Swami Venkatesananda

MESSAGE OF LIGHT

The ancients 'saw' truth, incorporated it in pleasant rituals to ensure its perpetuation and the moderns enjoy the pleasantry (thus depriving the ritual of its life) and faithfully preserve the embalmed rite! Diwali is no exception. 

The darkness of the night is dispelled by the light that is kindled on Diwali. A single lamp may not be powerful enough to illumine a whole street, even as a single pious action may not bring about illumination of the self. But it is possible to illumine the whole street with strings of little lamps (Diwali), even as, if all the little acts of one's life are holy, there is illumination of the self.

The lamps enable us to see objects hidden in the darkness. The light of the sun enables us to see the world outside during the daytime, and at night the same light of the sun reflected by the moon and stars illumines the earth. An inspiring mantra in the Katha Upanishad declares, "The sun, the moon, the stars and the flame do not illumine 'that', but it is 'that' which makes them luminous." What is that? Sight. Light is useless in the absence of sight.

But, what do we mean by 'sight'? Surely, the eyes, the retina, the optic nerve, the brain-centre, are not capable of 'seeing'. These are all present in a corpse which does not see. Enquiry into this is meditation.

- Swami Venkatesananda

Swami Ashokananda

In samadhi, no activity takes place in the body. You would not breathe, your heart would not beat, there would be no pulse, unless you have given a part of your consciousness and mind to these functions. Of course, if you have done that, it means that you have not given your whole mind and consciousness to God. And if you do not give your whole mind and consciousness to God, how can you expect to have the full vision of God? You can’t. It is said that the mind is finite. But when the mind becomes absolutely and totally concentrated on God, then the mind becomes infinite. And it is only then that the vision of God becomes reflected in the mind, and being so reflected it destroys the mind because the mind is no longer necessary.

So the spirit of man, which is different from the mind, becomes one with the other spirit, which is called God. Other spirit? Because it appears so to us in ignorance. In truth, the spirit of man is God. So, that is how full and complete knowledge of God is attained, and that state has been called, technically in our books, nirvikalpa samadhi. Samadhi means complete contemplation and meditation, and nirvikalpa means that in which there is no other thought. When there is no other thought, when there is no perception of any other thing, but only of God and God alone, then it is considered the mind has reached that desired condition.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

“God is omnipresent. So do not act differently when you are away from My Presence. Be always and everywhere conscious of the presence. Be vigilant, even while engaged in little tasks. Maintain silence in the recesses of the heart, as well as outside. The Gita says, God’s hands and feet are everywhere. 

You can hear His footfall only when no other sound hinders. God, out of His Infinite Grace, assumes the form that the devotee yearns for. He is purity. He is the supreme wisdom. He is ever free, ever-merciful. Develop the awareness of God, see him and serve him in every living being.”

Old people think of the past; the young ones think of the future, and both of them forget the present. This is the reason for all the sorrows and difficulties that man is faced with. This is not an ordinary present: this is omnipresent...”

- Sri Sathya Sai Baba