Embodiments of Love!

The second misery is Abhinava Klesa or the misery that is caused by the mind. The mind runs after everything in the world. That is why it is said Mano Moolam Idam Jagath. The mind is full of anxieties. From birth to death, man suffers from many problems arising from the mind. The mind aspires for many things. When man fails to satisfy all these desires of the mind, he gets frustrated. In fact, without body-consciousness and the mind, man is free of all worries. Man has to find a way to get rid of these worries. He has to give up his delusion that his body alone is the basis of his life. He has to transcend body consciousness and the weaknesses of the mind.

The third misery is the Asthitha Klesa. This is due to the limitless desires of man combined with attachment to his body and the fickleness of the mind. Today, man is not able to understand what sort of desires he should encourage. He is not able to investigate and discriminate good from bad, truth from falsehood, eternal from ephemeral and desirable from undesirable. He desires to possess whatever he sees and is dictated by sensual cravings.

In order to keep the body and mind under control, people of the ancient past pursued certain practices such as meditation, Yoga and so on. If body and mind are not kept under control, they behave as they like and ruin you. The best way to keep them under check is to chant the glory of God all the time.

The horse stands for instability. It keeps on moving some part or the other of its body all the time. Then, how is the rider able to control such a horse? He puts blinkers on its eyes and a bridle in its mouth, held by the reins. He can then control even a strong and powerful horse. Similarly, when man is able to control his tongue, he eliminates half his problems. That is the reason, why the ancients practised silence (mounam). They never indulged in meaningless practices. Each of their activities had an inner significance. Silence helps man control the mind, which in turn helps him to conquer desires and finally it confers happiness.

The fourth misery is Raga Klesa. Avidya, Abhinava and Asthitha Klesas combine and give rise to Raga Klesa. Raga Klesa refers to excessive attachment to craving for wealth and property. It is because of this misery that man desires everything in the world. This desire is responsible for all human diseases. A weak-minded person who does not have the capacity to satisfy his desires approaches affluent and influential people. If they do not fulfil his desires, he begins to hate them. This gives rise to the fifth misery, the Dwesha Klesa, i.e. misery due to hatred.

Bound by all these five miseries, how can man be happy? The cardinal cause for all these miseries is attachment to the body and the mind. Ancient sages in search of enlightenment left their homes and led a sacred life in the forest, where there is limited scope for the mind to wander about. With no worldly attractions there, it is possible to keep the mind under control. However, living in the forest is not the only way to control the body and the mind. Even while living a family life, you can control the body and the mind. Observing silence will be helpful. Ancient sages gave utmost importance to mounam. Limited talk helped them to keep their desires under control. When you talk less, there is also less chance of telling lies.

All the activities of the ancients had a purpose and meaning. They led by example. Man today is not able to recognise this. There was a queen by name Madalasa, who used to laugh at the king’s attempts to name the newborn children. When the king enquired the reason for her derision, she replied, "Can you ever give a name to the Eternal Atma? Even if you do so, there is no guarantee that the child will conduct itself in conformity with its name. So, no name will ever be completely appropriate. Hence, do not attempt to name the child. Life in this world is a long sleep. All our experiences are merely dreams." She would put the children in the cradle and sing lullabies of wisdom:

She sang to them thus:

Thus, Madalasa brought up her children as embodiments of wisdom. Madalasa stands as an ideal to all mothers. She discharged her Dharma unattached to the world. In fact, she sent her children to the forest telling them, "Children! You are deluded in thinking that you find comfort and happiness only in palaces. It is only in the forests that you find true happiness and solitude."

The forest is a calm and serene place. The trees take in carbon dioxide that we exhale and give us oxygen, which sustains our life. In the forest, people hardly fall sick as they talk less and have few desires. They have longer life spans. Hence, forests teach us to lead a serene and secluded life.

Mothers today fill their children with worldly desires that give them a weak physique. Ponder over this lullaby sung by a mother today. The mother says, "Shankara, near the tank bed, your uncle is sowing green gram. Go and ask for a share." When Shankara does so and demands a share, his uncle replies, "You were not there when I had sown the seeds or harvested the crop. Why should I give you a share in the yield?" Shankara argues, "Isn’t my mother your sister? Come, let us settle the matter in the court." Shankara and his uncle go to the court where elders decide that the uncle should not only give a share in his property but also his daughter to Shankara in marriage. How corrupted are the lives of children these days!

Boys today have girlfriends. This only proves how sacrilegious their conduct is, how iniquitous and warped. Is this what the boys should aspire for? You can always marry if you want to, at a suitable age, when you are capable of living independently. Nobody will stop you from that. How sinful it is to indulge in ‘love’ with a girl who is going to be someone else’s wife. Later, she may even come as your sister-in-law. Parents today enjoy and support such sinful activities. They think that thereby their son’s marriage can be performed without spending even a single pie. Do they consider the decline in the values that arise therefrom? How can a man preserve and nurture a good character in such an atmosphere?

It is the duty of the parents to control their children. This control should be exercised in accordance with the child’s age. Parents should nurture children in such a manner that they bring them a good name. Madalasa exemplified this aspect. She always guided her children on the right path. It is said "Start Early, Drive Slowly, Reach Safely." A stone is tied to a growing snake gourd so that it grows straight. Similarly, parents should attach the weight of discipline to their children. Leaving them freely without any restrictions would only, in course of time, bring them a bad name. It may even affect the honour and reputation of the family. Freedom should be given wherever necessary, but not in matters which can belittle the prestige of the family. It is because ancestors guarded their family reputations that Bharath today has such a good name.

The great king Harishchandra was the very embodiment of Truth. He was ready to give up his life to uphold Truth. His wife, Chandramathi, too followed him. Harischandra had to sell his wife and son to keep his word. Chandramathi supported him, saying, "Lord! We may live or die, but let us never swerve from our pledge. Let us never sully our reputation." They reached the city of Kasi thus and there too the creditors troubled them. Helpless, Harishchandra offered himself in auction. In this way, he even gave up his life for the sake of Truth. The ancient people of Bharath always kept their word. They dedicated their lives to preserve their honour.

However, people of today do not realise the value of life. They take it to be merely earning and enjoying licentious lives. But in reality, life is a challenge and one has to meet it. We will have to confront many problems in life. We have to overcome them and uphold our family name. We have to emulate the glorious example set by our ancestors. There should be mothers like Madalasa. We should consider her as an ideal and derive inspiration from her example. Nobody can ever match Madalasa in the manner she brought up her children.

Why should desires delude you? Just as the mansions in dreams are not real, the fruition of these desires too is transient. Hence, control your mind. If you reduce your attachment to the body, your body will be healthy. Food is for nourishment of the body; clothes should be worn for protection from cold. The body should never be in focus. Man’s goal is to realise the Atma. Only when he attains this ‘Self’, the master of all, his life finds fulfilment.

You should become increasingly spiritual. You should not make yourself miserable by increasing your desires. You are the embodiment of Bliss. You should never give scope for worries. Control is very essential. We should not spoil our culture. We should keep up the family honour. Through ignoble behaviour we are gradually ruining our family honour.

Nowadays parents do not advise their children correctly. You can learn so much in a joint family. Elders should advise their children to keep the situation in control whenever there is discontent. Today newly wed couples demand to live separately from their parents. But why should you give them a separate house? You can give them one of the rooms in your house itself. Then, you can check the petty disputes that arise. Nip the evil in the bud.

Youth today lack patience. They quarrel over petty things and then leave home. In this way, life becomes miserable. Human life is very valuable and highly ideal. Why should we spoil such a life? Whether rich or poor, the parents should retain their married sons and daughters in their own house. It is a different matter if the children are transferred to a different place, but being in the same place, they should not even think of a separate residence. Parents today spoil their children. If the parents are good, then there is no opportunity for the children to go astray. The parents should exercise control over their children. But this is not found today. Youngsters today are like cars without brakes. They do not know where they are heading. It is the duty of the parents to act as brakes. Only then will their children prosper.

We should keep a check over our desires and attachments. Whenever a feeling of hatred wells up in you, do not react immediately. Take your time to quell your anger. Anger is the worst of all vices. Therefore, controlling your anger confers an ideal and blissful life.

It is of no use if our students speak about devotion or about the lives of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and Vivekananda in their talks. Students should speak what is relevant to the present day and suggest solutions to the miseries that afflict human life. Is it practical to participate in bhajans when sorrow and misery on all sides engulf us? Alleviate the suffering in the first place; bhajans will automatically follow. In this context, the concept of Bhakti itself is being distorted.

Uphold the honour and respect of your family. Patience and sympathy among the members of the family alone can keep the honour of the family. There can be no peace in a family that is bereft of these.

Wealth can never confer happiness to anyone. The educated elite and modern city folk are obsessed with the desire to earn money. How do they amass this wealth? They barter their values for this. Of what value is money to man if he has lost his virtues? An honourable life is more desirable than that. This way you can endeavour to give happiness to the family. ‘Money comes and goes’ but do not lose your morality.

Agitation and disturbance trouble the world today. It is our duty to think about what ideal we should set to bring peace to the world. Being a member of the society it is folly if you do not think about the welfare of the society. You too should share the responsibility of the society. Man is the centre of human society. Knowing that you are a man and not an animal, act accordingly. Earn a good name wherever you go.

Wherever you are you should conduct yourself properly. Amassing wealth is not very important. Hordes of people migrate to foreign lands to earn money. It amounts to mere begging which you can do in your own country. Nobody obstructs you from earning money and living happily, serving your own country. Were you born just to earn money? Of what use is money when there are no values to speak of? Highly educated people from our country go to other countries only to do dishwashing there. Can they not wash vessels in their house here giving some happiness to their mothers? On the other hand, they pride themselves in their being in America and refuse to step into the kitchen back at home. Such people should be sent out of the house. Do earn money, but respect your parents too. I am deeply pained to see that this is not the case. Unless it is told strongly no one pays heed to advice. Hence, I have decided to talk about the values needed for daily life, rather than about devotion, wisdom and renunciation. In fact, these will follow if you imbibe goodness too.

Be a good student with an ideal conduct. This is the hallmark of your education. Live with sacred feelings. Discard what is irrelevant to your life and society. Should your society degenerate, you too shall. Hence, it is said ‘Tell me your company and I shall tell you what you are.’

People today hanker after freedom and wealth in foreign countries. They brush aside the homemade delicacies seeking rotten stuff outside. There was a medical shop and a hotel situated adjacent to each other. The owner of the medical shop would come to the hotel saying, "I have a headache, would you give me a cup of hot coffee?" On the other hand, the hotel owner would say, "I have got headache too, could I have a Saridon [headache] pill?" Both are cures for the same headache, but each is not satisfied with what he has. This is the problem with today’s students. They desire the colourful clothes that other children wear, discarding what their parents give them. In fact, these colourful clothes frighten cattle too! White dress symbolises purity, steadfastness and love. Dirt is easily spotted on them and we can wash it off immediately. Colourful clothes hide the dirt on them. Students do not hesitate to wear such clothes continuously for any number of days at a stretch. Even if dirt does not show up, we have to wash the clothes. Only then can our mind be at peace.

Students!

You may relate incidents from The Ramayana and The Mahabharata in your talks, which set forth ideals for people. But at the same time do pay attention to the present situation, the chaos and turbulence that afflict the world. Become an ideal student by setting right the society in which you live. There is nothing in the world that is not related to Atma. Our conduct, our writing, our reading, eating – everything is spiritual. God is latent in all. Actions, which make you forget the latent divinity and focus outward, are not devotional. You should have the conviction that God is with you, in you, around you, above you and below you. You should be at peace even when you are alone. Before undertaking any action, ask yourself whether it is right or wrong. Correct your mistakes before someone points them out to you. Stick to the right path even if someone criticises you. Cultivate goodness and distance yourself from evil. When you lead such a life, you will be an ideal human being.

Embodiments of Love!

You do not have any idea of the situation outside. The conduct of the people there is very disgusting. Whatever others may think, you should lead a good life. Get a good name for yourselves. That will make Swami happy. People should look up to you as a Sai student, who follows Swami’s teachings and attends bhajans. You should cultivate the qualities befitting a student. Do not fear anything.