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Embodiments
of Love!
TODAY MARKS THE BEGINNING OF another new year. Many new years have
gone by but there is no change in the life of man. What is the reason?
The reason is that man is not making efforts to experience the principle
of divinity which is present in all in the form of love. Love is
the true form of God. It is your foremost duty to recognise this
eternal principle of love.
Today
you are in search of divinity. Where is the need to search for that
which is everywhere at all times? You are in search of God as you
are unaware that God is always with you and in you. You are trying
to have the vision of God through meditation. However, you should
not be satisfied by merely performing such spiritual practices.
What is meditation? Adherence to truth is true meditation. The eternal,
immortal, wonderful and blissful principle of divinity is present
everywhere. You should make efforts to realise this truth. This
is the royal path to attain the goal of life.
Recognise
your Innate Divinity
People are making efforts to realise truth but their efforts are
not yielding the desired result. Divinity is the very embodiment
of eternal bliss and is present in all of us. How can you visualise
it? Firstly, you should understand that there is nothing superior
to truth in this world. Your foremost duty is to recognise the principle
of truth that is present in you. But you are forgetting your innate
divinity. You are undertaking a number of Sadhanas (spiritual practices)
to experience divinity. In fact, you do not need to perform any
special Sadhana to have the vision of God who is always with you,
in you, above you, around you.
Embodiments
of Love!
It is a sign of ignorance to search for God who is all-pervasive.
People perform various spiritual practices such as Yama, Niyama,
Asana, Pranayama, Pratyahara, Dharana, Dhyana, Samadhi to have the
experience of divinity. What is meant by Samadhi? It should be termed
as Sama-dhi, meaning equanimity in all situations. Equanimity is,
in fact, present in every individual. It is a misconception to think
that only those who perform Sadhana are capable of attaining it.
Do
you go about searching for yourself in the outside world? Such a
person can only be called foolish. In fact, you are distancing yourself
from your own sacred Self by searching it outside. This mad search
will not lead you anywhere. You are endowed with the sacred principle
of love. Wherefrom does it come? Where does it go? It neither comes
nor goes. It is always present in you. You waste your time just
in the name of doing Sadhana. Instead, realise the truth: ‘I am
I’. All spiritual practices become superfluous for one who realises
this truth. Where does this ‘I’ come from? It is in you. Without
realizing this truth, you search for it outside. It is therefore
necessary for every human being to recognize this truth. He is a
true Sadhaka who realises the divinity present within him. Those
who search for it outside follow the wrong path. Many people made
efforts to fathom Krishna Tattwa but none could succeed. Where is
Krishna? Where is God? God is present within you. Do you ever go
in the street and ask others, “Have you seen me?” Try to look within
and realise this sacred principle of ‘I’. You can know it the moment
you turn your vision inward. You see all external objects except
your true Self when you see with open eyes. Once Arjuna asked Krishna
about his true identity. Then Krishna said, “Arjuna! I am yours
and you are Mine. You and I are one.” We should try to realise this
principle of unity.
Give
up False Identification with the Body The boy who spoke earlier
said that he was doing Sadhana to attain the vision of God. One
need not search for God in some distant corner. Sarvata Panipadam
Tat, Sarvatokshi Siromukham, Sarvata Sruthimalloke, Sarvamavritya
Tishthati. (With hands, feet, eyes, ears, heads and mouth pervading
everything, He permeates the entire universe). Where is the need
to search for God when He is present everywhere? Whatever you see
is permeated by God. There is no place or form in which God is not
present.
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God
is love and love is God. You can connect yourself with God
only through love. Develop love and achieve the supreme state
of equanimity.
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| (Telugu
Poem) |
Embodiments
of Love!
Love, truth, peace and divinity are not different from each other.
They are all one. You will be able to realise this truth only when
you strengthen the spirit of unity. Love is not something that is
acquired from outside. It emerges from within. When you develop
and expand love, you will be able to realise the truth that all
are one. (Bhagavan showing His handkerchief) What is this? This
is a cloth. It is made up of thread. Thread, in turn, is made out
of cotton. Cotton is the basis of the cloth. But cloth is made by
weaving the threads. Similarly, the mind is also made up of the
threads of Sankalpas and Vikalpas (resolutions and aberrations).
You should know your real identity by transcending the mind.
Embodiments
of Love!
You have to enquire as to what extent you have understood the principle
of love which is uniformly present in all. Man is carried away by
his identification with the body and, therefore, he perceives diversity
in creation. In fact, it is unity alone that is behind the apparent
diversity. Whatever differences are there, they are only the creations
of your mind. If you want to eliminate these differences and realise
the principle of unity in diversity, you have to realise your true
nature. You experience diversity when you turn your perception away
from this fact of unity. Recognise the principle of unity. You are
God. God is not separate from you. It is a mistake to consider yourself
separate from God. This difference is the result of your deluded
vision. When you rectify this defect in your vision, you will realise
“I am I”. When you identify Sai Baba with the physical form, you
become separate from Him. It is only these feelings of identification
with the physical form that create differences between individuals.
The feelings of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ are behind all this multiplicity
of forms. If you stand before a mirror, you see your image. Even
if there are many mirrors, you see the same image. Though the mirrors
are many, the image is one. You should realise this oneness behind
multiplicity.
Embodiments
of Love, Students – Boys and Girls!
You should try to know the fundamental principle of oneness. If
you know this, everything else will become known to you. This world
has a plethora of forms but there is one divinity that permeates
all these forms. Know this truth. Ekam Sath Viprah Bahudha Vadanti
(Truth is one but wise men call it by many names). You see diversity
due to the effect of Maya (illusion). There exists only unity everywhere,
not diversity. It is your illusion that causes diversity. Forget
this diversity and contemplate on divinity. You may ascribe any
number of names and forms to God but God is one. At one time, Radha
realised her oneness with Krishna. But later she was overcome by
delusion and started considering herself different from Krishna.
This feeling of separateness is a big mistake. Reminding Radha of
her true identity, Narada told her that she had no separate identity.
It was her mistake that she had identified herself with her name,
he said. He added that she was not separate from Krishna, and was,
in fact, Krishna.
Embodiments
of Love!
Whatever you see, whomever you come across, consider every form
as nothing but the manifestation of divinity. Do not entertain differences
of ‘I’ and ‘you’. You look into a mirror and say that you are in
the mirror. In fact, you are not in the mirror. It is only your
reflection that appears in the mirror. When you go behind the hill
and shout “Oh!”, you will hear the echo of your voice. You may think
that someone is shouting at you with the same intensity. But it
is not so. That voice is yours and nobody else’s. Similarly, all
that you see in the world is only your reaction, reflection and
resound. It is a mistake to consider the reflection as reality.
When you understand the true nature of the reflection, you will
know the truth of oneness. Here is a small example. Once a young
cowherd took his cattle to the forest for grazing. While the cattle
were grazing, he began singing loudly. The song created an echo
from the hills. The innocent boy thought that someone was imitating
to make fun of him. He grew angry. After he returned home, he told
his mother, “Mother! I will not take the cattle to the forest tomorrow.
There is someone in the forest who is imitating whatever I sing.
I feel humiliated.” The mother said that she would accompany him
to the forest the next day. He took her behind the hills and started
singing loudly. Again, an echo of the song was heard. Then the mother
said, “Son, it is not that someone else is repeating your song to
make fun of you. Whatever you sing, its echo is being heard by you.”
Similarly, you should understand that everything in this world is
your own reflection, reaction and resound.
Understand
the Principle of Unity If you want to see God, you should firmly
believe that you are not the body. You identify yourself with the
body due to your illusion. Students should try to understand this
clearly. All that is seen outside is only a reflection and not the
reality. You see Sai Baba in front of you. You identify Sai Baba
with the body. But I am not the body. You and I are one. Once you
understand this truth clearly, there will be no difference whatsoever.
If you slap someone on the cheek, it amounts to slapping yourself.
If you abuse others, it amounts to abusing yourself. You are bound
to face the consequences of your actions. You are the cause of your
happiness or suffering. Others are not responsible for it. In fact,
there are no others. All are one. It is your own thinking that creates
the feeling of separateness in you. You should make efforts to understand
your true identity. You are the very embodiment of love. The principle
of love is one and the same in all. You share your love with your
children, parents and spouse. The feeling towards each of them is
different but the fundamental principle of love is the same. You
should recognize this fundamental truth. The fundamental truth is
one without a second. That is the Atma.
Embodiments
of Divine Atma!
The Atma is one, not two. Once you recognize the truth that the
same Atma is present in all, you will be free from all differences
and conflicts. Develop firm faith that the same Self is present
in all. Understand this principle of unity. Only then can you experience
truth. All the students have immense love for Me. They are happy
that Baba loves them. Understand that it is only Baba who loves
all. (loud prolonged applause). You see differences in individuals.
But in My view, all are one. I am you and you are I. Have firm faith
in this unity. Only then can you transcend duality. When you enquire
deeply, you will be able to understand this truth. Have patience.
Do not feel disappointed that you are unable to have the vision
of God. When you understand the principle of unity and hold on to
it firmly, you become Sai Baba yourself. You are ‘divine’. But you
are unable to realise it as you are intoxicated with the ‘deep wine’
of worldly desires. All are the embodiments of divinity. I am not
different from you and you are not different from Me. We are one.
When you go on contemplating on this thought of unity with the Divine,
you become one with Him. Then, all differences will disappear and
you will attain the experience of unity with God.
(Bhagavan
concluded His Divine Discourse with the Bhajans, “Hari Bhajan
Bina Sukha Santhi Nahin, and “Govind Krishna Jai Gopala
Krishna Jai”)
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