Happiness And Sorrow Are The Making Of One’s Own Mind

29 September 1976, Dasara, Poorna Chandra Auditorium, Prasanthi Nilayam

Published English.

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“One who has succumbed to his inner enemies How can he conquer the external enemy? One who has realised the is verily the sanctified one This is the truth here revealed.” (Telugu poem)

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Embodiments of Divine !

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Where there is rise, there shall be fall as well. All that is accumulated shall dwindle. Where there is (union), there shall be (separation) also. The consequence of birth is death. A human being will be awaiting the dawn to start his daily chores. He will also be waiting for the sunset, so that he may cool his senses and have a sound sleep and thereby enjoy peace and happiness. However, he is unable to realise the truth that the same sunrise and sunset are curtailing his life span day by day, bringing him sorrow. He is so ignorant as not to realise the truth that where there is happiness, there is sorrow as well. He is also unable to understand the reality that sorrow and happiness are, after all, the making of one’s own mind.

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It is but natural that a lion preys upon the cow. It is its nature. Once King went to the forests for hunting. He saw a ferocious lion ready to pounce upon a cow, which is satvika in nature. In order to save that cow, king offered himself as prey to the lion and requested the lion to release the cow and eat him, instead. This story is contained in the glorious history of our country. There is an underlying meaning in this incident. King was a by caste. His duty was to protect and save the life of a in danger. Having discharged his sacred , King could win Divine grace. By Divine grace, the Lion let off not only the cow which it was about to kill, but King also. Thus, has saved both the cow as well as the King. That is why it has been said, "", which means when is protected, it will in turn protect us. Unfortunately, today man is not able to realise his . With the result, he is prepared to annihilate . Instead of striving to protect , he is resorting to several methods by which he hopes to attain (liberation). The true meaning of the word or is release (release from bondage). Every living being can be considered to be a (aspiring for liberation) in a way, since it wishes to get released from a particular thought or object and hold on to another.

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A small example. A child is hungry. When its mother gives food, it is relieved of its hunger and feels happy. Getting relieved of hunger by taking food, is a sort of (liberation). But, this is a temporary . Another example. When someone indulges in over-eating, he suffers from indigestion. To relieve himself of this disease of indigestion, he goes to a Doctor. By virtue of the treatment given by the Doctor, he is cured of his disease and feels happy. This is also a sort of , which is temporary. In the two examples given above, both the mother as well as the Doctor have provided only temporary , but not permanent . Thus, there will be several instances of temporary in the life of a human being. These cannot be termed as in the real sense. However, there is something beyond these temporary phases of . Having experienced which we do not wish to experience anything else, having the vision of which we do not wish to visualise anything else and having enjoyed which we do not wish to enjoy anything else –– that state is called (liberation forever).

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A small example. Supposing a person died in a house. The relatives, friends and neighbours visit that house and try to console the members of the family enquiring “! what happened to this gentleman? What was his disease? Did you call the Doctor? Was he treated well by the Doctor? Any medicines were given?” etc. By such consoling, the members of the family feel satisfied that these people really cared for them and enquired about their welfare in this hour of calamity. Can the other hand, if someone who realised the truth behind birth and death visits the house and tries to reason “Those who are born must die one day or the other and this gentleman was born, lived his full life and died ultimately,” they feel very sad and disgusted at his behaviour. They may feel “what sort of a person is this man! How stone-hearted! Instead of enquiring about our welfare and trying to console us in this hour of calamity, this man is very casually declaring that those who are born must die.” It is but matural that they feel sad at this man’s behaviour. Truth is always bitter. Those who are accustomed to temporary satisfaction and paltry things in life believe in only untruth. They lead a life of delusion.

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The body that performs the is itself temporary. When the body itself is temporary, can the performed by such a body ever be permanent? When the are temporary, can the results of the be permanent? Not realising this truth, man today is craving for the fruit of even the smallest good he performs or a good thought or good behaviour. The fruit of such mundane will only confer temporary joy, but not eternal bliss. Life itself is momentary. The body is like a water bubble, ready to blow off any moment. Our life itself is transitory. Man, today is struggling to attain the fruit of his on a lasting basis, while he himself is leading a momentary life. All this craving is nothing but delusion.

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When you wish to experience the eternal principle of , and (Truth, Auspiciousness and Beauty) and attain the supreme abode of peace and bliss, you must be prepared for some sacrifices also. Without truth, there can be no beauty. Without beauty, there can be no . The first stage in is contemplating on the principle “Truth is God.” The second stage is “Truth is .” The third stage is “Truth is Beauty.” Thus, the basis for all the three is only truth. Though (Truth), (Auspiciousness) and (Beauty) appear to be three different words with three different meanings, they are interrelated. Just as word cannot exist without meaning and vice versa, out of the three concepts of , and , one cannot exist without the other.

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Once, the Princess of Greece took a vow that she will marry only that person who would defeat her in a running race. She was a famous runner. She defeated several Princes in the running race. Unable to bear the ignominy of the defeat, they used to run away. It is but natural that those who suffered defeat will nurse a grudge against the opponents. A few Princes who were angry with her on account of their defeat in the running race and who felt insulted were bent upon teaching her a lesson somehow. They were thinking of the ways and means by which the Princess can be defeated and her ego subdued. Having realised the truth that only some great who have conquered the senses and who renounced everything in the world can suggest a solution to their problem, they approached one such great Rsi. He suggested a nice tactic by which the Princess can be defeated. He told the group “Look! My dear Princes! You seem to be wearing a number of valuable ornaments. Take one by one and drop them on the way while running along with the Princess in the running race. I am sure she will fall behind and you will win the race.” As suggested by the Rsi, one Prince went and challenged the Princess for a running race. While both were running in the competition, the Prince took out one ornament after another and started dropping on the ground here and there, on the way. Tempted by these valuable and glittering ornaments, the Princess stopped at each of the places where they were dropped, picked them and started running again. With the result, she could not reach her destination in time. In the meanwhile, the Prince who was running by her side reached the goal and won the race. The Princess was defeated. As per the condition set out by her, she married this Prince.

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The story narrated above reveals the truth that in order to achieve something valuable, an equally valuable object has to be scarified. It is only then, the fruit cherished for can be achieved. Similarly, when you wish to court the Princess of the Kingdom of , you have to offer some valuable ornaments. The good qualities are the valuable ornaments. In fact, good and bad, both are the products of the mind.

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“Unless one gets rid off sloth and slumber () one cannot realise the truth. Unless one is free from passionate activity (), one cannot attain devotion. It is only through calm serenity (), one can attain devotion. This is the truth being revealed.” (Telugu poem)

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Embodiments of Love! It is better to realise that the duty of a is to make an effort to channelise the mind in sacred and beneficial activities and thereby sanctify one’s life. (liberation) is not merely to discard fleeting thoughts and desires. One has to develop faith in the Eternal principle and thereby cultivate pure, unwavering and selfless love. That is the pathway to . One should not think that is simply getting detached from an object or a desire. If this is considered to be the yardstick for , everyone is a (Aspirant for liberation). They are not however, (liberated souls), since they develop attachment to some other object or entertain another desire. To channelise the mind in right direction and thereby unravel the ‘Mystery of the mind’ is the real meaning of (liberation).

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I have been quoting an example quite often in My discourses. However, since some new people are here, I have to repeat. This is a cloth. The basis for this cloth is the threads woven into warp and woof. Without these threads, there can be no cloth at all. Similarly, the threads of our desires join together to make the cloth of our mind. The threads and cloth are not different. Supposing you take out one thread after the other, there is no cloth at all! Similarly, when one desire after the other is kept aside, the mind does not exist at all! Hence, if you wish to know the secret of the mind, know that the mind is a bundle of desires. When the desires are removed completely, that state itself is (liberation). Once, a disciple went to his teacher and asked “! I do not have any desires to be fulfilled in this world. I have only one desire. I want .” The teacher then replied “The fact that you do not have any desires is itself ; you can go.”

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How then can we reduce our desires? In fact, you need not try to reduce your desires. The best and easiest would be to divert all your desires towards God. Whatever you aspire for, whatever you see - everything should be done in a spirit of dedication to God. If you can achieve this, that is enough. We have also to realise the truth that the same Divine permeates every living being and all are Embodiments of Divine . This can be achieved by a conscious effort and spiritual . In fact, even in our worldly life, nothing can be achieved without a dedicated effort. A small example. If an effort is made to walk, even an ant can cover some miles. But, even a kite cannot move an inch if it does not put in effort. That is why it has been said that anything can be achieved in this world by . It is only when we undertake deliberately shall we be entitled to receive the fruit of our .

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Embodiments of Divine ! Your will become fruitful, if you make an effort to calm down your emotions and agitations as far as possible and divert your mind in right direction.