MESMORISING SAI TEACHINGS
Consider the meaning of the name, SAI BABA. “SA” means Divine, “AI” or “AYI” means “Mother”, and “BABA” means Farther.
Baba says: “The Guru alone can open the inner eye and cleanse the inner instruments of intuition. He induces you to question yourself, Deham ? Am I this body or is this body only the vehicle that I am using ? He helps us to discover the answer: Nor I ; I am not this Body. No I am the Seer, The Witness, The Spectator. Then the investigation starts to delve into the reality of the “I”, who then am I? The answer reveals itself in the purified consciousness, I am He; I am the spark of the Glory. I am Divine.”
Baba says all we need to do, to attain self-realisation is visualise the form of God, any form that is familiar and pronounce His name, inwardly, visualising His name throughout the day. When we are working and cannot concentrate on name and form, we simply dedicate our work and our actions as worship to God. After we have completed our task, we continue to chant the name, out loud or silently inside and visualise the form.
To understand better ourselves we can highlight three human characteristics - three gunas, tendencies, functioning within us: The Sathwic Guna is the “white” quality - active, pure, calm, unruffled. The Rajastic Guna is the red quality - active, passionate, craves adventure and activities. The Tamasic Guna is the “black” quality dull, inactive, inert. It is the quiet aspect of the primal energy. Baba is teaching us to reach the perfect balance between the three gunas. The daily actions of work or play must be purified with silence, rest and meditation. if the inner poise or inner equilibrium is undisturbed with external ups and downs, that is a real success. You have to busy yourself with activity order to use time and skill to the best advantage. That is your duty and duty is God. The dull and the inert will hesitate to be active, for the fear of exhaustion or failure of loss. The emotional, passionate individuals will plunge headlong and crave for quick results and will be disappointed if they do not come in. The balanced persons will be active, because it is their duty; they will not be agitated by anything - failure or success.
Sai Baba’s teachings in action could be described as following:
Discipline - “For doing any kind of work in this world, there should be some order and discipline. Any work that you may do without a discipline will not yield good results. In order to get this limitation in the worldly plane, some discipline is necessary. That which rules the world is the rule of law, the discipline. This control of oneself is like Tapas. A life in which there is no discipline and control will fail and fall one day or the other. The five elements that constitute the earth are also controlled by certain laws. Even the infinite ocean moves under certain laws and regulations. In the context of the whole world, Man’s life is only a part and, therefore, Man’s life has to be regulated.”
Discrimination - “There is another force in you through which God works and that is discrimination. That force must be used to put aside the wrong action. The power of discrimination knows what is right and what is wrong. The wrong desire is God overshadowed by Maya (illusion of the physical world), whereas discrimination is God less overshadowed by Maya.” Discrimination of real from the unreal is the higher purpose of using the faculty.
Non- attachment - (Vairagya) “Vairagya means ‘renunciation” but renouncing the hold that the mind and the desires it breeds, has on us. Burn all traces of envy, pride, and greed. Fill your hearts selfless Love. If we always repeat the idea of “my, mine” how can we be useful to others? Sacrifice is the “salt” of life.”
Seeing God in everyone - “ Even in persons of unpleasant nature, we should be aware that God is in the heart even of that person. Having that aspect in mind and treating that person from that viewpoint to the best of our ability. In time, that person will respond and his nature will change. One sees people as good or bad because he does not see the person in full, as consciousness, but only one sided. “
Self - inquiry - “What is the skilful self-inquiry ? “ Baba answered: “ The devotees might not have any particular skills, but can inquire of themselves if what they would like to do is right or wrong. Inquiring within one’s conscience. A simple example was shown to me few years ago when similar doubts arose inside, the answer I received during meditating in the Kulwant Hall, Puttaparthi, was” If you decide to take an action and it brings you joy and peace - do it and be brave.”
“Suffer loss and grief gladly: they help to toughen your personality. Seek the Light always; be full of Confidence and Zest. Do not yield to despair; it can never produce results. It only worsens the problem for it darkens the intellect and plunges you into doubt.” ~ Sathya Sai Baba.
Sri Sathya Sai Baba partaking food, rare photograph.
