My FB posts & shares on Sathya Sai birthday
Sathya Sai quotes from 1962 Sivarathri discourse
Some quotes from Sathya Sai Speaks, 4th March 1962 (as per http://www.sssbpt.info/english/sssvol02.html) with the associated pdf file being: http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume02/sss02-31.pdf
Looking at this vast sea of faces, I do not feel like speaking to you; I wish to derive bliss (ananda) by just looking at you from here; looking at your devotion and your faith. Your looking at Me, Me looking at you — what else is needed for bliss to well up?
[Ravi: In spirituality, it has been my experience with Sathya Sai physical form that "the eyes have it"! I have seen the Indian Lok Sabha (Parliament) votes being assessed by the Speaker and then declaring, "the ayes have it" meaning the yes-votes have it. I then got "the eyes have it" phrase to express this aspect of my spiritual experience.
In particular, for many months of 2010 and first three months of 2011 before Sathya Sai physical form was admitted to Super speciality hospital in end March 2011, I have had wonderful - sometimes happy but sometimes not-so-happy yet still wonderful - eye contact interactions with Sathya Sai during darshan rounds, usually at a distance of 10 to 15 feet between Swami and me, and sometimes slightly lesser than 10 feet. At that distance the eye contact interactions were very clear, even if they were for only a few seconds. I used to sit in the old students block during this period.
Swami was a master of giving messages by the look! During this period I have been guided largely by his looks at me, but at least at one time by his look message followed by his discourse where he focused on one of the big doubts that I had regarding his teachings and views, and cleared it up completely. What an awesome spiritual teacher Sathya Sai physical form was!
And here I read Swami having spoken about Him and devotees looking at each other and having bliss! And this was before I was born. I was born in the same year - 1962 - but in some later month of the year.]
...
A little child sits with a book of the Upanishads on its lap and turns over the pages, intent on the printed lines and watching the curious types, deliberately, slowly and with great care. A monk does the same. Can you equate the two and say they are both engaged in the same act? The child is unaware of the treasure it holds in its hand; the monk gets into immediate contact with the spiritual power the lines convey. Find out for yourself whether your spiritual practices have also been purposeful and sincere, wakeful, and worthwhile.
[Ravi: As an Upanishad loving semi-monk/semi-sannyasi [not full monk/sannyasi :-)], I am just blown away by how simply but so effectively, Bhagavan conveys the spiritual power of the Upanishads felt by the monk but the same Upanishads not having much impact on most people. I have tasted the spiritual power of the Upanishads, and, to be honest, am a little scared of its power.]
...
Above all, do not give room for the cancer of doubt. Why argue over Me, over this point or that concerning Me? Who exactly is the Baba who you discuss and debate! What does it matter to you who I happen to be? You are concerned about your goal, your ideal, your experience, your effort, is it not? Why then worry about My origin, My nature, My mystery, My miracle? The basic thing is the hand, and the cup it holds is secondary. The supported is less in importance than the support, the Basic Reality, the Pure Existence. When you cannot reach down to your own Basic Reality, why waste time in exploring the essence of Godhead? As a matter of fact, you can understand Me only when you have understood yourself, your own Basic Truth.
The gross can grasp only the gross; its categories of knowledge can proceed only as far as that. Fish die when they have to breathe the air above the water. Children can learn the alphabet only with the help of boards, slates, pencils, and pieces of chalk. Spiritual aspirants, going through the primers of spirituality, need symbols, images, and rituals. You cannot discard Name and Form until you transmute yourself into the Nameless and Formless — just as the fish needed water and could not come up into the atmosphere as long as they did not transmute themselves into land animals, giving up their aquatic nature. That is the why the Nameless and Formless has often to assume Name and Form and come before humanity with limitations imposed by its own Will, so that it may be loved, respected, worshipped, listened to, and followed, so that the purpose of humanity may be fulfilled.
[Ravi: The Avatar of the age explaining how devotees should view Him and why the Nameless and Formless God (Parabrahman) takes form (took His form of Sathya Sai) with self-imposed limitations, to put humanity on the right track and so that its "purpose" is "fulfilled".]
...
Spiritual practices have to be done after attaining a good character; that is very important. In the midst of impurity, wickedness, and evil, spiritual effort will be fruitless. It is as the jewel in the head of the cobra, in the centre of poison and cruelty. Some come here and earn peace and joy, but after years of sharing and serving, they fall prey to waywardness and fall back into the old morass, declining to such an extent that they deny their very experience and play false to their own conscience! Not that I am anxious that they should worship Me or adhere to Me; far from it. I ask only that truth be proclaimed, regardless of the company you have fallen into; there must be courage of conviction, which will help you to overcome the temptation to deny your cherished joys.
[Ravi: Even in 1962, some people had got associated with Sathya Sai movement in Puttaparthi/Prasanthi Nilayam and then had fallen back into their "old morass" denying their experience of Sathya Sai! Hmm. Such is the reality of spiritual endeavour - the danger of slipping into doubt is always there even in presence of the living Avatar.]
...
Some others are swept off their feet by hysterical demonstrations by certain weak minded individuals who are described as My speaking through them or acting through them! Take it from Me, I am not given to such absurdities! I do not use others as My media; I have no need to. I do not swing from side to side and prattle! Why, even those who torture their bodies and suffer the pains of asceticism for years until ant hills overwhelm them and they become as stiff as tree-stumps find it difficult to realise the Lord. How then can these idlers, who eat their fill and wander about as slaves of their senses, earn that status so cheaply? Their gestures, words, and actions are hollow and vain; those who bum incense before them and revere them are turning away from Me and running after falsehood.
How can the Full ever dally with the paltry and wear the habiliment of the trifling? When God has come assuming form, take it from Me, it will not fill inferior vessels or embellish tawdry stuff or enter impure bodies. So do not extol these falsities and ruin those unfortunates. Deal with them severely, and they will be cured. Those who have seen the brilliance of the diamond will not be misled by glass trinkets. The Lord is like the diamond, call it by any name. But a trinket cannot be turned into a diamond, however loud the praise and however adamant the claim.
[Ravi: In 2018, the above quotes of Sathya Sai fully apply to FALSE CLAIM Cheap Imitator Madhusudan Rao Naidu of Muddenahalli group!
I am stopping the quotes here as I did not want to have many quotes on this post.]
------
Audio has Dana Gillespie singing Happy Birthday to Swami; Video has a montage of clips of Swami over time Happy 92nd Birthday Swami!, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8g_eedclHc, around 5 mins, published in Nov. 2017.
----
Audio is (as per video description) 75th b'day song in Hindi, Telugu and English; video has montage of clips of Swami darshan, around 10 mins, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH5WYJwC-Wg
----
This is from a youtube channel called Sai Darshan Official. Before putting up this video I first checked whether the channel seems to have any association with FALSE CLAIM Muddenahalli group but could not find any in the quick checking that I did. [If readers know more about the background of this channel and whether it is or is not associated with Muddenahalli group, please let me know.]
Have presumed it is not associated with MDH group and so am sharing this video. Shankar Mahadevan sings a birthday song for this 93rd birthday of Swami, published a few days back on Nov. 15th this year, around 7 mins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rlg36jgLu8
----
Good video documentary of 80th birthday of Swami (2005) by Gene Massey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk2qumQZIl0, around half an hour. I saw half of it and plan to see the next half a little later. I think it gives a realistic capture of the event. Hope this documentary gets archived and made easily available (besides this youtube channel) for generations in future who may want to know how Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's 80th birthday celebration was, in a half hour video.
What extraordinarily technologically advanced times we live in! So easy to see and even feel the Avatar of the age through such realistic capture videos, at a particular stage in his career.\
----
[I thank sssbpt.info and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extracts from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
Some quotes from Sathya Sai Speaks, 4th March 1962 (as per http://www.sssbpt.info/english/sssvol02.html) with the associated pdf file being: http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume02/sss02-31.pdf
Looking at this vast sea of faces, I do not feel like speaking to you; I wish to derive bliss (ananda) by just looking at you from here; looking at your devotion and your faith. Your looking at Me, Me looking at you — what else is needed for bliss to well up?
[Ravi: In spirituality, it has been my experience with Sathya Sai physical form that "the eyes have it"! I have seen the Indian Lok Sabha (Parliament) votes being assessed by the Speaker and then declaring, "the ayes have it" meaning the yes-votes have it. I then got "the eyes have it" phrase to express this aspect of my spiritual experience.
In particular, for many months of 2010 and first three months of 2011 before Sathya Sai physical form was admitted to Super speciality hospital in end March 2011, I have had wonderful - sometimes happy but sometimes not-so-happy yet still wonderful - eye contact interactions with Sathya Sai during darshan rounds, usually at a distance of 10 to 15 feet between Swami and me, and sometimes slightly lesser than 10 feet. At that distance the eye contact interactions were very clear, even if they were for only a few seconds. I used to sit in the old students block during this period.
Swami was a master of giving messages by the look! During this period I have been guided largely by his looks at me, but at least at one time by his look message followed by his discourse where he focused on one of the big doubts that I had regarding his teachings and views, and cleared it up completely. What an awesome spiritual teacher Sathya Sai physical form was!
And here I read Swami having spoken about Him and devotees looking at each other and having bliss! And this was before I was born. I was born in the same year - 1962 - but in some later month of the year.]
...
A little child sits with a book of the Upanishads on its lap and turns over the pages, intent on the printed lines and watching the curious types, deliberately, slowly and with great care. A monk does the same. Can you equate the two and say they are both engaged in the same act? The child is unaware of the treasure it holds in its hand; the monk gets into immediate contact with the spiritual power the lines convey. Find out for yourself whether your spiritual practices have also been purposeful and sincere, wakeful, and worthwhile.
[Ravi: As an Upanishad loving semi-monk/semi-sannyasi [not full monk/sannyasi :-)], I am just blown away by how simply but so effectively, Bhagavan conveys the spiritual power of the Upanishads felt by the monk but the same Upanishads not having much impact on most people. I have tasted the spiritual power of the Upanishads, and, to be honest, am a little scared of its power.]
...
Above all, do not give room for the cancer of doubt. Why argue over Me, over this point or that concerning Me? Who exactly is the Baba who you discuss and debate! What does it matter to you who I happen to be? You are concerned about your goal, your ideal, your experience, your effort, is it not? Why then worry about My origin, My nature, My mystery, My miracle? The basic thing is the hand, and the cup it holds is secondary. The supported is less in importance than the support, the Basic Reality, the Pure Existence. When you cannot reach down to your own Basic Reality, why waste time in exploring the essence of Godhead? As a matter of fact, you can understand Me only when you have understood yourself, your own Basic Truth.
The gross can grasp only the gross; its categories of knowledge can proceed only as far as that. Fish die when they have to breathe the air above the water. Children can learn the alphabet only with the help of boards, slates, pencils, and pieces of chalk. Spiritual aspirants, going through the primers of spirituality, need symbols, images, and rituals. You cannot discard Name and Form until you transmute yourself into the Nameless and Formless — just as the fish needed water and could not come up into the atmosphere as long as they did not transmute themselves into land animals, giving up their aquatic nature. That is the why the Nameless and Formless has often to assume Name and Form and come before humanity with limitations imposed by its own Will, so that it may be loved, respected, worshipped, listened to, and followed, so that the purpose of humanity may be fulfilled.
[Ravi: The Avatar of the age explaining how devotees should view Him and why the Nameless and Formless God (Parabrahman) takes form (took His form of Sathya Sai) with self-imposed limitations, to put humanity on the right track and so that its "purpose" is "fulfilled".]
...
Spiritual practices have to be done after attaining a good character; that is very important. In the midst of impurity, wickedness, and evil, spiritual effort will be fruitless. It is as the jewel in the head of the cobra, in the centre of poison and cruelty. Some come here and earn peace and joy, but after years of sharing and serving, they fall prey to waywardness and fall back into the old morass, declining to such an extent that they deny their very experience and play false to their own conscience! Not that I am anxious that they should worship Me or adhere to Me; far from it. I ask only that truth be proclaimed, regardless of the company you have fallen into; there must be courage of conviction, which will help you to overcome the temptation to deny your cherished joys.
[Ravi: Even in 1962, some people had got associated with Sathya Sai movement in Puttaparthi/Prasanthi Nilayam and then had fallen back into their "old morass" denying their experience of Sathya Sai! Hmm. Such is the reality of spiritual endeavour - the danger of slipping into doubt is always there even in presence of the living Avatar.]
...
Some others are swept off their feet by hysterical demonstrations by certain weak minded individuals who are described as My speaking through them or acting through them! Take it from Me, I am not given to such absurdities! I do not use others as My media; I have no need to. I do not swing from side to side and prattle! Why, even those who torture their bodies and suffer the pains of asceticism for years until ant hills overwhelm them and they become as stiff as tree-stumps find it difficult to realise the Lord. How then can these idlers, who eat their fill and wander about as slaves of their senses, earn that status so cheaply? Their gestures, words, and actions are hollow and vain; those who bum incense before them and revere them are turning away from Me and running after falsehood.
How can the Full ever dally with the paltry and wear the habiliment of the trifling? When God has come assuming form, take it from Me, it will not fill inferior vessels or embellish tawdry stuff or enter impure bodies. So do not extol these falsities and ruin those unfortunates. Deal with them severely, and they will be cured. Those who have seen the brilliance of the diamond will not be misled by glass trinkets. The Lord is like the diamond, call it by any name. But a trinket cannot be turned into a diamond, however loud the praise and however adamant the claim.
[Ravi: In 2018, the above quotes of Sathya Sai fully apply to FALSE CLAIM Cheap Imitator Madhusudan Rao Naidu of Muddenahalli group!
I am stopping the quotes here as I did not want to have many quotes on this post.]
------
Audio has Dana Gillespie singing Happy Birthday to Swami; Video has a montage of clips of Swami over time Happy 92nd Birthday Swami!, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_8g_eedclHc, around 5 mins, published in Nov. 2017.
----
Audio is (as per video description) 75th b'day song in Hindi, Telugu and English; video has montage of clips of Swami darshan, around 10 mins, https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=wH5WYJwC-Wg
----
This is from a youtube channel called Sai Darshan Official. Before putting up this video I first checked whether the channel seems to have any association with FALSE CLAIM Muddenahalli group but could not find any in the quick checking that I did. [If readers know more about the background of this channel and whether it is or is not associated with Muddenahalli group, please let me know.]
Have presumed it is not associated with MDH group and so am sharing this video. Shankar Mahadevan sings a birthday song for this 93rd birthday of Swami, published a few days back on Nov. 15th this year, around 7 mins: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=_Rlg36jgLu8
----
Good video documentary of 80th birthday of Swami (2005) by Gene Massey: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Uk2qumQZIl0, around half an hour. I saw half of it and plan to see the next half a little later. I think it gives a realistic capture of the event. Hope this documentary gets archived and made easily available (besides this youtube channel) for generations in future who may want to know how Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's 80th birthday celebration was, in a half hour video.
What extraordinarily technologically advanced times we live in! So easy to see and even feel the Avatar of the age through such realistic capture videos, at a particular stage in his career.\
----
[I thank sssbpt.info and have presumed that they will not have any objections to me sharing the above extracts from their website on this post which is freely viewable by all, and does not have any financial profit motive whatsoever.]
Comments
Post a Comment