From Summer Showers in Brindavan 1977
By Sathya Sai Baba
Includes an alternative
version of Buddha asking what would happen if the Brahmin gave him a cake and
he did not accept it (as with anger).
p.184. What is the way to
immortality? Removal of mortality is the only way to immortality. Narrow and
immoral ideas like being unjust and unkind, causing harm to others, must be set
aside. What is the reason for this? One should accept that whatever exists in
another person is also the same divine spirit which is in you. How can we then
have jealousy or hatred towards another?
When
sometimes other people conduct themselves badly, then you should pray to God
that they be purified and they should not conduct themselves badly. But do not
subject yourself to jealousy and bad conduct. I am hoping that you would
recognise the divine aspect of atma,
the one aspect for which there is no parallel and that you will promote your
sacred ideas.
Divyatmaswarupas:
You must all make an attempt with determination to coordinate your thought,
word and deed. It has been said that the proper study of mankind is man. It is
only when you do that and it is only when you recognise human nature, will you
be able to understand true divinity. But today there is no proper study of
mankind. This is the reason why human nature has sunk down to the very lowest
depths and man is not able to live like a human being.
p.218-221. The essence of education
is to recognise the truth. All branches of learning are like rivers. The
spiritual learning branches of learning are like the rivers. The spiritual
learning is like the ocean. All rivers go and merge into the ocean. When they
merge in the ocean, the rivers lose their individuality completely. Under no
circumstances should we give room to excitement, to ego and to anger.
There
is one little example for this. In one village, there was a village head who
did not like Buddha. The moment he heard any words uttered by Buddha, he used
to get angry. He was always suffering from uncontrolled anger. One day, he
learnt the news that Buddha was coming to that village with his disciples.
Since he was the head of the village, he issued a certain order. The order was
that when Buddha came asking for alms, no one should give him alms and all
should close their doors. Following this order, all the people in the village
closed the doors of their respective houses when Buddha came. The head of the
village also closed the doors and was sitting in the verandah outside the door.
Buddha
was all-knowing and he knew what was happening. With his disciples he came to
the very house in which the village head was living. Great people will never be
affected either by praise or by blame. Such people, having developed
equal-mindedness, will go right in front of those who are suffering from
jealousy and ego. This village head was suffering from such ignorance and pride
and Buddha went straight to him and asked for alms. The village head, who was
waiting for such an opportunity, became even more excited. A person who is sick
will always want to take several medicines. Certain birds will always be
wanting to look at cool moonshine. Good people will always want to help bad
people and to see that the badness in them is removed and they are cleansed. It
is only one who has a disease and is sick who wants a doctor. A healthy man
does not want a doctor. Similarly, people who are suffering from the disease of
disbelief can be cured by good people.
With
such noble ideas, Buddha, along with his disciples, went to the house of the
village headman and said, ‘Bhavati,
bhikshan dehi.’ ‘I have come to ask for alms.’ When he saw Buddha and the
disciples accompanying him, the headman became very angry. He addressed Buddha
and said, ‘You lazy man, you have collected all these people in your company,
and they have become lazy. You are taking them round because they do not want
to work. Not only are you ruining your own life, you are also ruining the lives
of your disciples. This is wrong. In that manner, he abused Buddha and the
disciples who came with him.
Buddha
smiled at all this and, smiling, asked the head of the village if he could
clarify a doubt for him. The headman said in a very loud voice, ‘What is your
doubt? Let me know.’ Buddha said, ‘I have come to ask for alms from you. You
have brought something in order to give it to me. If I do not accept what you
wish to give to me, where will it go?’ The village headman laughingly replied,
‘What a big question you have asked! If you do not wish to take what I have
brought for you, I will take it back myself.’ Buddha said that he was very
happy. ‘I have come here along with my disciples for taking alms from you. You
have brought abuse and you want to give it to me as alms. But I have not
accepted the bhiksha you brought for
me in the form of abuse. To whom will it go back?’ With this, the ego of that
village headman subsided. In this manner, great people and great saints go to
several persons and with a view to enlighten them, adopt different methods. By
such things we should not let our mind become impure. At all times, we should
make an attempt to cleanse our mind and make it pure. The house which we use
every day, we undertake to clean it day after day. So also if this mind of
ours, which we have to use every moment, is not cleaned often, great damage
will result. Our mind is like a copper vessel. This copper vessel will gather
rust from moment to moment. We are using the water of repentance to cleanse
this pot of our mind from time to time.
If
anyone abuses you or accuses you, you should not get excited. With equanimity,
you should be prepared to take what they give you. In this sacred age of yours,
excitement is a very harmful thing. If you think of the Lord for five minutes
all that excitement will vanish. These states of excitement are transient and
temporary and are not permanent. If anyone amongst you, with an inimical
feeling, accuses others, you must be prepared to repent. One can also think of
another method of understanding this situation. Suppose some friend of yours
sends you a registered letter through the post. According to the rules of the
postal department, if you wish to receive it, you have to sign on a receipt. If
you do not agree to sign, where does that registered letter go? It will go back
to the address from which it has come. In this manner, whatever others may say,
yet if you feel that they are not for you and if you are only a witness, then
nothing will come to you.
Divyatmaswarupas:
You are truly only witnessing persons. Not only in regard to worldly matters
but also in regard to spiritual matter, you should remain as witnesses only.
But you should ask the question, such of us who are only to witness, where from
have we come? Where do we go? If you cannot obtain an answer to these two
questions, then what is the purpose of life? We post an envelope in the
post-box. On that envelope, either there must be a ‘from’ address or the
address to which it has to go. If both of them are not present, where will the
envelope go? It will simply be removed from the post-box and burnt. As in that
analogy, if we do not know from where we have come and where we have to go, we
will be discarded as useless and thrown away. If any group teacher comes and
asks one of you, ‘Where from have you come?’ If you are not in a position to
reply, then he asks you, ‘Where are you going?’ And if you are not in a
position to reply to that also, what will the happen to you? We have come into
this world which is a mithya.
Everything in this world is asking you, ‘Where have you come from?’ All the
Upanishads are asking you, ‘Where are you going? What is your destination.’
Upanishads tell you that you are the child of immortality. You must have a firm
belief that you have come from the aspect of atma, and that you will be going back to immortality.
Students,
in order to cleanse your minds, you should promote sacred prema [love] in yourselves. To just keep talking of devotion does
not fulfil the purpose of devotion. It is a mistake to think that you can
control your future and go on praising yourselves that you have devotion. Love
of God is the main symptom of bhakti,
or devotion.
Sri
Sathya Sai Education & Publication Foundation, Andhra Pradesh, India,
1977
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