Friday, May 26, 2023

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

 





The Divine is one without a second. "Ekoham bahusyam Prajayeyethi." (I am One. Let me become many for the sake of progeny). Willing in this way, the Divine assumed a myriad amazing variety of forms in the universe and taught in the Gita the threefold paths of Karma, Jnana and Bhakti to enable humanity to realise the magnificence of the Divine. Man has been engaged in exploring the infinite wonderful secrets of Nature in this marvellous creation in all possible ways. But because of the vagaries of his mind, intellect and ego, man has failed to understand the true eternal, spiritual basis underlying everything in the Universe and has lost himself in the pursuit of the external phenomenal world as if it were the only reality. In the process he has failed to realise his own true nature and has totally perverted his mind. The simple truth that everything is permeated by the One has been lost sight of.

 

Krishna Reminds Man Of Grievous Error

 

It is to remind man of this grievous error that Sri Krishna declared in the 18th chapter of the Gita (in verse 61) "Easwarah-sarvabhoothanam hriddeseh Arjuna thishtathi" (The Lord resides, oh Arjuna, in the heart region of all beings) and went on to adjure in the 62nd sloka: "Thameva saranam gachcha sarvabhavena Bharata" (Take refuge in Him alone with all thy heart, oh Bharata). This means that if the Lord dwells in the heart of all beings, He must be residing in Arjuna's heart also! Hence the injunction, "Thameva saranam gachcha" means: "Seek refuge in yourself." It must be understood from this that whatever one may say or do, he is doing it only to himself and for himself.

 

The Bhagavad Gita begins with Dhritharashtra's reference to "Dharma kshetre Kurukshetre." Dharmakshetra is the seat of Atma. "Kurukshetra" is the body, which is the source of all actions. It is the combination of the Atma and the body the Kshetra-Kshetrajna relationship - which explains the human predicament. By forgetting the Atma and involving himself in "Deha Dharma" (the claims of the body), man is subjecting himself to endless suffering. He grieves about things which are not worth lamenting and does not grieve for the things that ought to make him sad. This state of delusion is the result of his identifying himself with the body and forgetting his inherent divinity. If he realizes that he is one with the Omni-self, he will have no cause for sorrow. He will be aware that Truth and Bliss are inherent in his spiritual reality. When man realizes that the Divine is all-pervasive, there will be no room for acquisitive selfishness or divisiveness. When Dhritharashtra made a distinction between "his" sons (mamakah my children) and the Pandavas, he betrayed his spiritual blindness and the ignorance of the unity that subsumes the multiplicity in the world.



                                                                                        Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 21

                                                                                               09 January 1988

                                                                                                        

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