The bird on the swinging bough

2 April 1965, Ugadi, Repalle

Professor Kasturi's English.

1

The New year is called and you must take it as a call to strengthen your (Faith); faith in your own , your own Divinity, which manifests itself as Love, as desire for immortality, as detachment, as admiration of virtue, the awe and wonder that Nature provokes. But, man is neglecting a grand opportunity, the opportunity of imbibing his own genuine grandeur. He prefers to burn the sandalwood trees for sale as charcoal, for, he does not know the value of the wood. The Divine he takes to be just human; the goal he has set before himself is the winning of and ; that is the proper thing to do, but, he stops after a few steps, mistaking the pseudo for the real, that is the tragedy. He believes that if he gets two full meals a day, a few yards of cloth to wear, and a roof over his head, with a few sundry superfluities, he has reached the goal; but the joy he derives is paltry, mixed with grief, easily turning into pain, harmful to others, full of pride, envy, malice, greed and other harmful ingredients. The body that is sustained on food which will not keep fresh for even a few hours, how can it be fresh for long? That which is made and marred cannot for that very reason be truth; for, truth cannot be made and marred. It is, was and will be, without any modification. What is the immortal part of man? Is it the wealth he has accumulated, the residences he has built, the physique he has developed, the health he has acquired, the family he has reared? No, all that he has done, developed or earned are destroyed; he has to leave them all to the ravages of time. He cannot take with him even a handful of earth, the earth he loved so much. If only the dead could take with them a handful each, earth would have become so scarce that it should have been rationed by now! Discover the immortal 'I' and know that it is the spark of God in you; live in the companionship of the vast measureless Supreme and you will be rendered vast and measureless.

2

Consider all objects that you collect here as given on 'trust' to be used in this caravanserai, during your pilgrimage, in this (the field of action). You have to return them when you leave; they belong to another. When you hold a currency note in your hand and say proudly, 'This is mine" that note laughs at you, for, it says, "O, how many thousand persons have I known, who have prided themselves like this!" The body is but a tent. Don't fondle that delusion; pant for the (indweller), He who resides therein and makes it active, makes it ponder and conclude and act.

3

The body is but a tent for the pilgrim As the carpenter shapes the wood, the blacksmith shapes iron, the goldsmith shapes gold, so the Lord shapes in His own way, as the fancy suits Him, or the Created Universe, the Manifold, woven of Space and Time and . Know that the Lord is the basis; and lose all fear. The tiny sparrow sits on the storm-tossed bough, because it knows that its wings are strong; it does not depend upon the tossing bough to sustain it. So too, rely on the Grace of God; earn it and keep it. Then, whatever the strength of the storm, you can survive it without harm. Discriminate; discriminate all the time; use and (spiritual knowledge) and experience of the waking stage, the dream stage and the stage of deep sleep. In the dream stage the senses are negated; (intellect) does not work; only the mind is the master: it creates its own 'world'. A tiger mauls you in the dream; a snake strikes deep into your leg. You feel all the pain and all the fear. How do you cure the unhappy man? There is no need to bring a doctor or a magician with his charms. Wake him; he is cured! He knows that there was no tiger or snake or bite or pain. So too, will immediately remove all the dual experiences of joy and grief, derived from these non-real objects.

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You have six fires raging in you When fire rages, you try to put it out by throwing sand or water, and you keep a stock of these in readiness. But, you have six fires raging inside 'you - lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride and hatred. What have you in store to put them out? Keep ready ; , and . They will help you to scotch the flames; they are effective extinguishers. Each one eats to assuage his own hunger; so too each one must discover the best way to appease his own spiritual hunger. Do not be led away by the scorn of others or by the recommendation of others. Contact your own reality in the silence that you create by quietening the senses and controlling the mind. There is a Voice that you can hear in that silence. The true witness of your having listened to that Voice is your behaviour. A tree is held and fed by the roots that go into the silent earth; so also, if the roots go deep into the silence of your inner consciousness, your spiritual blossoming is assured. Yesterday, a very large number of old men, women and children were put to great trouble, since there was great rush and jostling for space. Since all were moved by towards Me, I felt responsible for all that. I sometimes feel that I should not thus move out to places, for when of people come, quiet becomes difficult. The loudspeakers too joined in adding to the confusion by going out of action. You must learn not to lose patience, but to wait and put the chance to the best use.