From sleep you wake, to sleep you go again. In
between two periods of sleep you are engaged in activity, activity which is just aimed at
filling bellies. All life is not lived by satisfying physical hunger only It is an
opportunity to remember cherish and seek the presence of God. The world stage is full of
characters. The Lord, the director has cast each one in a separate role. One ought to
learn to perform one's role perfectly. This can happen only if the director is obeyed to
the letter, to each and every direction of His. Anything done against His direction by the
character in the drama of life renders the individual useless and desolate. Ego and
attachment are the two things that bar one from obeying the director's commands.
It is only when Arjuna surrendered himself and confessed his ignorance, his exhaustion and
despair and sought Krishna's guidance that the Lord began to confide in him the Supreme
Truth. As long as the feeling of "I" and "Mine" reign over the
individual the Lord shall not step into the arena of one's life, the precincts of one's
heart. So, learn to live for the satisfaction of one's real Self by becoming selfless.
Self-confidence, self-sacrifice, self-satisfaction and self-realization are the guideposts
to the fruition of life. Self-confidence is the foundation, self-sacrifice is the top,
self-satisfaction is the pillar and self-realization is the mansion.
It is not enough if one earns a university degree. One should strive to earn the Universal
Degree. In order to become the near and dear one of the Lord, one should become either
like the flute or like the pair of chappals (sandals). The chappals bear all the weight of
the person who wears them as well as the pain of the thorns, shrubs and pebbles on the
ground underneath. Learn to cultivate fortitude, patience and love, and seek to give and
live.
It is much better and easier to become the flute. The flute is hollow, devoid of likes and
dislikes, desire, anger, envy, malice and greed, of me and mine. Have the goal clear
before you and strive to reach it.
Your advancement is measured by the yardstick of self-control. The ear must hear, the eye
must see, the tongue must taste, the hands must work, and the legs must walk according to
the dictates of the Atma.
With Blessings,
Baba
December 12, 1975
(From Prema Dhara, a collection of Swami's letters to His students)