September 17th, 2000

“Stories and Talk”

Sai Ram

With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan,

Dear Brothers and Sisters,

STORIES UPDATED

It has become conventional just to think of what Swami has said on the verandah to the boys
because most of you may be anxious to know what He talks about. I think I updated all that. But
two days back, I should inform you of what happened to keep you abreast of the times with the
latest information! (This is the ‘age of telecom’, you know, electronic media! We have got to be
very fast in our communications!)

MUSLIMS COME TO PRASHANTI

PRASHANTI NILAYAM

Two days back you must have watched Muslims here in Prashanti Nilayam. Muslims wear a
special white cap with embroidery. So from a distance you could make out that they are Muslims.
My impression of Muslims is this - which they do not usually go to any temple. They are very, very
rigid about it. They do not accept prasadam (blessed food), none whatsoever. (That’s my
observation, subject to correction by anybody.) They are very rigid and they don’t attend any other
discourses referring to other religions and faiths. That has been my experience so far.

But the moment I saw them in large numbers, I could not believe it! I had to put on a ‘question
mark’ face. When Swami passed by me He said, "Come here. You distribute prasadam to those
people." The fact which I could not swallow, the impression or prejudice which I had been
entertaining over years, had got to be dispelled now.

So He made me distribute the prasadam to them. I had to bend every time to distribute - me, the
fellow who used to receive prasadam! To distribute is difficult! Eating is quite easy. Distribution
one has to bend. OK. It’s Lord’s Command. What can we do?

After completing this He said, "Did you distribute to everybody?"

"Yes, Swami."

"Did you eat any?"

I said, "I did not even smell!"

Then He said, "That’s why they were adequate! That’s why the stock was enough for distribution!
Had you started eating, it would have ended with yourself!"

And then I said, "Swami, it’s really wonderful, unbelievable to find Muslims here in Prashanti
Nilayam."
He said, "Why not?"

"Why not? Because my experience goes that usually they don’t go to any other temple and they
are very rigid about it. Fundamentalists."

Then He said, "No, no, no, no." He didn’t like my comment.

Then I said, in order to provoke a comment from Him, "Swami, they have got all sorts of hatred
and anger towards Hindus. Therefore they do not attend any temple. They do not listen to Rama
or Krishna, as far as I know."

Do you know what Baba said? "They may hurt anybody. They may have hatred or anger,
whatever qualities they may have. Hatred and anger, they have to leave them outside to get into
My Presence. They have to leave them outside. All your jealousies, all of your bickerings, all of
your quarrels, you have to leave them outside at the gate and only then, enter and come to Me,"
He said.

It is really a very, very beautiful statement. We find Iran and Iraq never sail together. We also know
Soviet Russia and the United States do not go together. India and Pakistan's relationship is
universally well known! Better not discussed! And even among Christians, the Catholics and the
Protestants don’t go hand-in-hand. Among Hindus, the Vaishnavites and Saivites, they don’t see
eye-to-eye with each other. If a Vaishnavite, a follower of Vishnu, happens to see a Saivite, a
devotee of Shiva, he has to take bath immediately because it is inauspicious to look at the face of
a devotee of Shiva! That has been the spirit of love between them!

Under these circumstances, is it not wonderful to find all living together, all sitting at one place,
Muslims, Christians, Hindus, of all denominations, of all sub-sects, singing together the Glory of
one God. Why? Bhagavan said, "All your hatred and anger, you have to keep it outside and then
only get into this Mandir."

Yes. But my friends as we go back, let us not pick up our baggage again and go! That is the
caution I can tell you. All that baggage, we kept it outside. But while going back, we collect our
baggage there! Let us see that we do not collect it again. Let us empty ourselves of all this
prejudice and bias.

The second day also the Muslims were there.

And He said, "Why are they still there?"

He asked me. Who are we to tell? So I said, "Swami, how do I know?"

Then Swami said, "Look here, I constructed a school for them some time back – for Muslims, an
Arabic school and they have the primary school classes run over there. They want some extra
rooms to be constructed now. So they have come for money."

"Oh, Swami, is that so?"

And then He said, "You can also again distribute prasadam there." Very big-sized, mega-size
laddus! The others yesterday were only micro-size. These were mega! They were quite fine. So
attractive. They were so fresh! But "Father lead us not to temptation!" was my prayer at that time.

I distributed all laddus and returned. And Bhagavan went there and spoke to those Muslims
brothers. From a distance I could see smiles. I could also hear claps and loud cheers.
So when Swami came I said, "Swami, what is it? Why are they clapping like that?" He was very
kind enough. He did not say, "How are you concerned?" My stars were good that day!

And you know what He said? "They want to construct a Kalyana Mantapam, a place where
weddings will be performed for Muslims. They want a Community Hall where Muslims can perform
the weddings there."

"Oh Swami, is that so?"

"They want to make it ‘Allah Sai Kalyana Mantapam’."

We’ve heard the name ‘Allah Sai, Moula Sai’ in bhajan songs. But I have not heard of a Kalyana
Mantapam like this: ‘Allah Sai Kalyana Mantapam’.

"Oh, Swami, 'Allah Sai'?"

"Yes."

Then I asked, "So what are You going to do? What was Your response?"

Bhagavan said, "What response? I called immediately engineers and asked them to get it ready
for them at the earliest. When they ask, I will do it immediately."

People speak of the unity of religions, the fellowship of faiths in high language. Well, here is
Bhagavan who translates into action what all He stands for, what all He speaks about, by granting
them schools, by constructing a Kalyana Mantapam for them. Well, that’s no ordinary thing. I
wanted to share that with you.

BLACK AND WHITE, BOTH

BOTH ARE IN ME

Another point I also wanted to share with you: Yesterday evening, the latest information…I give
you the hot-hot things from the oven, I tell you…one gentleman came for Bhagavan’s darshan. I
know him. I have heard him speak earlier.

Swami called out, "Come on, come on." That man came and had padnamascar. And then Swami
went on speaking about that gentleman: "He’s from Zambia. He’s running a school there. He and
his wife, both of them work for the school. It is running very well. Most of them are native Africans.
Most of them are Africans, black," He said.

How to continue the discussion is my job now. "You mean to say black people?"

Then He said, "Hey! Don’t talk like that!"

I purposefully did it. I know the danger involved! As life risk is not there because Swami is there,
no problem. Had I said it in USA, I would have been finished! "Black people?"

Bhagavan said, "Hey, don’t say that! All are same to Me. All are same, black and white, no
distinction."

Then I said softly, "We have differences, Swami. We have differences."

Then Swami said, "That’s why you are suffering! That’s why you are suffering since you have
differences!"

Then Bhagavan said, "I don’t have any difference because the black and white, both are in Me
mixed. Both are in Me mixed. Both of them are mixed in Me. So there’s nothing like one being
above the other. No difference. Both are in Me." That’s what Bhagavan said just yesterday
evening.

IF YOU ARE BOTH HAPPY

HAPPY AND HEALTHY, I AM HAPPY

To keep you again informed of the latest, this morning Swami was passing by and He spoke to
one young man working there in the hospital. He was inquiring about the health of a VIP, a very
important man. He was just asking him, "How is he?"

He said, "He’s alright. He’s alright."

Then Swami said, "Is he happy?"

That young man said, "He’s happy, Swami."

"Is he healthy?" He said.

"Swami, he’s healthy."

"Oh." Then Swami walked a few steps and said, "Healthy man should be there. He should be
healthy in the hospital. He should be healthy. But some of you are happy, but you are not healthy.
But if you are happy and you are healthy, I am happy. If you are both happy and healthy, I am
happy." That’s what Bhagavan said.

Then He looked at me and I said, "What a subtle distinction you brought between the two:
happiness and being healthy. Healthy and happy, they should go together."

That’s the remark that Bhagavan made this morning.

ON FEAR OF GOD

We often think of one important factor everywhere in our life. More than love for the Lord, most of
us have fear of God. When we have this fear towards God, we cannot call it devotion. In fact as
Bhagavan says, "God is dearer and nearer than one’s own parents." When God is so near and
dear, nearer and dearer than our own physical parents, if we are afraid of Him, if we fear Him, can
we call it devotion by any standards? No.

Some of the religions, some of the faiths, emphasize this factor: fear of the Lord. But Bhagavan
Baba always says, "Do not fear God. Love God. Live in Love. God is Love. Love is God." That’s
what He says repeatedly.

Then why do we fear Him? We often fear Him because as Bhagavan says, "Why fear? Why fear at
all?" The answer given by Bhagavan is "Where there is a mistake, there is fear." Because of the
mistakes committed by us, we have fear. We fear everyone.

FEAR TAKES US TO WORRY

WORRY

When there is no mistake or blemish, we don’t need to be afraid of anybody. We can afford to be
fearless all the time. All right. If we fear God, it does not end there. The fear takes you to another
step. That’s the reason why we have to cut it off or chop it off at the beginning itself, uproot it. If
fear is allowed, it takes us to worry. Fear takes us to worry. We go on worrying. And what is worry
according to Bhagavan? "Worry is mentally-created fear."
(My friends, I am not tired to repeat any number of times that these are all the teachings and
sayings of Swami, nothing of my own because I am fortunate that I do not know anything else. I
am very fortunate because I am free from confusion. I am not confused. I will not confuse you. Too
much of reading confuses me, and you are left in a state of confusion confounded!)

So what is worry now? Mentally-created fear. Third question: How to be free from worry? First,
what is fear? Second, what is worry? Third: how not to get worried? How not to worry. We worry,
yes. How not to worry? We always want to find a solution for our worries. Solution for our worries
is not a guarantee for total stop of the worries. No. We should find out this: how not to worry.

HOW TO BE FREE FROM WORRY

Bhagavan gave two answers, two points here: One, live in the present, live in the moment, live in
existence. Because we live in the past, we worry. We want to live in the future, we worry. ‘After
thirty years, who will take care of me?’ ‘After twenty-five years, what will happen to me?’ Anything
may happen to you, but nothing will happen to the world.

So it is all unnecessary worry and anxiety. We get worried for nothing. Only those who live in the
past and those who live in future worry. In order to see that we do not worry, the only solution, the
answer provided by Bhagavan is, "Live in the moment; live in existence; live in the present. That’s
all."

And at one time He has gone to the extent of saying, "I do not know what worry is. Really I want to
know how worry tastes, even now. Well, I don’t know the taste of it." That’s what Baba said. "I
don’t know what worry is. I don’t know how you people worry. I want to know what worry is." Dear
God wants to know what worry is! But sometimes He makes us get worried by not looking at us,
by not taking the letters, yes. Shall I say He is a source of worry at the time of darshan line? Yes.

So, then Swami says, "I don’t know what worry is. I don’t worry anytime. The reason is things
happen on their own accord. Things that are destined to happen, things that are sure to happen,
they happen in their own way. By your worry, you are not going to change the scheme of things.
By your worry, you are not going to change the destiny. You are not going to change the Will of
God. Why worry? Let things happen. That’s all. What is bound to happen will happen. So, don’t
worry of the future. Don’t worry of the past. Live in the present." That is one way of not worrying at
all.

The second point He made about how not to worry is this: If you are aware of your true Self, if I
abide in the Self, if I know my true identity there, that I am the Self, the Divine, the Atma, the spirit,
the consciousness, I don’t have to worry. Why? My true nature is consciousness. My true nature is
the Divine which is changeless, which is not affected by changes of time; which is not affected by
changes of circumstances or events that follow in sequential order. The Self does not know what
jumps and bumps are, what ups and downs are, up on the peak, then down into the valley. The
Self remains all the same. So, when once I know that I am the true eternal Self, which is immortal,
which is nectarine, which is eternal Truth, unpolluted, changeless, immovable, unshakable,
deathless, you don’t have to worry. That is the second point that Bhagavan said.

ON THE FEAR OF DEATH

What is the highest fear that most of us have, or the worst of the fears? What is it that creates the
highest intensity of fear amongst everybody of any country? That is death. Death is the greatest
fear. It creates fear of the highest intensity. What does Bhagavan say? How to be free from the
fear of death? What was His point?

Bhagavan said one point: "Death is the dress of life." When I change my body, I have to consider
that I am changing my dress. That’s all. When I change my dress and wear a new suit, a new suit
straight from Sears or Penny’s or Mercury’s, from a department store like that in the USA, I don’t
have to cry. I should feel all the more happy.

So when you change your dress, you feel all the more happy because you look young enough.
You draw the attention of everyone. You are more handsome. Therefore, death is the dress of life.
This death is going to make you attain youth, change the worn-out body, the body which is rather
tired out.

You are disgusted with that body. Why? You cannot walk due to the joint problems, arthritis. You
cannot keep your neck straight and listen to the discourses because of spondilitis. We cannot get
ourselves exposed to cold weather because of bronchitis. So arthritis, spondilitis, and bronchitis
are the problems at this age. Memory fails. Vision fails. Hearing is not clear. We ourselves are
disgusted with this body. What is the fun of continuing in that body?

So death is a celebration! Death is not an occasion of mourning. Death is not a moment of misery.
Death is a joyful occasion. Death is to be welcomed because ‘old order changeth, yielding place to
new’. This is the law of life. Therefore, we will never be victims to this fear of death when we are
aware of the fact that we are going to look brighter than before, younger than before, more
energetic than before, more handsome than before, more active and be more meaningful than
before. So it has to be viewed in a different way because death is a celebration. It is a holy
occasion. It is a sacred occasion. It is not inauspicious as most of us think.

SOCRATES

Socrates was a Greek philosopher. Most of us know of him, have heard a lot of him. Bhagavan
often quotes excerpts from Socrates’ teachings. Socrates was sentenced to death, as many of you
know. When Socrates was sentenced to death, do you know what he said? "After all, the body is
going to die some day or other." Smiling he said this.

Socrates smilingly said: "After all, the body is going to die today or tomorrow. What if you are
going to kill me? What if you are going to poison me? What if you are going to put me behind the
bars? You have sentenced me to death, so what? Death is certain. Some day or other, I am going
to die. There is nothing great in killing me because I am going to be lost on my own!"

So he just laughed at it. And further Socrates said, "Death is a joke to me. Death is the biggest
joke. I simply laugh at the death. There is nothing to feel sorry about." That’s what Bhagavan has
said about Socrates.

Further it is also said that this worry and fear go together constantly. Bhagavan has put it in a
beautiful way: "The eternal Self, the Atma, the consciousness is immortal, amrita. But when this
consciousness, being immortal, amrita, gets identified with the body, it suspects death. Therefore,
it expresses itself in the form of delusion. Delusion or illusion is nothing but body identification.
Body identification is a delusion. Identification with the consciousness is realization. Realisation is
identification with the consciousness. Identification with the body is illusion or delusion." That’s
what Bhagavan has said

WHO IS A TRUE GURU?

I am also happy to share with you an important factor regarding a true guru or a true teacher. Let
me not use ‘teacher’ because most of us are teachers, not worth the name as we work for our
salaries. So the paid people are teachers by profession, not by choice, not by birth, not by right.
They’re teachers of professional value, to eke out their living, to carry on their livelihood. We can’t
call them gurus or masters or preceptors.
Preceptors, prophets, masters, gurus are of that cadre who doesn’t wait for revision of the
salaries, who don’t go on trying for extra income! That’s what Bhagavan said: They have no body
attachment, no worldly attachment, no worldly relationships, and no bondage. They are men of
sacrifice. Only such people are the masters then and now and in future.

Who are they? Two points: no body attachment, no worldly bondage. They don’t have any
attachment towards the world, nothing to do with the world, nor with repute or disrepute, profit or
loss, praise or blame. They are not at all bothered with the world and its vagaries. Further they’re
not bothered about their own body. Such people are gurus.

WHAT IS THE JOB OF A MASTER OR A GURU?

GURU?

What does Swami say about gurus? What is the job of a master or a guru? Bhagavan tells you,
"The job of a master is to make you go within, is to make you turn inward." Unfortunately we want
outward guidance. We want outward messages. We want outward acknowledgement of our
presence. We want outward smiles. We want outward receipt of our letters. So we want or we go
by everything that is outward. But the job of a guru is to make you turn inward. A master makes
you turn inward. We cannot afford to be outward all through our lives.

Bhagavan will make you pass through that stage even by force at one time or other. I say ‘by
force’ why? He will attract you so much, taking letters every time, granting you interviews every
time, smiling to make you feel that you are very important. He takes you to the top of the
Himalayas! There He drops you! To such an extent that you begin to feel, ‘Did He ever talk to me?
Does He know me? Why does He look like that? Why does He not recognise me? Can’t He just
give a smile to me? Why is He like that?’ Life is like that.

The one who is so close for a long time is distanced later. Let us not take it negatively, my friends.
Those who are distanced after having enjoyed nearness, they are in the second stage of
evolution. They are in the higher stage of advancement. How, why do you say that? In the first
stage, they enjoy physical nearness. In the first stage, they enjoy physical proximity. They enjoy all
that is external: smiles, letters, interviews, and all that.

GOD DOES NOT HAVE ANY

ANY ANGER

Now that Swami stopped talking to them, now that Swami stopped looking at them (not with any ill
feeling because these feelings have no place in the Divinity), they begin to look within. God does
not have any anger. Anger and Divinity do not go together. God is Love. Love and anger cannot
go together. He’s not angry. It’s only our guilty conscience that makes us feel like that.

Some people come and tell me, "Ah! Swami’s not looking at me. He’s angry with me!" If I feel that
God is angry with me, I think it is only a feeling of ego. Why do you think that you are that
important as to be the cause of anger to God Himself? He’s not a small man! If you are really the
source of anger to God, you are really very great! I don’t think He will disapprove or be angry
about simple, petty, little things, the trivia. After all, we are negligible, decimal, atomic, and
fractional.

So, to say that ‘God is angry with me’ is only our ego. "I have committed some mistake, so
Swami’s not looking at me!" It is only our guilty conscience. The sense of guilt makes you say that.
Let’s not feel guilty. Guilty conscience is worse than guilt itself. Guilt is smaller, is small, while
guilty conscience is big. The actual guilt will never make you punishable, but guilty conscience will
make you go on worrying, go on feeling sad. That affects your performance, your life and it will tell
on your face also because you will wear a long face, as you feel guilty.

So, my friends let us not consider ourselves very important like that, thinking that ‘God is angry
with me. He’s avoiding me’ as if this Incarnation is just for our purpose. We’re not brothers of
Ravana, Kitchaka and all that. Certainly not. Nor near cousin of Satin the Great! Why should we
feel like that? So God has no anger. God has no prejudice. Nothing whatsoever.

GOD PROMOTES US TO THE

THE HIGHER STEP

So He stops talking to you. He avoids you. He doesn’t draw you so near which all He did some
time back, only to promote you forcefully into the higher step. Because we don’t go to the next
step.

When He does not talk to you, what do you do? You close your eyes! Sightless. When once we
close our eyes, we feel Him within. We talk to Him from within. We feel Him. We try to realize Him.
Externally, we search for Him; internally, we realize Him. Externally we talk to Him; internally we
feel Him. Externally we enjoy Him; internally we are blissful. Externally we see His separateness;
internally we observe and experience the oneness with Him. Internally we will enjoy and
experience oneness with Him. Externally you get separateness, you get joy, which is only
temporary.

So the second stage, it is a stage of progress, a stage of turning inward. Think of Him, feel Him, be
one with Him. That is the job of a true Master. If he craves for publicity, if he craves for recognition,
appreciation, claps, cheers, acknowledgement, advertisement, publicity and all that, he is not a
true Master. Swami can go on saying, "Hello, hello, hello! How are you? How are you?" He doesn’t
do that. Why? He’s not for the mediocre thing.

Please remember my friends what Bhagavan has said: "I don’t praise anybody on the face. I don’t
want anybody to praise Me. I don’t praise you and I don’t want you to praise Me. Why? You and I
are one. Where is the need to praise anybody? When I am you, why should I praise myself? When
you are Me, why do I need to praise you?"

Just understand the basic philosophy. If we don’t have that understanding, we feel disgruntled,
disappointed and frustrated. That happens between the first stage and the second stage. This is
also unavoidable. First stage, nearness. Second stage, frustration. Third stage, inward path. That
naturally happens. In the transition it happens.

THE STORY OF AN OLD DEVOTEE

One gentleman came and met me a few days ago. Let me not mention his name because I
haven’t asked his permission. He was so close with Swami in those days. Swami stayed at their
residence. He said, "But for three or four hours in a day, twenty-four hours I spent with Him, Sir.
Not once, but spread over a decade and a half!"

He has been with Swami throughout. I was so happy. He was telling of the miracles of those days.
He lost his mother. His is a royal family. He lost his mother and this gentleman, who is grown-up of
course (He is just seventy-one years young!), in those days long back; he was talking with his
father. Mother was no more. When both of them were talking in a public hall, please believe me, in
the public hall there, mother who is no longer alive, who died long back, came out of that wall it
seems. She came from the wall, sat there and spoke to both of them. She spoke to both of them,
the father and the son, "How are you? What is with you?" and then vanished into the wall. He
came and told me all this.

"Oh, so great! Ah, Sir, now what is the problem?" I asked.

"He stopped talking to me, Sir."

"He stopped talking to you?"

"Yes. He doesn’t look at me." He has shown me the small letter from his daughter-in-law who
wants some guidance from Swami, whether to go into surgery or medicine, MB or MS. She wants
some guidance from Swami. "Sir, my daughter-in-law wanted me to hand over this letter. I am
waiting for the last six days."

The person who was with Swami for twenty hours a day for over a decade and a half, today is in a
position of not being able to hand a small chit to Swami!

I said, "Sir, really I share your feelings. I am so sorry."

Then he said, "No, Sir, I don’t feel sorry."

"Why? Why don’t you feel sorry, having enjoyed nearness so much, why don’t you feel sorry?
Why?" Had he said, "I worry," I would have just consoled him for some more time. When he said,
"I don’t worry," well, I am at a loss now because I am prepared to console him, with all my points
ready, being a teacher!

Well, he said, "I don’t worry."

I said, "Why?"

"Sir, this is the time to think of the past. This is the time to think of those golden days. This is the
time to think of the togetherness with Swami. This is the time to meditate on those beautiful days
and moments of being with Swami. It is a time to recall, bringing back to memory all the sweet,
nectarine Vedic words that Bhagavan said in those days. I think this is sadhana, the spiritual
practice I am supposed to do now."

I said, “Perhaps Swami sent you to let me know this message now because anything that comes
to me will never go to waste!"

ABC: Anil Kumar Broadcasting Corporation! It will go, yes! You cannot keep it, anything like a
secret! Because I derive greatest joy in sharing with everybody. Yes! The moment Swami speaks
to me there, I wait for a chance, then I run out there and tell somebody and come back. It is
something like the cup, which is full of coffee. It starts spilling out. When it is full, it spills out. Well,
my cup, the heart, is so small that it spills out very soon! Or it has got some holes, and it just
oozes out! I can’t help it.

GURU HAS A BODY TO TAKE

TAKE YOU OUT OF BODY CONSCIOUSNESS
CONSCIOUSNESS

So my friends, a true master talks from within. He wants us to turn inward. He communicates from
inside. Further Swami goes to another extent, takes us to another step. What does He say? "The
one with body feeling (that ‘I am the body, this size, my height, my weight, my chest, my
complexion, my personality, the perfume that I use, the dress I put on that body identification) - the
one with body identification will consider his guru as the one having a body. You’ll also take Him to
be a person. You’ll also consider him to be an individual. You’ll also consider Him embodied, in the
form of a body. Because you have got the body feeling, you think that your guru also is the one
with a body."

Now Swami says, "Guru has a body to take you out of body consciousness. No body
consciousness. To make us lose this body consciousness, guru has a body. To drive us out of this
body feeling, to take us away from the body attachment, guru has a body." See that. Who will tell
that explanation?

And further He said, "The one who thinks of guru, limiting him to this body, has no understanding
of a guru at all." Let us not think that Swami is only this much, no! Smallest of the small, biggest of
the big. It’s just to please us, to make us happy that He has got that form. But He is actually
formless.

The formless God has got a form to take us to that state of formlessness. And He smiles and talks
with all affection, with all love and compassion, with attributes, in order to take us to that stage of
attributelessness: from saguna, ‘attributes’ to nirguna, ‘attributeless’ state; from sakaara, ‘form’ to
nirakaara, ‘formless’ state. That is the transition that is the journey that we have to pass through
for which guru has come down on earth in a human form. That’s what Bhagavan has said in His
discourse.

THE TEACHINGS OF A GURU

GURU TOUCH YOUR HEART AND NOT THE MIND

Another point: Bhagavan’s teachings appeal to our heart, not the mind. Bhagavan’s teachings
touch our heart, not the mind. How do you say? This is a statement of Swami’s. "The teachings of
a guru touch your heart and not the mind." Why? Mind is emotional. Mind is passionate. Mind is
rather ephemeral, ever-changing. Mind is momentary and gets transformed from moment-to-
moment. Mind in sushupthi, in deep sleep, is non-existent. In thoughtless stage, mind vanishes. In
a state of desirelessness, mind disappears. Mind exists because of thoughts. Mind took a form
because of desires. When there is no thought, when there is no desire, there is no mind at all. But
the heart is eternal, hridayam.

What is the heart? I am not speaking of the heart of the department of cardiology in a general
hospital or in a Super-Specialty Hospital. Please kindly go through the back issues of Sanathana
Sarathi where Bhagavan mentions clearly, "Spiritual heart is on the right side. The physical heart
is on the left side." Baba said this. (Please believe me. I am accountable for every word I say. I
know that. I can give you all the page numbers and sentences if you so want.)

"The spiritual heart is on the right side."

"Oh, I see. What does it do?"

"The spiritual heart communicates with the sahasrara. There are chakras in our body. Sahasrara,
located in the brain here, is the thousand-petalled one. The spiritual heart establishes its
connection with this sahasrara through an important connection, the live wire, if you want to call it,
called sushumna. Sushumna is the live wire that connects the spiritual heart to the sahasrara, the
thousand-petalled one, in the brain or the mind. Then this mind establishes contact with the rest of
the body."

"So what, Swami. What is it? What do you want to convey?"

"Heart is the center of energy. Heart is the generator. Heart is the transformer. Heart is thermal
power station. From this Heart, the energy flows through Sushumna and enters into Sahasrara.
From there it is supplied to the body."

So the body is energetic not on its own. Even after death, the body is there but it is not active. The
body does not receive energy. So body receives energy from sahasrara, the thousand-petalled
mind, head or the brain, and this sahasrara gets energy from the heart. So the heart, the spiritual
heart, is the center of energy. That spiritual heart is consciousness. That spiritual heart is the spirit.
That spiritual heart is Atma. That spiritual heart is our real being. It is our true nature. It is ever
existent. It is eternal.

DON’T HAVE DOUBTS

So, this is spiritual heart, yes! Bhagavan’s teachings touch our heart, not the head. When these
teachings touch our head, we begin to question, "Was what Swami said correct or not? Is it right or
not?" Somebody said, "Sir, Swami said…Is it true?"

"When Swami said it, why do you doubt whether it is true or not? I don’t understand. Can you say
false also? Well, I don’t know. Whether right or wrong?"

"Sir, Swami said it. Is it right or wrong?"

"When Swami says it, it is right!"

"Is it true or false?"

"It is true! Why do you doubt it?"

We doubt it because when the message goes to our mind, the mind tries to judge. It tries to
discriminate. It tries to decide. But when the message goes straight to the heart, it seeps in. It
goes in deep, something like blotting paper that absorbs ink; something like sand into which water
sinks. When there is heavy rain, because of the water that falls on the ground along the seashore
or any sandy area, it seeps in deeply. It is absorbed completely.

Similarly, guru's message, when it touches our heart, it is absorbed. When it goes to the head,
mind decides, judges, goes on thinking. All teachers’ teachings touch our mind. But guru’s
teachings reach our heart. The teachings of a guru reach our heart, whereas the teachings of a
teacher just touch our head, awaiting our discrimination on what we want to decide.

A REAL GURU WILL ALWAYS

ALWAYS SPEAK ABOUT YOUR TRUE NATURE

Another point is also this: A real guru will always speak about your true nature. My friends, what is
it that is common in all the Sathya Sai discourses? I believe that there are 31 volumes now of
Sathya Sai Speaks, 10 volumes of Vahini’s, 10 volumes of Summer Course discourses. 20 + 31 =
51. All these book, all these hundreds of discourses, what is the common thread? Only one thing:
revealing our true identity, that you are not the body, that you are not the mind.

You are Atma. You are consciousness. You are the spirit. That is the only message, the
underlying current, running through all these 51 volumes, all these hundreds of discourses. In
every talk, He lays emphasis on this: Divyatmaswarupalara! Embodiments of the Divine! You are
an embodiment of the Divine; that you are Atma. In every talk He necessarily mentions this
because it is the quality of a guru. The highest and the greatest teaching of a guru is to remind us
of our nature, to help us to find our true identity.

Bhagavan goes one step further. "Forgetfulness of our true nature is death. Remembrance of our
true nature is life or birth." In order to live our lives well, not simply like any other machine, but to
live well, let us live in the full awareness, in the constant remembrance of our true identity.

WHAT IS ‘UPASANA’ ACCORDING

ACCORDING TO BHAGAVAN

What Bhagavan says is this: A true guru tells you only one method. He does not show you so
many methods. He does not confuse you. He does not burden you. He does not strain you. He
does not allow you to be under stress and strain and effort, exertion, exortion, no, no. No exortion,
no exertion. A simple thing, only one formula: Upasana.

What is upasana according to Bhagavan Baba? Upasana is the experience of our true nature in
the waking state, in spite of the objects around and our senses being alert.
In the waking state, our senses are active. I see all of you. I hear all of the sounds. All objects are
there. My senses are alert, quite receptive, sensitive, because this is the waking state. In this
waking state of senses being alert with the objects around, if I still manage to be aware of my true
nature that is called upasana. Upasana: upa – near; asana – sitting, comfortable sitting.
'Comfortable sitting near our true Self, near our true nature, near God within’, that is upasana.

But the traditional, conventional meaning of upasana is so confusing that you give up making any
attempt because after starving for 15 days, getting up at midnight for 15 days - well, in the
meantime we get exhausted that’s all, leave alone realization. Impossible! Upasana is not a
conventional meaning that Bhagavan Baba gives you. He comes forward with a new approach.

GOD’S COMPASSION HAS NO LIMITS

Then another point: Somebody said, "Baba, where are Baba’s Feet? Where are they? ‘O
Bhagavan, to Thy Feet I offer my humble salutations. My humble salutations to Thy Lotus Feet.’
Where are they, Bhagavan, where are they?"

"Your Feet are spread everywhere." The speaker went on speaking like that. Swami was
observing him; letting him go to whatever extent he would go. And then that man said, "Swami,
Your compassion is so great, Your Love is so vast like that of an ocean!" Like that of an ocean, as
deep as an ocean.

Then Swami said, "Enough. Sit down." Enough. This is His remark: "Why do you say ‘So vast as
an ocean?’ No. More than that. Why? Ocean has got its limits. Ocean has got its boundaries. But
God’s compassion has no limits. God’s compassion has no boundaries. It is infinite. It is so vast.
So do not compare it with that of an ocean." That’s what Bhagavan has said.

Therefore guru’s teaching is another thing. My attempt is this: to make us realise in terms of
Swami’s message, His own message. He should help us to understand His own message. We can
understand His message through His message only, or else I go on interpreting in my own way
and we can find ourselves in confusion. Bhagavan said, "You can see the sun in the sunlight only.
You can see the moon in the moonlight only."

Similarly, you can understand Sai's message through His Message only, not through your
message or my message. Ours is ‘massage’, not message, ‘massage’! Let’s not try to interpret
Swami at all! Because we are the contemporaries of the living, loving God. When He is there to
explain every little thing in detail, why should we explain? Why should we interpret? It is not
necessary.

TOTAL PASSIVE SURRENDER

SURRENDER

And what is guru’s teaching, as Bhagavan has put it?

Total passive surrender. Total passive surrender to the magnetic Divinity within." What beautiful
words! Divinity is magnetic. It means ‘just like a magnet that attracts’. We attract people, of course,
depending upon one’s own standard. Objects attract. All objects have got this attraction. All human
beings have attraction. It is nothing but magnetism. That’s what Swami has been talking about in
the recent discourses, "You are the magnet. You are the computer. You are the heat. You are the
energy." That’s what Swami’s talking about recently.

So you are the magnet because you attract everybody, don’t you? Yes. Or else we don’t have
friends at all. We can’t continue to live in society. We live in society because we attract some
people, like-minded people. ‘Birds of same feathers flock together.’ We attract our own people.
That’s right. So it is magnetism.
Now, the guru’s teaching is "passive total surrender to the magnetic Divinity within". That Divinity,
which is magnetic, to that Divinity, we have to surrender totally, passively.

Why not actively? Why not? If you are active, you may not be active later. If you are active, your
ego may function. If you are active, the spirit of ‘I-ness’, the body identity, may raise its ugly head.
When it is passive, the ‘I-ness’ is gone. There is total surrender to the spirit within, to the Self
within. Total surrender that is the job of a guru. That’s what guru does.

CONSTANT INTEGRATED AWARENESS

"Swami, why all this? Can’t you give me liberation, awareness immediately? You’re such a
powerful God. Why should I do all this? I’ll sit in front of You. Just bless me with awareness. I’ll go
back. My flight tickets are reserved. Yes, I have got some round-trip tickets. I can go back. No
problem. Please give me awareness."

Bhagavan tells you, "Awareness is not given. Awareness is not taught. Awareness is not inherited
like properties. Awareness is not imported or exported or manufactured. Awareness is to be
realised as that which already exists. Awareness is already-existing." That awareness is already
there: Chit bhava, Chit meaning awareness. That awareness is already there. Our job is to realise
it. Our job is to feel it. Our job is to be alert, constant integrated awareness, CIA as Bhagavan
says. Constant integrated awareness, we have got to be aware of that. That’s what Bhagavan
tells.

Now He gives one example: "A guru is like a doctor. He gives you a prescription. You have to take
the medicine according to the prescription. You cannot ask the doctor, “Take the medicine on my
behalf. You have written the prescription; please take three tablets a day, four times the mixture.
I’ll be alright tomorrow.” How can you be alright when he takes the medicine?" So, awareness is
not to be realised by the guru on your behalf. No. He makes you realise the Divinity within.

In this direction, we have some more points to talk of, to think about the role of a guru, how the
guru brings transformation in every one of us. I think this is the most interesting and important
topic to every Sai devotee because mind sometimes wavers. Mind is sometimes unsteady. So we
will continue with this subject next week.

Thank you very much for listening with rapt attention. Thank you.