Sathya Sai Speaks 1969 · Doing the done
Read straight through
Doing the done
22 November 1969, All India Conference, Prasanthi Nilayam
Professor Kasturi's English.
1informed you about the resolutions adopted by the various sub-committees, suggesting modifications and additions to the rules already current, so far as the organisation is concerned. The main purpose running through all these regulations is known to you; it is the establishment of (Company of the pious), which will help the Realisation of the Reality, . It is to recover, in and through this agitated world, the peace that is your birthright, and utilise that peace for the illumination of the heart, which will reveal the splendour of the which you really are. So long as believed that he was the doer and the enjoyer of the rewards for the deed, he was miserable. But, when the Lord taught him and demonstrated to him that he was but an instrument, that his duty was only to surrender to the Will of the Lord, that those whom he sought to kill had already been killed by the Lord, he was freed from grief; he was filled with unspeakable peace. This is the teaching of all religions, a teaching that flows like a subterranean spring feeding all the external rites and ceremonies laid down in each religion according to the climate, geographic and demographic, of each region. These may be different from each other, but the basic lesson each religion teaches is to surrender to the sovereign Will of God, and leave the consequence of deeds well done, to the Lord Himself. It is His Will, and your only duty is to shape yourself into a fit instrument. To suppress the assertive ego, disciplines have been laid down in every religion, by every compiler of moral codes, by every educator and reformer of human morals. But the oldest, and most effective, and the most successfully practised system is the body of directives laid down in the and of India.- 2Develop probing into the idea of 'I' In a household, when the wife is a shrew, there can be no joy or peace. Or, if the husband is a drunkard and a cruel tyrant, the atmosphere is charged with hatred and grief. So too, in the body, when the mind is a shrew or when the intelligence is a tyrant, there can be no peace. The master of the household is the who is seldom recognised or identified as such. When the is discovered as the master, and recognised as such, joy reigns undisturbed in the home. Now, there is a certain T used in speech and thought as possessing the body and the limbs, the senses and the mind and the reasoning faculty, but there is no attempt to probe into the idea of the T and no keenness to spot out its whereabouts and characteristics. This is what is calledAtma-vichara (deliberation on the Self); every unit must encourage its member to develop this and not be content with the conventional items of club activity, like the unveiling of portraits. This search for the will be facilitated by a study of the and the , which is but the essence of Upanishadhic teachings. Or, it is enough if is cultivated, the that knows no distinction between oneself and another, because all are but limbs of the One Corpus of God Almighty. Through Love alone can the Embodiment of Love be gained. Here, no scholarship is needed; in fact, scholarship will be an impediment, for it caters to egoism and it breeds doubts and the desire for disputation and laurel of victory over others preening themselves as learned! When this Love is established, no member of the Organisation will compete with another, or look down on another. The bond of love will knit all into a rare type of family, which knows only one Will and one direction. Malice extraordinary may persuade some low minds to resort to the courts of law, for paying off private scores, but no member of the Organisation will ever do so, in the administration of the units, who values the (abode of virtue) that is available in this Form and Name.
- 3Do not fall a prey to the temptation of office Since the Presidents, Vice-Presidents and Secretaries are the only persons invited for these Conferences, I find that each Unit is breaking up into two, so that some individuals who claim prominence can come. The person who went to court for an injunction against some one else attending this Conference had this in view! He wanted to deprive another of what he thought was a unique honour. I ascribe this to the perversion of mind due to greed for prestige. I do not ration Grace on these silly principles; a person may not hold any office, but he is entitled to Grace, provided he is sincere in the faith and steady in Love. Do not fall a prey to the temptation of office and position of authority in these and . Hold the offices in rotation, so that all may get the opportunity of leading in service. There are some and which select office-bearers by lot. The members feel that any one who is allotted the post is as good as the others.
- 4The date for the beginning of the official year of the and and other units of the Organisations shall hereafter be the . , viz, the , which usually falls about January 14th. Annual Reports should reach the District and State Presidents and the Headquarters soon after this date, along with the names of newly elected Committees, if any. Another point to be noted is that public meetings can be arranged in a town or city only under the auspices of the Samithi. There should not be any competition between the Samithi and an overenthusiastic subsidiary unit, in arranging public meetings, involving printing and distribution of invitations, reception of speakers, and elaborate expenses, preparations for seating, loudspeakers, etc. The units of the Samithi will not have the resources for such functions and if each unit seeks to outshine the others, the atmosphere of cordiality and co-operation will be fouled. There should not be any factional struggles between the members of any unit or between one unit and another.
- 5Guidelines for conducting About this : Do not start too early or too late; you must go through the streets slowly, singing aloud the Names of all manifestations, just when the people of the locality are awaiting and preparing to meet the new day that is dawning. Do not carry any photo or picture with you, demonstrating your loyalty to any particular Form or Name. Walk along, in well arranged groups, men and women separately; do not plan in buses, tractors, cycles or carts. Do not compote with each other in singing and cultivate envy or hatred. Let those with a good voice and musical talent lead; the must be pleasant, it should not jar on the oar. If your voice is grating or out of tune, do not disturb the melody, but, repeat the Namavali in your mind. Sing so that the full significance of each Name is evident to the hearers. Do not repeat each line more than twice; let there be time during the journey for a variety of (compilation of divine names) dealing with many Forms and manifestations of God. Do not plan to go through distances too long for the party. Maintain the sacred atmosphere from the first step to the last.
- 6Devotion must confer peace and joy Gather in a temple or some holy place, repeat the (the sound of ) and (early morning serenade) and then, move on for . Repeat the slowly, contemplating its vast potentialities. The A emerges from the throat, the U rolls over the tongue and M ends on the lips; that is to say, which is a composite of A U and M is the sum and substance of all the words that can emanate from the human tongue. It is the primordial, fundamental sound, symbolic of the Universal Absolute. After the M there must be the unheard resonance, which represents the attributeless, formless, Abstract, the . The ascending voice of the or must take a curve at M and descend as slowly as it rose, taking as much time as when it ascended, disappearing in the silence, which echoes in the inner consciousness.
- 7Devotion must confer peace and joy; do not therefore use the and of which you are members to disturb your peace or the peace of others. If you remember that the one goal you must place before you is , and if you enter upon , then, such tendencies will not develop in you. It is because your aims are worldly, your ideals, material success, fame and authority over others, that you breed discord and doubt among the members. Change your attitudes and outlook. Make your lives worth while. Render the units more useful for all.