Divine Words of wisdom by Sathya Sai Baba – On Discipline

1. Do not waste money, food, energy and time

x2001-01-19

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“Money makes many wrongs!!” hence money should not be used for wrong purposes. “Misuse of money is evil!!” The rich waste money in drinking, eating and behaving in an improper manner. That is not the proper way to utilise wealth. Wealth must be put to proper use. There are four important aspects: “Don’t waste food, don’t waste money, don’t waste energy, and don’t waste time! Time waste is life waste.” Time is wasted by indulging in useless talk. Instead of wasting time in idle talk one should use time properly by indulging in service to others. Swami wishes that everyone should help others to the extent possible.

2. Discipline is must in every action we do

x1996-06-19

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Discipline is therefore, a must in every single action one performs from dawn to dusk. In today’s world, people hardly understand what discipline means. In fact, they are totally ignorant about the need for sense control. The eyes, for example, have to be cautioned, “Oh eyes! What is it that you are looking at? Never look at anything that is bad.” See no evil, see what is good. Talk no evil, talk what is good. Hear no evil, hear what is good. Think no evil, think what is good. Do no evil, do what is good; that is the way to God. Do good, see good, talk good, hear good and think good – this is the discipline you must follow. Keep your tongue under control. No matter what is the provocation, you should remain calm and restrain yourself. Students! Even birds and animals observe some discipline. But man, despite all his education and knowledge is lacking in basic discipline. Near your hostel you would find some monkeys; if you watch them carefully, you would notice they remain silent for at least one hour during the day. Even birds remain silent for at least one hour a day. In contrast to birds and animals, humans can hardly keep quiet. It is rare to see people being silent. In fact, people who observe silence are made fun of. Following the example of such people, you too must try to be silent. Who is Brahman or God? Silence is God. In fact, absolute stillness in silence is God. It is such Divine power that is associated with silence. When speech is controlled, everything else comes under control. How come the tongue is vested with such power? The eye can only see, the ears can only hear and the nose can only smell. None of these organs has a second capability. By contrast, the tongue has two capacities, the ability to taste and the ability to speak. Thus, it is the tongue that must be controlled first. Many of you may be aware of car tyres and the extent to which they must be filled. Some people think all tyres must be filled to the same pressure; this is wrong. The front tyres must be filled to a slightly greater pressure than the rear ones. If the pressure is high, it must be decreased; likewise, if it is low, it must be increased.

3. Follow discipline on road; An analogy

x1996-06-19

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Discipline is needed on all occasions, whether one is laughing, sitting or walking. Some people walk as they please, as if even a wide road is not enough for them. One must walk only on the sidewalk or pavement so as not to disturb vehicular traffic. If instead one walked randomly, one would not only be violating road discipline but also hindering others. One must ensure that one does not cause inconvenience or pain to others. That is why Swami often says help ever, hurt never. Discipline is needed even while helping others. Such discipline must be cultivated in young age and that is the reason Swami often says: “Start early, drive slowly and reach safely.”

4. As is your feeling so is your vision

x1996-06-22

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God is never selfish. He is selfless. How can selfish people to know the selfless? One’s own thoughts reflect as one’s ideas about others. “Yad bhaavam tadbhavathi” as is the thought so is the manifestation. People imagine according to their own thoughts and feelings. Therefore the Upanishads too reiterated: “Munde munde matir bhinna”, different heads have different thoughts. It is not enough if one punishes the body, one should also punish the mind. ‘Putta paina mardhinchina paamu maranamonduna?’ Will a snake be killed by mere rubbing of its hood?” Tanuvunu taadandinchina vishayabhogammulu anuguna? Will mere punishing the body stop the sensual desires? Aakali dappulu veedinantha aatmagnyani taanaguna? Will giving up hunger and thirst result in knowledge of Atma? Taanevaro teliyakunna tatwa gnyaani yetlaguno? Without self realization can one know the philosophical truth?! First and foremost one must know oneself for that is the very purpose of human life.

5. The words, mind, ego and the spirit belong to the same family

x1996-06-25

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Students!! The culture of Bharath is noblest and second to none. Man is sum total of his mind. Mind is the conglomeration of thoughts. Thoughts result in actions. Actions determine the joy and sorrow. Man’s behaviour is the cause for the joy and sorrow that he experiences. One’s behaviour is based on one’s thoughts. Mind is the collection of thoughts. Hence man is called as “Manishi”, human, as he originates from mind. Without mind man cannot be human. The one with mind is “Manishi”, human. Birds and animals do not have a mind. Therefore “Vaak”, word originates from the mind. The mind originated from ego and ego is a reflection of ‘Atma’, the soul. Hence the word, the mind, ego and the soul belong to the same family. Word, mind and ego together help man to attain Divinity. When there is harmonious relationship amidst all the three, then man attains divinity. When there is disharmony among these three it leads to restlessness.

6. The attributes of wisdom – Sraddha, Rutham, Sathya and Yoga

x1996-06-21

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The first one is “Shraddha”. It has two meanings: ‘interest’ and ‘stability’. Shraddha is comprised of two aspects, namely ‘interest’ and ‘stability’. It is not enough if one has just ‘Shraddha’ or interest; one should have full faith in one’s interest. Therefore intellect has these two, namely the ‘interest’ and ‘stability’. The power of intellect is ‘Rutham’. What is its effect? It is the discrimination of good and bad under at all times that is the past, present and future, the three phases of time. The harmony of the thought, word and deed is called as ‘Rutham’. The word ‘Rutham’ is truly applicable only when there is purity in thought, word and deed. Hence the second aspect after ‘Shraddha’ is ‘Rutham’. Expressing the nature of ‘Rutham’ by way of word is called as ‘Sathyam’. ‘Sathyam’ or truth is that spoken word which comes from deep faith in the purity and unity of thought, word and deed. Merely uttering that, which is seen, heard or done, as it is, does not amount to truth or ‘Sathyam’; it only becomes a fact or ‘nizamu’. There is wide difference between truth and fact. There is a gulf of difference between intelligence and intellect; they are considered as same by people who do not know the difference between the two. Therefore truth is the expression of the nature of Rutham in word. The fourth aspect is ‘yoga’. What is ‘yoga’? There are many kinds of ‘yoga’ in the world today. According to Patanjali Yoga sutras yoga is defined as “yogaha chitta vruttinirodhakaha” meaning yoga is to have total control over one’s senses. Yoga means to have all the powers in a human under his control. Having total control is called as yoga. Exercising control over what one hears is yoga; control over smell is yoga; controlling one’s speech is yoga; control over one’s thoughts is yoga- therefore yoga is having control over the five senses. However one has to talk and cannot give up talking. But how should one talk? One must talk with purity and unity of thought, word and deed. One must not engage in arguments over untruth. Arguing about things unknown to oneself is ignorance. Arguments breeds hatred and disunity. Hence Vedas say, “Vaade vaade varjyathe vairam” meaning continuous argument gives scope to enmity. Therefore students should have full faith on the control over the senses. This age is very sacred, divine and a one that lays a royal path to bright future. It is the age where one builds the royal path to bright future. Today’s youngsters are the emancipators of this country. Sense control is the first and foremost lesson that the students should learn. Therefore, the combination of steadfastness, the Rutham, the truth and the yoga amounts to the mighty power. The divine manifestation is the mighty power. In that divinity, exists the Rutham; Sathyam, the truth, shines on this mighty power. Hence it is said that ‘truth is God’. Steadfastness is also divine for it is only through steadfastness that one can aspire to attain knowledge- “Shraddhavaan labhate gyanam”. Gyanam, wisdom, is God. It is said, “Sathyam gyanam anantham brahma!” meaning God is truth, God is wisdom, and God is without limits. Therefore truth is God; Rutham is God, Shraddha is God, Yoga is divine. God has so many names viz., “Yogeeshwara”, “siddhi sankalpa”, “sankalpa siddha”, and “yoga Yogeeshwara”. Of all the five aspects “buddhi” or intellect is the most important. The vedas reiterate this fact as “buddhi graahyam ateendriyam”. Intellect is transcendental, beyond the senses. Comparing such intellect with intelligence is not proper.

7. Three p's important for building good character

x1996-06-24

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Embodiments of Love!! In order to be successful in the field of spirituality, every man must develop the trinity of character. The first one is ‘pavitram’ purity, sanctity. The second one is ‘sahanam’, patience. And the third one is ‘pattudala’, perseverance. These three have been called as ‘pikara trayam’- the three ‘p’s. The first ‘P’ is “purity”. The second ‘P’ is “patience” and the third ‘P’ is “perseverance”. The man, who develops the three aspects of character, sanctifies and redeems his life.

8. What is Sankhyamu in Vedanta

x1996-07-31

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The second one is ‘Sankhyamu’. It refers to the ‘panchendriya’, the five senses, ‘pancha prana’ the five life breaths, ‘Pancha bhoota’, the five elements , ‘Pancha Kosamu’ the five life sheaths, the mind, ‘Chittamu’- intellect, ‘Antahkarana’- conscience, jeevamu -the in-dweller- these twenty five aspects. Then one must properly investigate and research each aspect to know the real ‘I’. Investigation and enquiry must lead one to know that none of them is the real “I”. Believing that none of the aspects help in knowing the real principle of one self- the atma, one must realise that the principle of Atma is the sat-chit-ananda which is beyond enquiry and beyond the transcendental. Ultimately one realises that the sath-chit-ananda is atma and that one is atma, and realises the total identification of the “I” with the Atma. This is called as ‘Sankhya Yoga’. It involves a thorough enquiry of the inner as well as the outer senses.