How to increase (Shradda ) Faith towards Baba

SAI WORSHIP - SHRADDA (FAITH) (English Talk)

                                      Miracle Picture - Baba

How to increase (Shradda ) Faith towards Baba?

As humans, we have extraordinary gift given by Eeswara that is Intellect (Buddhi).  We use this intellect in everyday life to make our lives better. Do we trust our mind all the time? No, we analyze and dissect everything, that is presented to us and make sure that is good for us. Sometimes we have to choose between two good things.  We are filled with conflict in favorable situations and difficult situations.  We do not like that middle ground. Either we want pleasure or face sorrow. If we are in the middle, we keep feeling bored.

What makes us love, like and adore our children, our family and whatever belongs to us?

What pushes us away from certain things, certain people and certain situations?

Why we have preferences and what makes us choose objects, relations and situations?

If we can stay calm and try to understand these questions on an individual basis, we can find some answers. It might be difficult to answer these questions initially for some people but we have to dig deeper. Can we put our finger on these daily issues and start thinking!

How is this important in relation to Sai?

If we understand how and why we like certain people, objects and situations, then we understand ourselves. If we make our mind to think about God without properly understanding ourselves, our patterns and how we behave, you will not be able to succeed in this divine task. Of course, good deeds and karma will influence your path. But we are talking about people, who want to walk the path of Guru.

So Sai Bandhus, try to question your motives, patterns and how you react in different situations. What makes you react, what makes you love something and what makes you to stick with a particular task.

We all might differ to some extent but we all are human beings and we are wired the same way. The so called Maya (Illusion) will influence our thinking because we do not know the Dharma (Righteousness) and we don’t follow the commandments of God. It is a pity some times that we do not even know what this is.  We feel guilty, struggle and feel sorry for our lives because we cannot love Sai the way we want. Sometimes we drift away in this worldly ocean not knowing where we end up. Everything around us seems so real, we start making excuses first, and then slowly we rationalize our behaviors. 

Baba is watching us in these situations and he will guide us if we can establish relationship with him. That is called Runanubandha (Spiritual relationship).

Let us now go into specifics. Why I like anything in this world is because it belongs to me. We like our Country, state we live in, Town, our neighborhood, our house, family, finally ourselves. This is the hierarchy that we follow as a human being. Whatever we think that we own, we tend to love that. If it does not belong to us, we are not sure about it.

Love Sai Like your family member:

So to love Sai, make Sai your family member first.

Treat him like your family member; think that he is living with you.

 If you have a son, daughter, mother, father, brother, or any relationship that you adore, identify Baba in a similar way. Think for a moment how you treat your family and try to apply same emotions to this relationship also. If we spend some thing for our family do something for Baba also.

Perform your actions with Sai in mind:

You get up in the morning- Think that you are waking Baba also. Of course you take care of your children and apply similar principles. Whatever you do, keep Baba beside you both physically and mentally.  We can continue all the daily activities. This is the reason why our Hindu dharma kept puja (worship) system from morning to night in our temples. This is to remind us about God in every action that we perform. Mind always responds to routine and discipline.

If you are eating, try to offer the food first to BABA by a mental prayer and then eat.

If you are drinking, think that you are drinking Baba’s theertha (Blessed water).

When you feed your children, think that you are feeding Baba.

When you are in the community, reflect Sai’s teachings in your behavior.

Do not limit Baba to your Puja mandir or temple:

If we have a most revered person standing or sitting in your living room; how do we behave and what is our mental state. Can we be like that, most of the time!

 It might be difficult, we might feel difficulty initially, but it is fine. God will understand, he saw our behaviors for so many Janmas (Lives).

We need to improve gradually and ask Baba every time to give you the strength to change. Always think that Baba is watching you.

Learn to make small sacrifices in your daily life:  

We have wrong notion about Sanyasa (Renunciation) and it is definitely not just wearing saffron clothes and giving up family life. This is about giving importance to Parameswara, our Guru and experiencing God’s presence. This means, ultimately realizing that we are one with Paramatma that is Supreme Soul. These adjustments will create a positive relationship with Sai. Sai will shower his grace upon us.

Understand what discipline and regularity mean.

Time is essence;  Years go by very quickly and by the time you realize, your body gets old.

Start waking up little bit early. Have discipline with your sleep patterns.

Give up gossip time.

Do not encourage people to be negative around you.

Be positive about your interactions.  

It might be easier to talk about these things and practicing them could be much more difficult. When we need something in our lives, either it is exam, job related or family related issues, we make adjustments. All we need to do is convince our minds that this is the important thing in your life. There is nothing more that you want.

Are we that busy that we do not have enough time to thank the Supreme who gave us everything?

The air to breathe; Wait until you need oxygen when you cannot breathe anymore!

Body that functions in a perfect way; What if we are unable to eat, we cannot digest the food or eliminate the food. 

What if our heart stops beating?

The harmony of the Nature: What if the earth stops rotating and there is no Sun?

So where are we running; stop and think for a while!!!!!

This will definitely make you love God more than anything. We thank so many people in our lives but we take it for granted these natural things. This kind of thinking will inculcate devotion, love and gratitude towards God.

Try to associate yourselves with people, who have similar thinking (Satsangh):

All the scriptures emphasized the importance of company of great and saintly people. This is called POSITIVE ASSOCIATION (Satsangh).

 If we associate with people who do not have this kind of inclination and no appreciation for God, it is called NEGATIVE ASSOCIATION. We will take negative energy from the negative situations and this drains us both physically and psychologically. Some days you do not know why you feel tired and the reason is obvious.

   

 If we have company of like minded people, we will feel positive and we can feed off from each other. This will help us love God more and feel bliss and peace in everyday life.

So Sai bandhus, let us understand these principles and get closer to Sai by having Shradda (Complete Faith).

Let Sai bless all of us. 

OM SAI RAM!

                 

How to Worship Baba & Love him more

How to worship Baba (English Talk) Click here

1) Accept him as your “Only Guru”, God and your savior:

Shirdi residents were really blessed; they worshiped him and constantly thought of him while eating, drinking or sleeping.

They were singing his glory while working on the farm, or being in their backyard, grinding, husking or churning buttermilk and sing the praises of Sai all the time.

There were those who never thought of any deity other than Baba and who continuously remembered him while sitting, eating or sleeping.

We also need to think about Sai all the time.

2)Understand him through devotion:

Because of the devotion of the devotees, the “ Nirakar ” (that which is without form) has manifested in Shirdi in the form of Saakara -Sai.

Understand that; SAI means “Saakshat – Eeswara”. If you worship Sai, you are worshipping Supreme God that is Paramatma.

  

Show utmost devotion, Shradda (Faith) and Sabhuri (patience) towards Sai and you will be saved by Sai at every step.

3) Understand his nature and qualities:

He is the embodiment of the six virtues;  

He shines with success, wealth, non-attachment, intelligence, prosperity and generosity. These are the Supreme God’s qualities. Like Sri Krishna is a Sampoorna Avatar (Pure & Total Incarnation), Sai is also Sampoorna Avatar in the form of Guru.

Baba’s restraint is extra – ordinary. He himself does not possess anything. Though he is formless, he takes the form to grant grace to his devotees. He is the embodiment of mercy.

4) Understand that we are very lucky to have Sai as our GURU:

The collective good deeds (Punya karmas) of the devotees have borne fruit completely at the opportune time. In Sai’s form, they have sprouted and borne fruit at Shirdi.

That, which is mute, breaks into speech;

That, which cannot be born, has taken birth;

That, which is near death, came alive;

That, which is disease prone, became healthy;

That, which is in difficulty, became free;

That, which is abstract, has taken a form from the very mould of the essence of mercy.

5) Understand and learn from Baba’s humble attitude:

Baba loves his devotees so much, and his words spoken with great humility present that evidence.

“I am the humblest of your servants. I am your debtor. I have come here to have your darshan. This is a great favor of yours that I have been able to reach your feet. I am a maggot in your excreta. I consider myself blessed thereby”.

What humility Baba showed when he said these words. We can learn so much from this. It should inculcate a desire in us to be humble in our daily life and this has to be a practical Sadhana. This is better than any other worship.

This will help us in getting rid of the Ego (Ahamkara).  

6) Recite Sai’s name all the time:

If speech has become impure;

If the sin of hearing is to be avoided;

If the sin of all five senses to be avoided;

Let us recite Sai’s name continuously. It will cleanse the sins of all.

*So Sai Bandhus incorporate Baba in to your daily life and in every action you perform.

This is the best way you can have a perfect relationship with Shirdi Sai.

 If we can do this Baba will show his grace and lead you to ultimate goal.

  

Let Sai bless all of us!

OM SAI RAM!

The Good and the Pleasant (Teachings to Change lives)

శ్రేయం -ప్రియం 

Whatever we like may not be good for us. Whatever is good for us, we may not like it. Our lives revolve around good and pleasant. This tussle will provide us with a personality of its own. This personality may be at times meant only for the society. There is so much conflict behind this kind of presentation. We do things for our family, friends and society even if we really do not like them. We suppress our feelings and sacrifice our likes in the process. Due to this, there develops some kind of dejected feeling which in turn produces sorrow and pain. Lot of us in this world could be in this kind of predicament. 

There is other spectrum where people do not care for society, or others and they would like to do what is best for them. They might appear to be enjoying everything but they will have insecure feelings inside. These feelings will make them divert from the righteousness. They will lack discrimination to differentiate real from unreal.

As light and darkness are inter-related to each other, still they are separate from each other, the Good and the Pleasant are similar to them. We have been struggling to choose between good and pleasant and we are unable to differentiate the two entities. We forgot the path that was shown by our saints. That’s why human life became miserable. We are all running towards the senses and their enjoyment. One whose mind runs after the Pleasant, he deteriorates because of selfishness. Sai’s teachings always reiterated this kind of moral in every story.

What is “Good”? What is “Pleasant”?

Whether it is the Good or the Pleasant, even if both are understood in the right way, it is difficult to bring the Good into practice, even for a person who is independent in his thinking. However, if both are available, it is difficult to select or see which is right.

The Good deals with pure knowledge.

Pleasant is false knowledge.

Wise men are never attracted towards the Pleasant.

But the Good is disliked by the ignorant.

Till such time that wealth and women are available, the senses indulge in pleasures and no thought is given to self-denial or non-attachment. The Pleasant is welcome. The Good and the Pleasant are inter-mixed like water and milk. But the Swans of Manas Lake drink only the milk.

Similarly, those steadfast by nature, wise, self-controlled and fortunate ones only hanker for the Good and shun the Pleasant. But look at those dullards who are only keen about caring for their body, cattle, children, wealth, status and wellbeing! They acquire the Pleasant only.

Inconceivable are the whirlpools of the mundane existence which rotate incessantly, twenty-four hours of the day. Man suffers the harsh miseries of the three-fold tribulations. Because of them (whirlpools of mundane existence), extreme miseries befall and man is harassed or tormented. Then he tries to discover easy means of pleasure to avoid them. The whirlpool of mundane existence is unbearable. How can it be stopped? Could there be a means to do so? He starts thinking thus.

Initially, one should definitely be able to understand wherein lays the Good. Afterwards if there are obstacles in the way, one would be able to avoid them entirely. Our scriptures emphasized the right path and we have to understand what is real and what is unreal. To attain this knowledge we need God’s (Guru’s) grace.

In a dream, if innumerable hail stones of gold shower and are collected with effort, thinking that they will prove useful in time of need, they disappear on awakening. Knowingly and unknowingly, fate, destiny, passion, hope, desire or covetousness can always be the obstacles – remember this! And uproot them at the outset. That which even sunlight cannot penetrate, and from which the intellect returns defeated, and where the Vedas and Shrutis cannot get a foothold, the Guru leads you to it. Passion and anger, these are the two emotions, which come in the way of true knowledge. They shatter the power of understanding, concentration and samadhi very skillfully. If a flame and camphor come close together, is it possible for them to push away from each other? No sooner than they come together, the camphor starts burning due to the flame.

A person, who is always restless, perturbed from within, driven crazy by being caught in the clutches of the senses, cannot attain wisdom.

He, who is contented, calm and constant in his search for his True Self, and above all, obedient to his Guru is full of wisdom.

He will not be satisfied whose mind is restless. He has no entry in the realm of the supreme state of salvation and thus cannot avoid the cycle of birth and death.

How the precious body is wasted! Wealth and pleasures are like the afternoon shadows, short-lived. Understand that this is a powerful illusion created by God and surrender at the feet of the Saints.

Sai took charge to help us with this task and all we have to do is show faith in him and learn to be patient. Sai Maharaj knows what is best for us and we have to let him show the path. Then we can cross this maize of good and pleasant. This is only possible when we have the blessings of great Gurus like Shirdi Sai.

OM SAI RAM!    

Demeaning (Putting down) people: (Teachings to change Lives)

హేళన వద్దు -నమ్మకం ముద్దు 

Wasted are the words of a speaker if by listening to them, a listener is not affected and does not show the sign that he is overwhelmed with emotions and gets goose pimples. A narration is worthless if the listeners are not in an ecstasy, not choked with emotions and if their eyes are not filled with tears of happiness.

Baba’s speech was captivating. His style of teaching is exceptionally good. His arguments were unique. Saibaba reveals something new at every step. Saintly people always wanted to show us the clear spiritual path but it is up to us whether we will catch that or not. Baba in his own style gave us a good teaching through the story of Pandharpur Pleader.

We need to understand Baba’s omniscience and his endeavor to guide towards the divine path.

Pandharpur Pleader story:

Once a lawyer came and went to the Masjid, the moment he arrived. He took Sainath’s darshan and bowed down at his feet. He then gave dakshina, without being asked, and went and sat nearby. He felt like listening to Sai’s conversation, with respect. Baba, then, turned his face and uttered words which were meant for the lawyer. The words pierced his heart and the lawyer was repentant. “What frauds people are! They touch my feet, offer dakshina also, and abuse me in the heart of hearts. How queer are their ways!” Having heard this, the lawyer kept quiet. But he fully understood the significance. He realized that the words were meant for him only. The essence of the words penetrated deep into his mind. Later on when he went to the wada, he told Dixit that Baba’s cutting words had hurt him but they were true. “As soon as I arrived, he fired me. But that was a kind of warning to me that I should never indulge in mocking or back biting anybody. As our Munsif was not keeping good health and he was restless, he took leave from the office and stayed on peacefully here to improve his health. While we were in the chamber of the lawyers, the discussion turned around the Munsif and though we were not directly concerned, conjectures were made. “Without medication, just by following Sai, can the physical ailments be cured? Does it befit him who has risen to the status of a Munsif (to behave in this superstitious way)’

While he was being thus reviled, Sai was also belittled. I was also part of all this and that fault of mine was pointed out (by Baba). It was not a scolding but a blessing in itself.

One should not unnecessarily participate in useless discussion, malign or criticize others and pass bitter remarks behind the backs of people and should refrain from indulging in these bad habits.”

Besides, this is proof that even if there is a distance of a several miles, Sai is omniscient and knows the heart of every person. Be it so. From that day onwards, the lawyer decided that in future he would never criticize or utter ill words. That was his vow. ‘Wherever and whatever one does, cannot remain unknown to Sai’, became a firm conviction. The bad habit was given up. He became conscious of doing good deeds because he knew that Sai, as it were, was watching him from all sides and who can be capable of deceiving Sai? He was thoroughly convinced of this.

Though the story concerns the lawyer, it was meaningful in all respects, at all times, and for everybody! The lawyers, the listeners, the speakers and all the devotees of Sai should also take the same vow. I truly pray thus. When the cloud of Sai’s Grace showers upon us all, we will be contented. There is no doubt about this. All those who are thirsty will quench their thirst. What can we learn from this teaching?

       Sai is omniscient and knows the heart of every person:                                                           Moreover, one more matter became clear that intervening hills and mountains could not hide anything from Sai. Securely hidden secrets were all open to him.

      We have to respect other people’s faith:                                                                                          We have different kinds of people living around us and they all have different kinds of believes. They have different ways of living and these methods are unique to them. They attain mental peace with these ideas. We may not understand or make sense out of that but at least we have to respect their belief system.

      Do not demean the faith of other people:                                                                                         We may not respect the faith of other people but we can definitely respect their opinions and faith. We may derive some pleasure by demeaning them. But our real nature is bliss, love, and completeness. By doing these kinds of acts, we are digging our own graves. We don’t understand the implications of these misdeeds. There are consequences for every action either in this life or next. Baba does not want us to suffer and that’s why he tries to change our lives. Sometimes we question God “Why this particular difficulty came in to my life? I have been good and I do not deserve this”. What we need to understand here is we made so many mistakes in the past lives and we have to bear the consequences.            

We have to cement Sai’s teachings in our minds and apply them in daily life.

Inexplicable is Baba’s greatness; unfathomable is the meaning of his stories;

Boundless are the limits of his biography (Sai Satcharita).

He is the incarnation of the Supreme Brahman.

OM SAI RAM!

Contentment Part -2 (Teachings to Change lives)

తృప్తి -2

Baba gave 2 suggestions to keep us in the present.   

1) Always be contented. 

2) Fret over nothing and not to worry about things you do not have or cannot get.

What is contentment anyhow?

The soul is complete and this completeness is what we thrive for. But we do not understand this fact or this is beyond our comprehension. But our mind wants to search always for this absolute truth. We always want to acquire more and more.  We keep on searching for this completeness but the place where we are searching is not correct. All these worldly objects cannot give us this completeness that’s why we keep acquiring. Whenever we turn our focus inward in to our own psyche then we will find the answers. We can then enjoy the world better.

Do we need to get rid of all these worldly objects?

Do we stop doing daily Karma (life’s duties) so that we won’t suffer? 

As long as we have mind and body, we cannot escape performing these karmas.   Then what is the solution?  

We have a body and this body has needs. If we can learn to use the resources of nature to the extent that we need and we are not greedy, we can experience this great feeling of contentment. Once we experience this enjoyment there is no going back. This does not mean that we need to stop working or stop achieving great things in life.  Whatever we reap we are entitled to be blessed with. But the greed always comes into picture and makes us suffer. 

That’s why Baba gave the second principle “Fret over nothing and not to worry about things you do not have or cannot get”. If greed consumes us, then the feeling of contentment is gone.  Without understanding the truth about the completeness and mind constantly running after worldly objects, we can forget about peace.  So we need to hold onto the objects that have this completeness. But all these worldly objects do not have this quality. The happiness we derive from these worldly objects is not permanent.  Only thing that

is permanent is the absolute (Paramatma- Supreme God). This consciousness is allover and ever present. This universal energy is present in every animate and inanimate object. We have this inside us as the SOUL. This makes us breath, think and perform every act of life. Without which there is no existence. But we cannot experience this truth and bliss without some effort. Our scriptures showed us the ways to achieve this.

We can accumulate so much wealth for generations. Is it giving us this kind of permanent happiness? 
The reason is body can enjoy only what it can enjoy. For a body to survive the actual needs are not that many.  Say someone likes a sweet and we keep on giving them that sweet. After eating few pieces, the mind and body will say that’s enough. If the sweet is what makes us happy it should cause that happiness always. But that is not the case. Sometimes mind wants more but body cannot accommodate. When that favorite object becomes too much, we say enough! We need to understand the limitations of human life then only we can stay in the present. By doing so, we can bring this feeling of contentment in to experience slowly. 

Baba taught this feeling of contentment through a maid to Dasganu. He made him experience this when he wanted to write commentary on one of the scriptures (Esavasyopanishad). Once dasganu writes a commentary on Esavasyopanishad but could not derive the meaning or crux of the scripture. Baba then tells him that he can learn the meaning of this through a maid at Kakasaheb Dixit’s house. What did he learn from her?

She was seen singing about a beautiful saree (Indian traditional dress) even when she was wearing some rags. Then Dasganu through Mr. Pradhan presented her a new saree. She came next day wearing that new saree and played with household with same happiness. Next day she comes with her old rag and she was as happy as before. No signs of despair in her expression.   She showed same happiness throughout. This is what Upanishad says “ Tena Tyakthena Bhunjidha”  “Enjoy by renouncing” .

Scriptures say that this creation has everything that is necessary for life. We need to use only our share but not indulge. Then everyone can get their share. But some people want to acquire everything around them either legally or illegally. This happens every day and we get caught up in this cycle. We need to understand the nature and limitations that we have. We cannot take anything with us when we die, forget about all the stuff we acquired. If we understand this truth and the reality of life that is death, we can enjoy the present and whatever we have. This is real contentment and this will lead us to the Paramatma (Supreme God).

OM SAI RAM!         

Contentment Part -1 (Teachings to Change lives)

తృప్తి -1

Spiritual thinking and meditation on God will keep us in the present. So that mind does not wander in to past or future. As long as this world exists there will be creation, sustenance and merger (laya). In the world of mind there will always be creation of thoughts and these thoughts will take a form. This will take a shape in to some kind of situation. These thoughts sometimes will sustain forever and there will be no closure. So we accumulate so much unimportant or important thoughts in our psyche. Where are these thoughts going if they are not removed from our system? When a person is born, takes life and leaves the body in the end. So what happens to these thoughts? They will accompany you to the next birth in the form of impressions (vasanas). These impressions will throw us into imbalance some times. In Hinduism the trinity takes care of the creation, sustenance and ultimate merger (destruction). What can we learn from this? When God is responsible for the creation of this universe, we are responsible for our own inner universe. 

Here we need to question ourselves, who is that “Me”? 

Where is this “Me” feeling coming from?

Is this external body, life force (breath) or inner faculty of mind?

Understanding these questions is real spirituality. Life is just not being born and dying.

Our scriptures mentioned so much about Maya (illusion). This Maya is in control of Supreme God. We are all bound by this Maya but Maya is in control of God. What is this Maya anyhow?  Overcoming this so called Maya is not at all easy. But our great teachers (Gurus) showed us the way to overcome this. So many religions and sects described this path in different ways. Our great enlightened teachers always are in blissful state beyond the effects of this Maya. This life death cycle is compared to an ocean. The sea is enormous and appears to be endless. We cannot imagine crossing this ocean with a small boat without any paddle.  We might be able to travel if we have some kind of ship.  This ship could be compared to various spiritual paths (like Jnana (knowledge), Bhakthi (devotion) etc.)  We can cross this ocean one day or the other with this means. But having a Sadguru (enlightened teacher) is like travelling in an airplane and crossing the ocean just like that.  We need Guru’s blessing to cross this life’s ocean. Then all the calamities and dangerous sea creatures cannot harm you. That’s why we all have to yearn for Guru’s blessing.

Baba said “I do not need 16 or 8 modes of worship, just say My name - Sai Sai. I will make sure that you will cross this dreadful ocean”. Look at this assurance and who could be better? Guru is the way to go and simply by following Guru will take us to the destination. 

Baba’s words were short like the Vedas, pithy, deep and full of meaning, very comprehensive, but compressed. They were deep in meaning and very exact. They were never futile. They were balanced and priceless. Remain aware and alert to your past and future. Accept your fate and manage within your means. Always be contented. Fret over nothing. “Oh! Though I am a fakir and have no home nor household, sitting uninvolved in one place, leaving aside all mundane matters, yet, Maya is inevitable. She even harasses me often. I forget her but she does not forget me. She always comes and embraces me. Adi Maya originates from God and bewilders even Brahman and others. Then what could be said about a poor fakir like me! Only the mercy of God can save you from its clutches. Without continuously reciting God’s name, this attachment will not be destroyed”. This is the way Baba described the powers of Maya to his devotees and extolled the recitation of God’s name as the antidote of Maya. ‘Saints are my incarnations’ as Krishna has said in the Bhagvad, when talking to Uddhava. Who does not know these clear words?

Therefore, for the sake of the welfare of his devotees, whatever the great Sai, cloud of mercy, said explaining the substance of this statement, listen to it with great humility. “Such pious persons have become my followers whose sins have been destroyed and they have understood me. If you recite “Sai, Sai,” always, I will take you beyond the seven seas. If you believe in these words, you will be certainly benefitted. I do not need elaborate worship either sixteen folds or eight fold.

Where there is infinite faith, I reside there”. So spoke Baba to his devotees, from time to time, with tender love. Let us derive solace from the recollection of these loving words.

Here Baba gave his word and a path to get over this so called Maya. This could be the easiest path to overcome the illusions of life.  Baba said “Remain aware and alert to your past and future”. As long as we can stay in the present, we can easily overcome the difficulties of life. We get disturbed as soon as the past or future comes into picture. Our mind and our impressions won’t let us stay in the present. This mind wants to think about either past experiences or worry about future.  Baba said Maya is in control of Sri Hari (Lord Vishnu) so it is inevitable to recite his name if we are bound by the inscrutable Maya. He needs to give us that power. 

We need to learn not to entangle the present with past and future. What do we mean by this? Mind would never like to enjoy whatever is in front of it but worry over other things that happened in the past. It will express a fear that this happiness will be lost.  We need to show resolve in times of difficulty and take care of the issue like an average smart person will take care of the same problem.

OM SAI RAM!

True Happiness Part - 2

నిజమైన సుఖం -2

Reasons for unhappiness

The scriptures emphasize that there are only three reasons for all the difficulties of life. We were given scriptures to understand this. For every thing we use in our daily life, we have a manual and we refer to these manuals when any appliance, television or computer does not work. We learned to ignore these manuals. Christianity emphasizes the Bible and the followers try to find answers from the Bible for daily problems. Vedas (Hindu scriptures) are of course difficult to understand, but we have simplified versions of these rules through Bagavad Gita, Upanishads and Puranas. The three reasons are as follows; Adhi-daivica, Adhi-bowthica and Adhi-atmica.

ADHI DAIVICA:

This is where your problems are related to past karma. You can not change the past karma most of the time except with the help of a Guru or through some divine help. So what do you do when you are hit with a major disease or unforeseen circumstances, you have to accept what ever you acquired at that time. But you have to fight it with the help of a calm, collective mind and do what a reasonable and wise person would do in a similar situation.

ADHI- BOWTHICA:

These are the problems caused by the external factors where you do not have control over. Mother Nature can cause havoc some times with various calamities.

ADHI ATMICA:

This is related to intellectual errors and these factors are generated when we make mistakes in our daily life. Some of them are irreversible and some of them are correctable.

In any case most of the problems kind of fall in to these 3 categories. People also have to understand that death is a reality not a bargain. Who ever can understand the death, will admit that one day every one has to die and they do not even take any thing with them. Even this body of our own, that we all adore and take care with such a great admiration has to be left here in this mortal world. One should not say that “So it does not matter and I don’t care about any thing”. Like we adore life, we have to love death also. What’s wrong talking about it and thinking about it? People always say that to be successful in life, you have to have the end in the mind for any project you start. So why can not we have a plan about how we want to lead our lives. This is where the whole problem is, because we are not sure about what we want in our life and we just drift in the currents of societal obligations. We ignored the commandments of life and we live for others. We buy things for others sake, in fact we do lot of things for the society even though that does not make us happy. We keep acquiring objects thinking that these objects will make us happy. But they never make you happy. You have to learn to understand your mind and really see what makes you happy.

Major culprits of this Happy- Unhappiness cycle.

Kama (lust), Krodha (anger), Lobha (greed), Moha (delusion – mislead the mind), Mada (euphoria) & Matsarya (competition)

Practical Solutions

If some body can monitor above factors with caution and use wisdom in their lives, they can first understand their emotions. Some times our level of thinking is not enough to understand where we are.

Albert Einstein said, “The problems that exist in the world today cannot be solved by the level of thinking that created them”. If we need to solve the so called problems, we have to come out of this usual worldly thinking and have to acquire some Godly characters and selfless thinking.  

Every religion or philosophy is based on their scriptures or concepts and they give you fundamentals of life. When you follow them you have less of a conflict and this could be the only way to happiness some times. It may be happiness in another life or world... but none the less it is happiness. The faith plays a major role in this happy- unhappiness cycle. You will have to face the music of your mind unconsciously or consciously. All of these religions, sects and orders believe that there are certain rules or behaviors that must be observed and kept, before you can be happy.

Bhagavad-Gita teaches us to follow the Dharma. Dharma is about expressing and acting according to one's core nature. This eliminates potential conflicts in the mind and leads to happiness. When ever you run away from your core beliefs, your mind will play tricks on you.

This leads to different reactions depending on the type of action you performed. So virtuous thinking, honesty, tolerance, giving up greed and anger will lead you in to your inner world. The Soul is originally in a happy, liberated and blissful state. We tainted it through our mind, ego and intellect. This is like dirty water thinking “I am not water but I am dirt”. There is no transparency there and you need to be calm with out many waves in the river of life.

Buddha says that every problem arises out of desire, Kama or lust. Ultimate happiness is only achieved by overcoming craving in all forms.

The Buddha practiced the following code of conduct in his own life:

1. Respect life 2. Earn all that you have 3. Control your desire, rather than allow desire to control you. Buddha gave eight fold path for happiness.

1. Right View 2. Right thought. 3. Right Speech. 4. Right Action 5. Right Livelihood. 6. Right Effort. 7. Right mindfulness. 8. Right Concentration.

We have to have right view so that we can have right desires which are selfless. They should be causing no pain to other people and not at the expense of other people. Then right speech is essential to have mental peace. We do not want to lose balance so that it will create more problems for us and people around us.

We have to adopt right kind of livelihood with some principles. To achieve this we need effort with faith. Above all we need our full attention in what ever we do. How can we expect good outcome with out proper mindfulness and concentration. Meditation on what ever we do is essential.

Buddha said that we have to recognize that our own desires have brought us this pain and suffering, and understand that letting go of this desire can bring us peace.

If we try to understand the human nervous system physiologically, all of our emotions are in a way related to autonomic nervous system that is adrenaline in your blood. When this is released in your blood, it causes damage to the lining of the blood vessels there by causing plaques. These plaques will ultimately cause strokes and heart attacks. Is it worth putting your body through this stress every time you go through different emotions? By controlling your senses by various means, you can control this. When you are able to control the adrenaline that is released (when you get emotional), your blood pressure and heart rate will not elevate and you handle things very calmly. So by right understanding and by practice you can master this. This is possible by doing meditation or prayers.

The stories and teachings from Sri Sai Satcharita are so intricate with ordinary life and we can not separate them apart. We really have to study each and every story and by doing so our intellect will be at par. Then we can tread the difficulties of life with some direction. Otherwise we will get lost in this jungle of life.  In every story there is something to learn and we have to ask Baba to teach us the right meaning behind each story. Baba will definitely show us the way.

Baba explained beautifully what true happiness is! He also gave us some tips to overcome this so called sorrow. 

Mukti (Release) is true joy or happiness. 

Coursing through births and deaths is unhappiness. 

All the joys and sorrows of samsara are unreal. 

People, money and objects might give us some happiness but it is not permanent. 

Joy and sorrow are mere delusion. 

Mere appearance of worldly joy is not true happiness. The worldly man is forcibly drawn to it, as he believes it to be true happiness. Our past karmas will control our suffering and there is no escape for anyone. When ever we can understand this fact, some relief is on the way immediately. 

Even though it appears that some one else causing havoc in our life but we are ultimately responsible. 

We either pity our condition or take care of the issue with right attitude. We need a peaceful mind to tackle the problems of life. For hungry and poor it is just survival. But for rich it is much more complex. Rich needs to be humble. We have to lead this battle of life with the help of God.   

Baba's tips:

So know your true nature. 

Understand where you came from and where this cycle of life and death takes you. 

Understand that you have the same energy as animate and inanimate objects in this universe. 

If you are a Christian, think that you are all created by only one God, we are all one family and came from one source. When we feel this reality, experience the truth and immerse ourselves in this infinite bliss, there is no unhappiness. Every thing is at a balance. Start enjoying the present, stop thinking about what will happen tomorrow but perform your actions as things come along. Use past as an experience which will help you climb to new heights.

Great Gurus like Sri Shirdi Sai Baba can rescue us from this dreadful situation. We need a guide like Baba to travel in this forest of life and death. 

OM SRI SAI RAM!

True Happiness Part -1 (Teachings to Change Lives)

నిజమైన సుఖం-1

I want to be happy all the time; I don't want to be unhappy at all". This is the common perception as human organism, we all have. 

How I can be happy? 

Why I am unhappy even though I have money, fame and every thing in life? 

Does more wealth will make me happy for ever? 

These questions are lingering frequently in our daily lives. Who can not have these kinds of questions in their minds at one time or the other? We might think that "If I can get this job, or meet my soul mate or marrying one, if I can win a lottery, inherit or earn lots of money. This could be a common thinking in human minds. Is there any thing wrong with this kind of thinking?

Let us say that we have all the answers. Some one was able to acquire all these so called perfect things in the life but still there is some thing lacking, which makes you unhappy, apathetic, anhedonic and indifferent to all the materialistic things that you already have at that time. If we talk to people who supposedly have everything, they say that they are also unhappy and they say that money is not everything. So what should we do and this is very confusing.

Understand unhappiness

Before we talk about happiness, we should really understand what unhappiness is. 

Is unhappiness, not being happy, being sad or feeling pain, sorrow and just what ever makes us feel uncomfortable. 

This could be defined differently and it is different for different people. 

Unhappiness is a derivative of happiness and happiness is the root cause of unhappiness. Because our mind accepted certain experiences which were acquired through our senses, mind, ego and intellect. The society plays a major role in reinforcing these so called experiences. Society told us about good, bad, poor, wealthy, truth, untruth and lots of dualistic attitudes. The environment around us puts so much pressure on the mind and creates conflict more times than not. Since the birth of the child, until the death we are bounded by these societal norms and perceptions. We are caught in this vicious cycle of likes and dislikes with

out much relief. Some people are more conscious of society than others. Some might say that they don't care about the society but they are still unhappy. There is no simple answer to these questions. Even when we want to choose between two good things, there is conflict and this leads to excitement, which leads us into unhappiness. This is sad that we are unhappy even in the mist of happiness. Do we really love happiness or we want to be victims and like playing this role as a victim. Do we want to feel sorry for ourselves and we want others feel sorry for us?

Psychology of unhappiness

When a child is born, the parents go through so much of emotion. Mother goes through nine months of patience carrying the child and when baby is delivered you can imagine what she goes through. Even though there is so much pain involved in the process, the ultimate truth is happiness. Why is this different, did we learn to look at this whole process differently? If we think crying is a sign of unhappiness, when the newborn cries, we rejoice. This event can teach us so much of insight in to the science of happiness. 

Everything thing in this universe, including happiness and unhappiness, have a beginning and an end. We always want unhappiness to end but not the happiness. This is the reality of life. If we do not realize this, we will be unhappy all the time. Once we are happy, we worry about loosing it, instead of enjoying it. This is the psychological quality that human mind goes through most of the time. This is one of the real causes of unhappiness.

We take our lives granted with out realizing that darkness will set in as soon as the day ends. Where there is day, there should be night also. We can not just worry about the oncoming darkness and stop enjoying the day. When we look at the solar system, what is night? Why we are able to see the darkness? This is because of the existence of Sun only. Otherwise every thing will be pitch-black and you won't be able to see even the darkness. If we can consider Sun as happiness and darkness as unhappiness, we are able to recognize the unhappiness because we had the experience of happiness that is the "Day". So this concept can educate us to understand certain principles behind this duality. 

There is a difference between the darkness out side and in a room where there is no Sun light, it is pitch black. You can not see anything. This could be the situation in people who are depressed. For them the happiness also does not matter and this is called anhedonia. This is where you need professional help to come out of the clutches of severe depression. This is where people do not see the light at the end of tunnel and there is no silver lining to these dark clouds. But this state is easily treatable than addressing just unhappiness alone.

Our attitudes and personalities could complicate this journey to happiness. We need intense training and knowledge about ourselves in training the mind to be in this path and to sustain in this state. It is so difficult to unwind the erroneous concepts, notions and impressions that are strongly imprinted in our minds. Nobody really cares if you're miserable, so you might as well be happy.

OM SAI RAM!