SATHYA SAI SPEAKS VOLUME 09 – Chapter 26.2
Manikandan Govindasamy
Yearn to see the resident in the Body
Some call on God only for help in distress. As the Thelugu saying goes, "Sankatam vasthe, Venkataramana!" (When suffering comes, you call on God Venkataramana!) Until recently, pilgrims who climbed the series of steps that lead them up the seven hills to the shrine of Venkataramana, used to shout 'Govindha! Govindha!' so that their legs may not ache; now, roads are laid right up to the temple door, and cars and buses take pilgrims straight to the very Presence! So, the only ache people have nowadays is ache in the stomach, due to overeating and want of exercise!
How will God reveal Himself when the seeker rides to His Presence smooth in a swell car, and sticks to his regular routine of luxury? Yearn to see the resident in the temple of your body, do not yearn for keeping the body safe, trim and coddled, in costly comfort. There are some ultramodern Saadhakas(!) who do not want to cross their thresholds, or spend a paisa, or move a muscle, but, who yet demand that Self-realisation must drop lightly on their laps, from the Guru or from God, whom he should be able to persuade or manipulate! And, there are Gurus who cater to such(!) so that they can collect a pile!
You may complain that God is hard and heartless, since He does not respond to prayer, give signs from His pictures, speak from 'nowhere' in clear unambiguous terms, assuaging, assuring, advising--but, let Me tell you, God is Love; Love is God. His Aakara (Form) is Prema (Love); His swabhaava (essential nature) is Aanandha (Bliss); His Raktha (life-blood) is Sathyam (Truth). When even the stony cliff echoes your voice and responds when you cry, will not the softest, sweetest, love-filled heart of respond? When there is no response, infer that there is something wanting in the cry. Perhaps the cry is hollow, insincere, mere play acting, set to a pattern, addressed to some one alien to oneself, taken to be far away and distant, as a tyrant or taskmaster.
Ignore trivial matters for the larger interests
Know that God is the One that is dearest and nearest to you, as dear and as near as your own heart and pray to Him; surely, His answer will be vouchsafed immediately. A hundred such individuals will leaven the whole earth. You may have huge hordes of men in the army, but they are useful only when the few generals who lead them know where they are and whether they should proceed, and how overcome the enemy, whose strength and weakness they have comprehended. Hordes of people sing, recite, adore, worship, praise, prostrate--but, these are the soldiers. Those who believe, who have faith and who practise the discipline, these are the Generals in whom the Master confides.
The future of this holy land lies with few who practise spiritual disciplines and set an example to others of the bliss one can acquire by those means. They alone can establish Prashaanthi and destroy Ashaanthi (anxiety and restlessness). I harp, day after day, on the need to practise steady faith and discipline. This may be irksome for some of you. Sometimes I feel I have spoken enough, that it is time I gave you some rest. But, soon, that resolution is overcome by compassion! And I am here, addressing you again! My belief is that, as the music master says, You master the melody by constant effort to reproduce it, not otherwise. In the corner of a few hearts at least a portion of what I advise may get stuck and from thence, it is bound to transform the daily lives, attitudes and emotions of the persons so affected.
When the rains pour, many feel miserable; they complain of bad weather, of not being able to move about! But, consider the lasting benefits that rains confer! We had good rains during the last three days. Some people told me, "Swaami! Why don't you will that rains should not disturb the even tenor of the activities here?" Well, these are trivial matters, for which the larger interests should not be set aside. As a matter of fact, the Yajna that was celebrated is to persuade the Gods to shower rains! And, it has succeeded in that aim! Rains promote harvests and prosperity. The Yajna is done here by the priests in strict conformity with Vedhic injunctions and so, even while the rite is on, the winds gather clouds of rain!
---Prashaanthi Nilayam, 18.10.1969