Give the giver the gift

23 November 1968, Birthday - 43, Prasanthi Nilayam

Professor Kasturi's English.

1

2

3

Control the tongue with double care So too, your inner 'nature,' your internal instruments! Of these, two are capable of vast harm; the tongue and sex. Since sex is aroused and inflamed by the food consumed and the drink taken in, the tongue needs greater attention. While the eye, the ear and the nose serve as instruments of knowledge about one particular characteristic of Nature, the tongue makes itself available for two purposes: to judge taste and to utter word-symbols of communication. You must control the tongue with double care, since it can harm you in two ways. Without the control of the senses, is ineffective; it is like keeping water in leaky pot, when the senses are given full sway. (the celebrated sage author of the ) has said that when tongue is conquered, victory is yours. When the tongue craves for some delicacy, assert that you will not cater to its whims. The monks and monastic dignitaries in this land have fallen prey to the tongue and are unable to curb its vagaries; they wear the robes of renunciation but clamour for tasty delicacies and thus bring the institution of monkhood into disrepute. If you persist in giving yourself simple food that is not savoury or hot, but amply sustaining, the tongue may squirm for a few days, but it will soon welcome it. That is the way to subdue it and overcome the evil consequences of its being your master.

4

5

6

7

You can be a pilgrim even while attending to your daily duties. Only, you have to feel that each moment is a step towards Him. Do everything as dedicated to Him, as directed by Him, as work for His adoration or for serving His children. Test all your actions, words, thoughts on this touchstone: "Will this be approved by God? Will this rebound to His renown?" In the epic of , you find the father (Emperor ) is infatuated with his dear wife and he sends his son to the forest in exile for fourteen years; the son, however, is such a true follower of righteousness that he exiles his dear wife to the forest, in obedience to the whisperings of a section of his people. The father was the slave of his senses; the son was master. God will approve the latter and disapprove the former. So also, those who have no conception of the Lord who is above and beyond all human conventions may cavil at some of the actions of , but, those who are aware of His Divinity will understand their true significance.

8

All men are cowherds, all animals are cows When you dedicate yourselves to the glorification of the Lord, you will revere the body, the senses, the intelligence, the Will and all the instruments of knowledge, action and feeling as essential for His work. While others will get intoxicated with pride, the (devotee) will be intoxicated with (selfless love). You have heard that when the Divine Cowherd boy played on the flute, the men, women and children and even the cattle of hurried to him, as if drawn by the irresistible magic of His music, Divine Melody, that stills all the turbid waves which we name as joy and grief. They left off the work they were engaged in; they had no other thought than the attainment of the Divine presence; the cattle stopped grazing, the calves stopped guzzling milk. The story of and the (cowherd-girls) has a deep inner meaning. is not a specific place on the map; it is the Universe Itself. All men are cowherds; all animals are cows. Every heart is filled with the longing for the Lord; the flute is the call of the Lord; the sport called (the sportive dance; the dance of in His boyhood with the cowherdesses), where Lord is described as dancing with the milk-maids in the moonlight - every maid has a boy- holding her hand in the dance - is the symbol of the yearning and the travail borne by those who aim at reaching His presence. The Lord manifests such Grace that each one of you has the Lord all for yourself; you need not be sad that you won't have Him, when others get Him; nor need you be proud that you have Him and no one else can have him at the same time! The Lord is installed in the altar of your heart.

9

10

Your pilgrimage to this place on this occasion is but a part of the long pilgrimage upon which you entered when you were born, which may not end even when you die. Do not forget that fact. Be pure, alert and humble as pilgrims ought to be. Treasure the good things you see and the basic truths you hear. Use them as props and promptings for further stages of the journey. It serves no purpose if you merely acknowledge that the Lord has come but do not yearn to benefit by the Advent. In the previous ages, in what are called , and (each or Age being a long cycle or time period in mythology) the Incarnations of the Lord were not accepted as such by many. Even their parents, kinsmen, and comrades hesitated to adore them. Only a few sages, who had cultivated the inner vision through study and , knew their reality.

11

Keep relationship with this Incarnation unbroken But, today in this , while the currents of contradiction and controversy are undermining faith and adoration, the good fortune that has brought you face to face with Me is something for which you must thank your merit won through many lives. This is no ordinary good fortune. This incarnation is moving with you, your job and grief in order to console, encourage and cure. This relationship is something unique; it has to be kept unbroken, until the goal is reached. Devotees who are attached to Me have a special responsibility. Vice-Chancellor Dr. referred in his speech to My direction that no one shall collect funds for any endeavour connected with My name. I want that you must replace -yearning with -yearning. Yearn for , not riches. Do not extend your hand before man, but ask of the Lord, and he will fill it with priceless treasure. Have that faith and carry on. I may make mention now of a letter written to Me by Dr. K. M. . (A great follower of , one of the architects of free India; a famous Gujarathi writer, founder of the , dedicated to the revival of the permanent values of Indian Culture). He has written that he came, he saw and he was conquered. Of course, what really happened was that his love merged in Mine; his (Bliss) merged in Mine, and he is happy beyond expression. He has suggested in that letter that, just as there are some days which are celebrated all over the world as holy days, My Birthday must be an all-world holy day; he has asked Me to bless this plan of making this day, a day of , the world over. I appreciate his attachment and devotion, but I do not encourage this adoration of just one name and one form, and that too, My present name and My present form.

12

Unfurl the flag on your own hearts I have no wish to draw people towards Me, away from the worship of My other names and forms. You may infer from what you call My miracles, that I am causing them to attract and to attach you to Me, and Me alone. They are not intended to demonstrate or publicise; they are merely spontaneous and concomitant proofs of Divine Majesty. I am yours; you are mine, for ever and ever. What need is there for attracting and impressing, for demonstrating your Love or My compassion? I am in you; you are in Me. There is no distance or distinction. ! am now hoisting the Flag on this . The flag is a sign that is significant for each one of you. It is a reminder of your duty to yourself, and so, when I hoist it on this building, you must unfurl it on your own hearts. It reminds you to overcome the urge of low desires, of anger and hate when your desires are thwarted; it exhorts you to expand your heart so that you embrace all humanity and all life and all creation in its compass; it directs you to quieten your impulses and calmly meditate on your own inner reality. It assures you that, when you do so, the lotus of your heart will bloom, and from its centre will arise the flame of divine vision, which guarantees (infinite peace). I must also tell you of certain preliminary disciplines' Practise when you are here the three disciplines of silence, cleanliness and forbearance. In silence can be heard the voice of God, not in the revelry of noise. Through cleanliness you earn purity. By forbearance, you cultivate love. You have come today to your own home. This is your home, not Mine. My home is your heart. So, do not try to have your lunch elsewhere but in your home, where you get this day food consecrated by Me, the .