Seek The Guru Within You

All the stars are Brahmam;
The Sun is also Brahmam;
The Moon is Brahmam; Water is Brahmam;
Swarga is Brahmam; Vaikunta is Brahmam;
The mother is Brahmam; the father is Brahmam;
Speech is Brahmam; the individual is Brahmam;
Birth is Brahmam; Sustenance is Brahmam;
Death is Brahmam;
All actions are Brahmam; the body is Brahmam;
The whole of nature is Brahmam;
Life is Brahmam. This assembly is Brahmam.
The Sai proclaiming this Truth is Brahmam.
[Telugu poem]

The tree growing out of the soil returns to the soil;
The individual arising from Brahmam returns to Brahmam;
This truth is not easily perceived
That is the mystery of this marvelous creation.
[Telugu poem]

Embodiments of Brahmam!

When a seed is sown in the earth, it sprouts as a sapling and grows in due course into a big tree. In the tree, the branches, the leaves, the flowers and the fruits all appear as distinct from each other. Moreover, each of them is used for a specific purpose. But all of them are different forms of the mud from which they have originated.

Seeing a rope at a distance, suspecting that it may be a snake, a man develops fear. Soon another person arrives and assures him that it is not a snake but a rope. The moment he realises that what he feared was a snake, was only a rope, he gets rid of his fear. During all the stages, the rope was only a rope.

Likewise, the ignorant man mistakes the phenomenal world for the Brahmam, till a Jnani reveals to him that what he thought was Nature is in reality Brahmam.

All that one sees in the entire universe is a manifestation of the Brahmam. Some people declare: "Where is Brahmam and what are we, petty human beings? How can we be equal to the all encompassing Brahmam?" This is not correct. You are that omnipotent, all-pervading Brahmam. Because of your worldly attitude, you are not recognising the Reality. You are separating yourself from the Divine. All that you see is Brahmam. To search for God as something different from you is a delusion. But this truth is not easily recognised by man.

When you look at the ocean, its endless series of waves and the foam from the waves, they all appear separate from each other. But the truth is they are all one. The water in the waves and in the foam comes from the same ocean and has the same qualities.

The Divine and the Cosmos

Likewise, from the infinite ocean of Sath-Chith-Ananda (Being-Awareness-Bliss), innumerable living creatures emerge like waves. While the Divine is in the state of Sathyam-Jnanam-Anantham (Truth-Wisdom- Infinity) man is in the state of Sath-Chith-Ananda. Embodiments of Divine Atma! When you fill your vision with love, the whole creation will appear divine to you.

The cosmos appears to you as a manifestation of diversity, but in reality there is no diversity. No one makes any effort to discover the Divine unity that underlies the diversity.

Maaya and God

In every human being, both Divinity and the Maaya principle are immanent. How is this to be comprehended? Sath-Chith-Ananda represent the Divine in man. The names and forms which man perceives are expressions of the Maaya principle.

On the ocean, the wind is the cause of waves, on the ocean of Sath-Chith-Ananda, the wind of Maaya gives rise to the innumerable living creatures. Therefore, the individuals who have emerged from the ocean of Sath-Chith-Ananda are manifestations of the Divine.

Divinity is everywhere. But because of man's ignorance, man is a prey to numerous troubles. Here is an example:

Vyaasa Poornima

Today is described as Guru Purnima Day. This is not quite correct. The day got its name because of some gurus who wanted to have an occasion for receiving offerings from their disciples. The right name for this day is Vyasa Purnima.

Vyaasa was born on this full-moon day. He completed the codification of the four Vedas on this day. He completed the writing of the eighteen puranas on this day. Owing to the passage of time Vyasa Purnima came to be called Guru Purnima.

The true meaning of Guru is "one who dispels the darkness of ignorance". Another meaning of the word is "one who is beyond attributes and forms, namely, the Supreme Self. (The Brahmam)". When this Self is within you where is the need to search for someone to teach you? A teacher who teaches others has had a teacher himself. The one who has no Guru above him is the true Guru. The Sanskrit stanza which hails the Guru as Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara and as Parabrahman is misinterpreted. The right approach is to consider Brahma, Vishnu and Maheswara as the Guru. These three are symbolised by the three gunas: Brahma is Rajas, Vishnu is Sathva and Siva is Thamas. The whole cosmos is constituted by the three gunas. The three gunas are present in man. The trinity are present in the form of the three gunas in every human heart.

You are Your Guru

Hence, you are your own Guru. You need not seek him elsewhere. The so called Gurus of today seek to impart some mantras and receive offerings as Guru Dakshina on Guru Purnima day. The mantra is whispered in the ear and the palm is stretched for an offering. This is what happens today. It is not the proper sign of a Guru.

You are a Guru unto yourself. All potencies are within you. This is indicated by the Gayatri Mantra.

You have to feel at all times your inherent divinity, which is also present in everyone. When you help or feed someone you must feel that the Divine in you is feeding the Divine in others.

Follow Swami

Embodiments of Divine Atma! For many years you have been pursuing wrong paths because of the feeling of separateness. The truth is you are part of the collective (Samashti). This collective is a part of creation (Srishti). Beyond creation is Pushti (the cosmic energy). Transcending that energy is Parameshti (the Supreme Omni-Self). You are all these as an embodiment of the Divine. You have to proceed from the individual to a realisation of the Omni-Self.

All are manifestations of the Divine. You may ask whether you can ever acquire the powers possessed by Swami. Follow me. You are bound to get that power. That power is latent in you. But you are not aware of it. You want to experience bliss. If you truly follow Swami, you will discover that bliss within you. Nor is that all. You will find that bliss all around you, wherever you go. You cannot find that bliss in the physical world. It is wholly within you. Consider yourself as Divine (Brahmam) at all times and in all situations. You will thereby become one with the Divine.

Turn your mind Godward and you will experience the bliss of the Divine. It is for this reason that Swami gives you advice from time to time as to what you should do and what you should avoid. All this is not for my sake but for your own good, to make you take to the path of God-Realisation, to teach you the Supreme truth about the Brahmam and to make your sacred life an ideal one.

Every man should strive to become an ideal human being. This means that every one should testify to his Divinity. Imagine how happy everyone would be if the entire world was filled with this pure, sublime and sacred ideal.

Recognise that God is your preceptor. He is the preceptor of preceptors. When you have such an all pervading Guru. Why should you hanker after Gurus of lesser breed?

All are children of God. All are embodiments of the Divine, as declared in the Gita. Vishnu is described as the Lord carrying in His four hands the conch, the discus, the mace and the lotus. These four represent the cosmic power of sound, the wheel of Time, the puissance of the Lord and the heart in which the Lord dwells.

There is a certain naivety about the way in which Vaishnavites and Saivites adore the same deity, Venkateswara. Vaishnavites hail Him as Venkataramana, while Saivites hail Him as Venkateswara. The votaries of each sect derive some special satisfaction from using a particular name, though the Lord they worship is one and the same. The names vary but the Lord is one. Siva is called Pasupathy (the Lord of cattle). Krishna is worshipped as Gopala (the Lord of cows). The emblems of Siva and Vishnu have common characteristics. Sectarian differences are out of place in the worship of the Divine.

Students should learn a lesson from a musical instrument like the veena. It has different strings producing different vibrations. But if the vibrations are discordant the music jars on the ears. Just as there should be harmony in playing on the veena, there should be harmony among people in a country Professing different faiths.

Sraddha and Bhakti

Shirdi Baba used to ask for two rupees from devotees who came to him. The two rupees symbolised Sraddha (earnestness) and Bhakti (devotion). These are the two qualities he expected from the devotees. The combination of the two is essential for spiritual progress. Only then bliss will emerge like a plant from a seed. From this day onwards, give up all differences and concentrate on realisation of the Brahmam (the Omni-Self). All are embodiments of Brahmam. In due course all will realise this truth by eschewing narrow-minded differences. Develop the sense of spiritual oneness by continuous practice. This sense is bound to grow if you act upto Swami's injunctions. The primary requisite is love for God.

[Bhagavan concluded His discourse with the Bhajan: "Prema Muditha Manasa Kaho"].