the door. Kasturi accompanied Me during My trip. He was quite
strong then. Both Kasturi and Myself tried to open the door. At last we
could succeed in opening the door. Purushothamananda was extremely happy
on seeing both of us. He wanted to spend a few minutes alone in the Divine
Presence of Swami. He, therefore, advised Kasturi to go inside the cave
and have a look at it. Kasturi, with his journalistic inquisitiveness went
in. Purushothamananda fixed his gaze on Me and was lost in bliss. After a
few moments, he regained his normal self. I told Purushothamananda that I
would visit his cave once again. The very next day I visited
Purushothamananda and spent some time with him again. After My return to
Sivananda ashram, Swami Sivananda was a bit disappointed that I visited
Purushothamananda’s cave twice and did not find much time to spend in the
Sivananda Ashram.
On my second visit to Vasishta cave, I took a piece of paper from Kasturi
and wrote a particular date for My next visit to Purushothamananda’s
ashram. On the scheduled date, Purushothamananda took a holy bath in the
Ganges and was eagerly waiting for My darshan. Deeply lost in
contemplation on my Divine Form, he had divine vision after sometime. A
few minutes later, he left his mortal coil in that deep samadhi state
itself. The news was conveyed to Me while I was in Delhi. I was informed
by a telegram that Purushothamananda merged in Swami. I confirmed the news
saying, “yes, yes”. Strangely, his birthday and the day on which he
attained samadhi were one and the same. Later on, when the door of the
Vasisthta cave was opened, the entire cave was smeared with vibhuti! The
body of Purushothamananda was later let into the river Ganges by the
disciples of Sivananda. From then on, the name and fame of
Purushothamananda spread far and wide. The disciples of Purushothamananda
thereafter visited Prasanthi Nilayam to have My darshan. They stayed in
the ashram for full ten days. I provided them good accommodation and all
conveniences. They enjoyed Swami’s darshan, sparshan and sambhashan in
full measure and finally left for their place, carrying with them the love
and blessings of Swami. Purusho-thamananda was a noble soul. He was really
a Purushothama (the best among men). This is the story of
Purushothamananda.
Every one was happy to read in newspapers that Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai
Baba had visited on two days the ashram of Swami Purushothamananda. Your
happiness is My happiness. The Vasishta cave is still as it was when
Purushothamananda lived there. It is perfectly clean and holy, permeating
divine atmosphere in the entire ashram. The disciples of Purushothamananda
told Me: “Swami! The entire atmosphere in the ashram is permeated by
divine vibrations. We feel as though Swami Purushothamananda is still with
us”. I told them: “Fine! You continue to feel his presence there and enjoy
bliss”. During My last visit to Delhi, I arranged for conducting bhajan on
Purushothamananda’s birthday, keeping a photo of Purushothamananda there.
Thus, several sages and seers display intense love and devotion towards Me
and pine for My divine darshan.
Latest:
 SBOI-Group Messages »»
Discourses »»
Thought for the day »»
Prashanthi Bulletin »»
Forthcoming event »»
Home
|