Freed From Fear… God intoxicated, exalted Saint Sri Krishna Chaitanya never distinguished anyone with any kind of reservation whatsoever. He treated everyone alike as Embodiment of Supreme Divine. When met up with an ‘self-styled’ untouchable seeker, a mendicant, how Bhagawan Chaitanya treated him elevating him to a state of Supreme Bliss, releasing him from fear that marred him right from his childhood days…a story as narrated by Bhagawan.  Once, a mendicant with tattered clothes, unkempt hair and dirty body came and stood at the threshold of Chaitanya’s room and was meditating with closed eyes. On seeing him Chaitanya came out and asked him, “Who are you? you can come inside.” On hearing these soft and sweet words, the mendicant opened his eyes and replied in all humility, “Swami! I don’t deserve to step into your room. I am a despicable person belonging to the caste of Chandala (untouchables). I am not fit to defile your sacred residence. Full of smiles, Chaitanya went closer to him and said endearingly. “My son, never say that you are mean, despicable or unworthy. Who is mean and who is sacred on this earth? All are equally sacred because the same God shines in every one’s heart. So, please come inside without any hesitation.” When the mendicant was still hesitating to go inside, Chaitanya questioned him about the purpose of his visit. The visitor replied, “Swami, I am repeatedly chanting God’s name but I feel it lacks chaitanya (spiritual power) just as a person in a state of coma has mere life without any consciousness. I seem to be mechanically chanting the Lord’s name without experiencing the power of the Divine. I have come to you with the hope that if you initiate me in one of the Lord’s names, it will be changed with spiritual potency and I will be benefited by chanting such a name.” Chaitanya replied, “All the names of God are full of Chaitanya or Divine power. God’s name is omnipotent and self-effulgent. Hence it is not proper for you to underrate the efficacy of any of the Lord’s name. However, for your satisfaction, I will give you initiation as desired by you. Please step into the room.” The visitor responded by slowly entering the room, full of humility, hesitation, nervousness and fear, and sat in one corner of the room. Noticing his plight, Chaitanya gently told him, “My son, why are you so full of fear? Freedom and fearlessness are the birth-right of every man. Freedom being your real nature, why do you give room for fear? You must recognise that the Atmic power is behind all thoughts, and give up fear.” Saying this, Chaitanya came closer and closer to the mendicant. Seeing this, the mendicant cried out apprehensively, “Swami, please don’t touch me. If you touch me, both of us will be guilty of breach of traditional norms of our society. I say so particularly because it is winter now, and if you touch me, you will have to take a cold water bath again and that will tell upon your health. I have accepted you as my guru and since, according to the scriptures, the guru is verily God. I shall be sinning against God by hurting you in any way. I have come to obey your commands and receive help from you, but not to hurt you in the process. Because of my sins in my past lives, I am now born as an untouchable. I don’t want to add to my load of sins by allowing you to touch me now.” On hearing this, Chaitanya remonstrated: “What a simpleton you are! You are only betraying your ignorance by observing untouchability, ignoring the Divine inherent in every being. God has no distinctions of caste and creed. There is no caste for any of the five elements, namely, earth, water, fire, air and sky, all of which have emanated from God.  Irrespective of the castes and creeds professed by men, all are equally sharing the bounties of nature offered by the five elements. Therefore, there is no need to observe such differences of caste and creed. Come closer to me.” However, the mendicant could not shed his fear, because he had been nurturing this fear from his childhood. This shows that feelings such as fear, love, hatred etc., become ingrained in a person if he nurtures them for a long time from an early stage of his life. Chaitanya told the mendicant, “God never endows man with fear. It is one’ s weakness that fosters fear because of some shortcomings in one’s self. One who has not committed any wrong or evil act will have no fear and hence will not need any protection or security. Fearlessness is the hall-mark of Divinity. One can become fearless through renunciation or sacrifice. For example, if you have some valuables with you, there is room for fear. But if you give up those valuables, you will be free from fear wherever you may be, even in a jungle infested with robbers. My dear child, realise that your very nature is absolute fearlessness in all circumstances. Remain true to your nature.” Saying this Chaitanya hugged the mendicant. But the latter began shaking with mixed feeling of bliss and fear, bliss because of embrace of such a holy saint like Chaitanya, and fear because of the misapprehension that Chaitanya would be polluted by physical contact with him. He cried out, “O Swami, let not my sins pollute you.” Laughing at this statement Chaitanya told him assuringly: “O innocent one, you and I have now become one. We are no longer separate. ” So saying, Chaitanya hugged him in a warm embrace and whispered the Lord’s name into his ear. The name went straight into the old man’s heart, and so transformed him that he exclaimed in ecstasy, “Swami there is no one as lucky as myself. I have now become sanctified, sacred and pure. I have got rid off the wrong notion that i

Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose – India’s Greatest Patriot Addressing the students of Sri Sathya Sai Institutions during Summer Course 1990 Bhagawan spoke about India’s foremost Freedom Fighter Netaji Subhash Chandra Bose, narrating a beautiful incident depicting Bose’s selfless love for his Motherland. What kind of existence will you have if you do not revere the Motherland as your mother? While Subhash Bose was studying in the Calcutta University, there was an English professor, who used to speak disparagingly about India and Ind­ians. Subhash Bose, who was intensely patriotic, could not bear listening to such derogatory remarks about the Mother­land. He was patient for a while, but when the professor continued in the same vein, he got up, jumped over three desks, caught the Englishman by the neck and beat him with sandals. Bose declared, “I can bear anything, but I cannot bear my Motherland being abused and ridiculed. It does not matter what happens to me, but I must defend my country’s honour.” The students who watched the inci­dent were stunned. The English professor cried out: “Help me! Help me!” News of the incident reached the autho­rities, who held an emergency meeting and rusticated Subhash Bose for five years. Subhash was determined to dedicate his entire life to the service of the Mother­land. As Subhash could not continue his studies in Calcutta, his father sent him to London. But even there Subhash cherish­ed his love for the Motherland. He was determined to finish his studies and return to India to serve the Motherland. He studied hard and passed the I. C. S. examination. He returned to India and plunged into national politics. “I owe my food and everything else to my count­ry. I must be grateful to the nation by serving it.” This was his firm resolve. Here is his example. You students should realise what you owe to your edu­cational institutions for your status and position in life and be ever grateful to them. This is the pledge you should take. This is true sacrifice. Giving up selfish­ness, developing faith in the Divine, you must realise the Supreme. II Samasta Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II

With God…Be Fair… How petty minds, full of selfish desires work, at times trying to cheat even God without knowing that they are playing around with the Cosmic Creator, at Whose mercy the whole of creation is hanging…existing… ? Saying that, “… your prayers will be answered only when there is sincerity in you” Bhagawan narrated an episode from His Story, concluding that attempt to cheat God would lead to dire consequences… From Bhagawan’s Divine Discourse on 19 October 1999. Embodiments of Love! One who thinks of God constantly will never be put to hardships. You may argue that you continue to suffer though you think of God all the time. How can you say that thinking of God has not helped you at all? It certainly would have mitigated your suffering without your knowledge. God’s grace will certainly alleviate your suffering. By chanting of the Divine Name, even mountains of sin will  vanish like mist into thin air. Sarvada Sarvakaleshu Sarvathra Harichinthanam, you should think of God at all places, at all times, and under all circumstances with pure love and total faith. Your prayers will be answered only when there is sincerity in you. When I returned to Puttaparthi from Uravakonda, two persons, Subbaiah Shetty and Kodanda Shetty, came from Anantapur. One of them was finding it difficult to get an alliance for his daughter. He said, “Sathya Sai Baba, I will believe that you are God only if I can find a suitable alliance for my daughter soon. I will build chitikelameda (‘snapping mansion’) for You if my daughter gets married within this month.” Everyone was curious to know as to what that would be. His daughter got married within the same month. He came to the Old Mandir (temple) with a plate containing a coconut and some flowers. He said, “Swami, you fulfilled my desire. Now I have to keep up my word. Please permit me to build a chitikelameda for you.” Many others were watching with curiosity. Even Subbamma came there thinking that he was going to give a big mansion for Swami. I very well knew what he was up to. He gave Aarati and asked, “Swami, will you permit me to build chitikelameda now?” In order to amuse the onlookers, “I said OK, go ahead.” He started snapping his fingers around Me, saying, “This is the first wall, this is the second wall, this is the roof,” so on and so forth. In the end he said, “this is God,” fell at My feet, and broke the coconut. Likewise, some people resort to mean strategies and try to cheat even God! They certainly have to face the consequences of their actions. II Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II

How Arjuna learnt the Big Lesson?!? Implicit obedience to The Lord is what is desirable for an ideal devotee. The veil of delusion which covers up the Divinity inherent in man is so thick that it inflates man’s ego, tempting him to forget even God. Arjuna, while being driven by Lord Krishna  in the Kurukshetra battlefield, donning the role of Charioteer, was in this ‘tight-spot’ with his ego pumped up for a moment, only to learn the big lesson finally reposing full faith in Lord Krishna. Those were the days of Mahabharata war. At the end of the 9th day of the war, Arjuna returned with Krishna from the battlefield filled with excitement of victory. On that day, ego entered his mind and he considered Krishna merely a charioteer of his chariot and himself as the cause of the victory. Krishna stopped the chariot near the camp of Arjuna and asked him, “Brother-in-law, get down from the chariot.” As is the common practice those days that the driver of the car gets down from the car first and opens the door of the car to enable the owner to get down from it, Arjuna wanted Krishna to observe the same decorum and get down first. He asked Him with pride and impertinence, “Brother-in-law, You should get down first.” In reply, Krishna said to him, “Brother-in-law, you get down and go inside.” But Arjuna was stubborn and said to Krishna, “You get down first and I will get down after that only.” Then Krishna sternly commanded Arjuna, “No, no. You have to get down first.” In this way, there were arguments and counter arguments between Arjuna and Krishna for some time. In the end, Arjuna unwillingly got down from the chariot fearing what Krishna might do if he did not obey Him. Krishna then ordered him to go inside. Arjuna was surprised and did not understand why Krishna was ordering him so forcefully like that. As Arjuna went inside, Krishna jumped down from the chariot. As soon as He did so, the chariot was engulfed in flames and reduced to ashes. Then Arjuna asked Krishna, “What is all this?” Krishna said to Arjuna, smilingly, “It is for the same reason that I asked you to get down from the chariot first, though you were not willing to do so. In today’s war, Bhishma attacked you with fierce fiery weapons. In order to protect you, I suppressed them under My Feet. If I had got down from the chariot before you, you would have been burned down along with the chariot.” Thinking of the dreadful consequence if he had not got down from the chariot first, Arjuna was filled with repentance. Such is the veil of delusion which covers up the divinity inherent in man and inflates his ego. Reposing his full faith in Krishna, Arjuna worshipped Him with great devotion. Lord Krishna, therefore, was always with him and protected him. We can attain the grace of the Lord by following His command. II Samasta Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II

Whom do you prefer…Lakshmi or Narayana…? How much have we utilised His Presence when He chose to walk amongst us, loving and serving, teaching and preaching  the Supreme Path Of Truth to Sanathana Dharma? Has mankind ever understood the supreme potential of this Mighty Lord? Hinting upon man’s folly in going after Lakshmi, leaving Narayana out Bhagawan narrated a beautiful story involving Lord Narayana, His consort Goddess Lakshmi and Devarishi Narada. This is a story about the Gods. It deals with the greed of men. It was a fine day in heaven; Sriman Narayana and His consort Lakshmi were talking away the hours, when Narada, the wandering minstrel, entered and attracted their attention. Narayana asked Narada whether the denizens of Earth were happy. Narada replied that since they worshipped Him and won His Grace, men everywhere were quite happy and prosperous. At this, Lakshmi (who was the Goddess of Wealth) was afflicted with jealousy and anger for, Her share in conferring happiness on man was not acknowledged. She challenged Narada to prove that Narayana was more adored than Herself down on Earth. Narayana accepted the challenge. Donning ochre robes, He transformed Himself into a monk and went down amongst the villages and towns, preaching the Path. Thousands flocked at these meetings and listened to the enchanting oratory. They followed Him from place to place and adored Him with effusive enthusiasm. He was being carried along on a huge wave of devotion and adulation. Lakshmi saw this and could not contain herself: She was overwhelmed by envy. So, She too donned the Sanyasi (ascetic person) robe and came down to the very region which Narayana had conquered for Himself. The people were drawn towards Her by the effulgence of Her presence, many came away from the meetings addressed by Narayana to bask in Her Presence. A few invited Her to their homes for dinner. She agreed but, declared that it was a vow she had undertaken, not to eat out of plates other than her own. She said, she would bring Her own plate, cup, drinking vessel etc. The host was only too glad to comply with Her request, for, that helped him to overcome one bother among many! Lakshmi took with Her when She went to the houses of Her hosts, a plate of gold, a cup and a water-vessel, all three of gold! The host admired and adored Her the more for this display of pomp and wealth. But, he was astounded and delighted, when, after dinner, Lakshmi said that She was leaving the plate etc., at the host’s home, since that too was part of Her vow! When the news spread that it was highly profitable to invite Lakshmi to dinner and to adore Her, there was a huge clamour for Her Grace and millions deserted Narayana’s discourses and hovered around the Giver of Gold. People prayed to Narayana to go back to whence He came, for, they had no time to receive’ Him or listern to Him. Lakshmi was monopolising their attention! So, Lakshmi came back to Heaven, to meet Narayana who was already there. She asked Narada, “Who is being worshiped more, Narayana or Lakshmi?” Narada replied with another question: “Whom are You worshiping, please?” Lakshmi answered, “Why? I worship Narayana.” Then, said Narada, “Know that it is Narayana’s grace that is helping you to bestow those gifts of gold, which make men worship you.” Lakshmi’s pride was humbled; but, man’s foolishness continues. He worships vasu-deva (vasu = gold, meaning Lord of wealth), not Vasudeva (Indwelling Divinity), Lakshmi, not Narayana! II Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II

The sultan and his wish… When you are eager to gain an end, you must be prepared for all the travail, all the obstacles or else, you should not entertain the wish. The five Pandava brothers are the five Pranas (vital airs) in the human body and all of them constitute one entity, and Draupadi, born of fire, is the energy that activates the body. When this is ignored and the epic is taken as a story of kings and queens and dynastic wars, the meaning is missed, said Bhagawan narrating a related story ascertaining the above point. There was a Sultan once, who heard of the Mahabharata, which the Hindus revere as the fifth Veda; he commissioned a Hindu Poet of his kingdom to write a Mahabharata, with him as the hero who wins the empire back. He threatened the poet with dire punishment if he did not complete it within a stipulated time. The poet had to agree; but he pretended he was at it, and told the Sultan that he himself is being portrayed as the eldest of the Pandava brothers and the other four Pandava brothers were his ‘viziers’. He said that in the Mahabharata he was writing, the enemies of the Sultan were the Kauravas. This made the Sultan very happy and he became restless, to read the epic as soon as it was finished. The poet, however, delayed long. One day when asked the reason, the Poet told the Sultan, “Your Majesty! I am awaiting clarification of one simple matter from you; it is giving me a lot of trouble, this problem. The queen is, in my epic, the counterpart of the queen of the eldest of the Pandavas; this is as it should be, since you are eldest of the five heroic brothers. But, in the original Mahabharata, she is the wife of all the brothers. In my poem, your viziers are those brothers; they are allotted those roles in this new version. Now, shall I depict the queen as the wife of the viziers also, or…” The Sultan did not wait to hear the rest; he threw the entire project overboard…and sent the poet away. II Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II

Develop Selfless Love and Manifest Him… Develop pure, selfless and egoless love, then God will manifest before you instantaneously, says Bhagawan recounting a beautiful episode from His previous incarnation as Lord Krishna…extracted from Bhagawan’s Divine Discourse in Prasanthi Nilayam on July 31, 1996. Once Yashoda went on searching for Krishna, “Where is Krishna, where has He gone?” She was searching for Krishna because she identified Him with His physical form. Once you realise that Krishna is everywhere, then you don’t need to search for Him. As Yashoda was searching for Krishna, Radha came there. Yashoda asked Radha, “Oh Radha! Have you seen my child? Has my Gopala come to your house? I have searched in all streets and have gone to all houses, but I could not find Him. Did you see Him anywhere?” Radha closed her eyes and chanted the name of Krishna with heart full of love. At that very moment, Krishna appeared there. This incident was an eye-opener for Yashoda. She said to Radha, “All along I thought Krishna is my son and I am His mother. I have been thinking that no one else has more love for Krishna than me. I had this pride that there is none other in this world who gives such unlimited love to Krishna as I do. But so far I never realised that your love for Krishna is much superior and is endowed with great power. There is so much power in your love that the moment you remembered Him with love, He manifested before you.” What was the type of Radha’s love for Krishna? It was pure, unsullied and totally devoid of ego. That is why Krishna manifested before her then and there. If there is even a small trace of impurity and ego in your heart, God will never manifest before you, no matter for how many hours, days and even Yugas (aeons) you may pray to Him. Yashoda caught hold of the hand of Radha and said, “So far I was under the influence of ego and ignorance. You have removed them and opened my eyes. There may be many in this world who love Krishna more than me. But due to my ignorance, I thought my love for Krishna was the greatest. This was my mistake. Kindly teach me the path of love that you follow.” Radha replied, “Mother, this is not something that someone can teach you or give you. Once you realise your true Self and have total faith in Krishna, this love will automatically develop in you.” Once when Krishna returned home, Yashoda complained to Him: Oh Krishna! You do not eat what I serve You at home. But You go to the houses of the Gopikas and steal their butter. Oh dear Krishna! It spoils our good name. Yashoda said, “Krishna, there is so much butter in our house, but You don’t eat it. On the other hand, You go to the houses of others and steal their butter even when they try to chase You away. What is the inner meaning of this?” The inner meaning is that Krishna does not steal butter; He steals the hearts of Gopikas which are full of love. If you develop pure, selfless and egoless love, God will manifest before you immediately. You don’t need to wait even for a moment. It is only due to their delusion arising out of their body attachment that people undergo suffering. II Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II

“In my life, henceforth, I will not utter falsehood” Mahatma Gandhi’s life was an open book for Indians and for the entire world. India’s iconic Freedom Fighter Statesman, Mohandas Karamchand Gandhi was born in Porbandar, Gujarath on October 2nd, 1869. Nearly a century and a half after his birth, the Mahatma is still remembered fondly all over the world for his exemplary life, dedicated to Truth. What Bhagawan had spoken of Gandhiji, exhorting His young students to take a leaf out of the Mahatma’s book…to become ideals…Remembering Mahatma Gandhi on the occasion of Gandhi Jayanti… In His childhood, Gandhi used to be full of fear. There was a maid in his home called Rambha. Gandhi disclosed to her how he was always afraid. Rambha told him “Child, always recite the Name of Rama. By chanting Rama’s Name, your fear will go away.” From that time Gandhi was always chanting the Name of Rama. The habit of reciting Rama’s Name, which began in his boyhood, continued right up to the moment of his passing. Nor was that all. By adhering to the chanting of Rama’s Name, Gandhi was able to achieve his aim of winning the country’s freedom by non-violent means. For such a life of purity and virtue, his parents were primarily responsible. Gandhi earned the appellation of “Mahatma” because of the sacred “Kokila Vratha” observed by his mother. Gandhi’s mother used to observe everyday a vow known as “Kokila Vratha”. As soon as she completed the ritual, she would wait for the call of the Kokila (the Indian cuckoo) before her breakfast. However, on one day, she waited for a long time, without taking food, for the call of the cuckoo. Noticing this, the young Gandhi went out of the house, imitating the cooing of the cuckoo and then told his mother, “Now that the cuckoo has made its call, please mother, take your food.” Unable to contain her grief, the mother slapped Gandhi on his cheeks and wailed. “What sin have I committed that such a liar should be born to me! What a great sinner I am to have begotten such a wicket liar as a son, Oh Lord!” She was shedding tears as she spoke. Deeply moved by his mother’s words, Gandhi made a promise to her, “In my life, henceforth, I will not utter falsehood.” Gandhi was teaching the aspect of Ahimsa (non-violence) to people in many ways. The meaning of Ahimsa is that either in thought, word or deed, you should not cause harm to anybody. Gandhi took a vow that till the end of his life, he will follow this. But on one occasion, when he saw a cow suffering from pain, he could not bear it and he advised the doctor to give an injection and end the life of the cow. Thus, in order to help the suffering individual, we may sometimes have to harm him. The only way in which one can take the path of Ahimsa is to recognize the oneness of the Atma that is present in all living beings and regard them all as equal. When Mahatma Gandhi wanted to go abroad to England for higher studies, his mother did not like it. Gandhi understood his mother’s fears about his maintaining sobriety and purity of conduct. So he made promises that he would not drink, would not smoke, and have no contacts with women. He kept up all three promises and returned with his principles of morality preserved intact. II Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu II