Sublimate Your Intellect and Develop the Power of Discrimination

“For the miser who cannot enjoy the comforts of life, 
Of what use are the riches? 
He is like a dog that can only lick the water, 
Even though a lot of water flows in the river. 
He can never be contented and happy.” 
(Telugu poem)

Embodiments Of Sacred Atma! 
The human birth is very difficult to attain. That is why it is said "Jantunam nara janma durlabham" (among the animals, the human birth is very difficult to get). It is very unfortunate not to make an effort to sanctify such a rare and sacred human birth and make it purposeful. The intellect which is the exclusive privilege of a human being among God’s creation, brings lustre to the human life. The Manavatva (human quality) develops in direct proportion to the blossoming of the intellect. As the jnana (wisdom) increases the quality of human life unfolds. We attach value to a bamboo stick considering its length, thickness and strength. The sugarcane is valued for its juice. The bull is valued on the basis of its strength and beauty. Similarly a human being is given value on account of the intellect he possesses. 

Embodiments of Divine Atma! We nourish and nurture our body in several ways and try to provide comforts and conveniences to make it happy. Ultimately, what happens to this body? To whom does it belong? Death takes it into its fold. It does not belong to us. Knowing fully well that the body is evanescent and ephemeral, it is a disgrace to the very humanness not to make an effort to sanctify human life with the help of the intellect. 

It is a common practice to indicate the date of return with letters painted on the railway goods wagons. Similarly, the human body is given a date of return written in invisible letters. It has to return one day or the other to its place of origin. But, few make an effort to realise this truth. The wagon called this human body has to return to its place of origin on a particular day at a particular moment. It is the duty of a human being to make an effort to realise that truth and be prepared to reach his final abode, even before the body sets out on its return journey. The mind and its sankalpas haunt a person from one birth to the other. Hence, a man of wisdom is expected to sublimate his intellect and develop the power of discrimination.

The human life can be compared to a big stream. In this stream, several waves called desires rise. There are also several crocodiles called delusion, in this stream. Instead of making an effort to come out of such a turbulent stream infested with crocodiles and reach the bank safely, it is foolish and rather dangerous to aspire for living in that stream for ever.

Man has to seek refuge in the abode of sacrifice, one day or the other. Sacrifice denotes getting released from attachment. Another name given to it is mukti (liberation). Then the question arises what should be sacrificed - whether the body or the mind with numerous desires or something else. Sacrifice is not to be construed as renouncing family and property and living in a forest, as is generally believed. The real meaning of tyaga (sacrifice) is giving up vancha (desires). The desires in Vedantic parlance are referred to as kama. By renouncing kama, we would have renounced everything in the world. One may have a doubt in this context whether by merely renouncing kama, can the other qualities of krodha (anger) and lobha (greed) be also removed? Yes, it is possible, since the qualities of krodha and lobha often get mixed up with kama. Once kama is removed, the other qualities associated with it, namely krodha and lobha will also be removed.

The human being is an embodiment of the triune path to Divinity namely Karma (action), Bhakti (devotion) and Jnana (wisdom). It is the foremost duty of such a triune human being to sanctify his life by Karma (action), cultivate calm serenity by Bhakti (devotion) and reach the goal of jnana (wisdom). The human body shall be engaged in performing sacred karmas and service to the society. To dedicate one’s body to the service of fellow human beings is satkarma (good or beneficial activity) in the real sense. However, there will be several obstacles in this path. Jealous and intolerant people will be creating hurdles in the activity. Such people are to be called as “enemies of the beggars.” They are like the dogs sitting on a haystack. A dog will neither consume the hay nor will allow the cattle to eat it. We should therefore not succumb to such evil thoughts. The noble thoughts arising in our mind must be sublimated by dedicating our body to the service of the society, in keeping with the maxim "Paropakarartham idam sariram" (This human body is given to us for helping others).

When the karmas are performed with kama (desire) the sanctity of the karmas will be lost. That is why it is said, "Kamena karma nasanam.” The desire is spoiling the karmas and does not allow satkarmas (good and beneficial activities) being performed. The next one is krodha (anger). It will destroy the discriminatory intellect man possesses, as explained in the maxim "Krodhena jnana nasanam." It is also said that krodha is the dhuma (smoke) of papa (sin). Anger does not allow the humanness in man to manifest itself.

“Anger will destroy one’s wealth of discrimination, 
It will reduce one’s honour and prestige to ashes; 
It will create a divide between him and his kith and kin; 
Ultimately people will loose everything on account of anger. 
(Telugu poem)

Not only this. Anger will burn away the energy in the body. Once you get angry, it will burn away the strength acquired from three months’ food. When people get angry, the first reaction would be that the body gets heated up and blood pressure rises, resulting in nervous weakness. To recoup the lost energy, one has to concentrate on special diet for three months, which will affect one’s sadhana and performance of satkarmas. It is therefore, the foremost duty of a sadhaka not to give scope at all to anger. 

The third quality to be avoided by a Sadhaka is lobha (greed ). It is associated with kama (desire) and kanchana (gold, representing wealth). It has two stages - one to accumulate and another to enjoy. These two can be compared to the demons Hiranyaksha and Hiranyakasipu. A person who has succumbed to these demons will have no peace and happiness at all, leave alone enjoyment. Such a person will move away from Divinity and loses his purity. He even forgets his Atma tattva.

Embodiments of Divine Atma! It is very essential that you should make an effort to enjoy the bliss flowing in your own inner self by controlling these kama (desire), krodha (anger) and lobha (greed), as far as possible. The sankalpas arising in our mind alone are responsible for these bad qualities which are, in fact, enemies to us. And, for these sankalpas, the agility of the mind is the basis. Hence, an effort is to be made to control the mind in the first instance. We should never allow the mind to roam about freely. Even while undertaking a small work, one has to analyse whether it will bring about lasting result or a temporary one; whether it will be worthwhile to undertake that job and whether by doing so, will it enhance our humanness or bring down our honour and prestige.

It is quite common to encounter several hurdles and obstacles even in our spiritual sadhana. Especially, people who are highly devoted to God will face a number of difficulties, losses and sorrows. In such situations, one has to reconcile himself that these are meant to be tests for one’s faith and devotion to God, which will in fact strengthen them further

When you wish to hang a photo frame to a wall, you will drive a nail into the wall first and see whether it is firmly fixed. Then only, will you hang the frame on the wall. Similarly, when you wish to hang the picture of Paramatma on the wall of your heart, you must first drive the nail of faith with the hammer of sadhana and see whether it is firmly fixed. All those obstacles and hurdles which we encounter in our path of sadhana occur only to strengthen our faith in God, not for losing our faith. Hence, we must continue our sadhana unmindful of these obstacles and hurdles. We will certainly end up as winners. It is said “pleasure is an interval between two pains.” Without pain, none can experience happiness. In fact, pleasure and pain are inseparable. None can separate them. It is impossible to come across happiness, exclusively. “If difficulties fructify, happiness is the result.”

Embodiments of Divine Atma! We have enquired into the nature of the mind to a certain extent during the last nine days. We have been able to realise the fact that the mind is responsible for everything. We have also analysed the statement "Manayeva manusyanam karanam bandha moksayoh" (the mind alone is the cause for either bondage or liberation). It is time for us now to translate this analysis into an action - programme and conduct ourselves with discrimination, without being influenced by the waywardness, illusion and mischievous pranks played by the mind. I wish that you should develop self-less and divine love and perform all your actions in a spirit of dedication to God and thereby sanctify your time and be the recipients of divine grace. Since you are all Sadhakas and devotees, if you can change your food habits and take satvika food through the five senses, the adroitness of the mind stops. You must take food for satiating your hunger, not for enjoying a variety of dishes. We take bitter medicine for getting cured of malaria fever, but we do not go by its taste. Just as we are prepared to take even a bitter medicine to cure our bodily disease, so also we must be prepared to take satvika food unmindful of its taste, to cure our Bhavaroga. By taking satvika food through our five senses of action and five senses of perception and by controlling our mind at least to a certain extent, it is possible to attain purity and sanctity in our life.

Embodiments of love! For the last nine days, you are undergoing a lot of physical strain by sitting in these premises continuously for four hours daily from 3.00 p.m. to 7.00 p.m. In fact, it is a tapas (penance) to sit for such long hours. You will surely reap the fruit of your sadhana in due course. In a few minutes from now, there is Jhula festival today. I am, therefore concluding My discourse wishing you all a very holy and blissful Dasara. I hope you will all be able to fulfil your desires and attain your goal, in future. I bless one and all.