You Are The Embodiment Of God
by
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

All His forms are manifestations of peace.
All His forms are manifestations of Auspiciousness.
He is the embodiment of Awareness and Bliss.
He is not two, but One.
He is Truth, Goodness, and Beauty.

Embodiments of love!

There is not of much description and information about the five senses in any scientific, secular, or spiritual literature.

Man makes several frantic efforts to gain joy. He reads books, visits elders, and roams around the world in search of the elusive happiness. But He fails to find happiness in the end.

The Buddha made similar effort to find the source of happiness. He searched for God everywhere, and at last found that God was within him. He realized that he himself was an embodiment of ananda (Bliss). He searched for ananda like a man who searched for his spectacles while they were on his nose all the time! The Buddha searched for bliss everywhere and at last found it within him.

Man can learn many lessons from the five elements. The five elements are earth, fire, water, air ,and ether. The entire physical phenomena is also a manifestation of God. God manifests in truth, goodness, and beauty in the world that we see. Every human being is a manifestation of sat (existence) chit (awareness) and ananda (bliss). God manifests himself in the water that exists in the world. God exists as jagrath (wakefulness) in fire. God manifests himself in the element air as life. God manifests himself as Omkara in ether. Since god manifests himself in all five elements, It is said "Isa Vasyam Idam Jagat (God is omnipresent and there is no place in the world where he doesn't exist)." His hands and feet are everywhere --"Sarvatah panipaadam."

Though God is present everywhere, people ask why we are not able to see him. The water reflects the sky above. When the water is disturbed, the reflection of the sky is also disturbed. Similarly, God is in every man. But he is not able to see him because of the disturbed mind. A disturbed and vacillating mind can never reflect God. The disturbed mind causes confusion and depression.

The mind is highly fickle and unsteady. All the sadhana (spiritual exercise) that man has to perform is to see that his mind is steady and not fickle. There is no use doing japa (soft repetition of the name), dhyana (meditation), and yoga without any objective. Once you keep the five elements under control, God manifests himself all around you. Why then is man is not able to see God? The limitless and wayward desires of man prevent him from seeing God. Desires are the root cause of the disturbance in Man.

Sense control enables us to acquire ananda. The ceiling on desires will help us to see God all around and experience Him face to face. We should not encourage all sorts of desires to arise in us. We should also not bother about the evil thoughts that people entertain about us. We should not be worried by the evil talk in which they indulge in. We should not be affected by calumny and criticism leveled against us.

The Buddha wanted to control the five senses, which are the manifestation of the five elements. He decided, first and foremost, to acquire samyak drishti (right vision). Man today is not able to control his vision because of the fickleness of he mind. Cinemas, videos, TVs, etc. foul the mind of man. He does not see good and hear good. Man is the cause of his own restlessness. Not only that, humanness is fast giving way to devilishness and beastliness. Animal qualities are fast increasing within us. Animals have season and reason, but man has none.

Man can obtain peace of mind by abhyaasa (practice). It is by abhyaasa that man can control mind and obtain peace. It is only in a peaceful mind that noble thoughts can arise. Mind should be under the control of man. Master the mind and be a mastermind.

Unfortunately, instead of controlling the mind, man is coming under the control of senses. Moreover, he is developing attachment to the body (dehabhimana). Man is easily disturbed if people find fault with him. Why should he worry about the body, when the body is like a water bubble? You should set aside body attachment. Desires are growing by leaps and bounds without any limit.

For example, a person first stands as a candidate for the post of panchayat president. If he is selected, he desires to become a chairman. Later, these desires grow frantically. Once he becomes the chairman, he wants to become the chief minister and later the prime minister!

Desires are the cause for evil in man. Evil desires cause reaction, reflection, and resound. Man should not give place for evil desires and thoughts. Evil desires cause evil thoughts in man. Sense control will keep the desires under control. It is necessary to leave the area where evil people set foot. Move away from such a place where there are such people. The Buddha taught people to cultivate strong, steady, and good vision. His vision should be selfless and steady.

The Buddha practised detachment. He reduced his desires day by day and made them almost nil. He insisted upon cultivating pure and noble vision. He attained the state of desirelessness. He was so detached that he renounced the family and even his attachment toward his tender son. That was the mark of sacrifice. He developed tremendous detachment toward the body. He realised that he was not the body but the conscience.

When we say that this is my body, my mind, my buddhi, (intellect), my chittha (subconscious mind), my anthakarna (inner fourfold instruments of mind, intellect, memory, and ego) --it shows that I am separate from mind, body, intellect, etc. You are separate from the body. It is a bhrama (delusion) to think that you are the body. As we go on cultivating bhrama, we go far away from Brahma (supreme consciousness). We must leave deha bhranthi (attachment toward body) and deha abhimana (love for the body).

The Buddha reduced deha abhimana completely and devoted himself to find the truth. He approached the gurus and listened to their teachings. He read books that contained the teachings of various masters. He finally realized that reading books was a wasteful exercise.

The students of today go abroad for higher studies. It is a madness to go abroad with a desire to find something that is not here in our country. People go abroad spending lots of money and return empty handed. The parents encourage their children to go abroad by fanning the craze. They are actually misleading their children. You have to work hard in a foreign country to earn money. If you expend the same effort here you can earn enough money in India too. Some people go abroad and earn paapa (sin). Stay in your country and earn punya (mind) instead. There is an increasing desire in people to go abroad and earn money. But all of them don't succeed in earning money. Some people came back with empty hands.

People have been trying to take me abroad. But Swami has not gone to any country. People say, "Swami come to my country." Which is your country? You do not belong to any country permanently. Nothing is permanent. Your body itself is not permanent. We must give up our desire to go abroad.

Punarapi Jananam, Punarapi Maranam
Punarapi Janani Jatare Shayanam
Iha Samsare Bahudustare
Krupaya Pahe Pahi Murare.

You are the embodiment of peace.
You are the embodiment of truth.
You are the embodiment of love.
You are the embodiment of God.

Embodiments of love!

Buddha was not an ordinary person. He was born in a royal family and brought up amidst material comforts. It is said, "It is neither by action nor by progeny nor by wealth but only by sacrifice that one can attain immortality." The Buddha followed this vedic injunction. He had no attachment. Hence, he could give up his attachment for kith and kin. His father was pained for he had attachment. Buddha moved far and wide. He carried on his ascetic practices. A lady took pity on him. She wanted to get food for him. The Buddha said, "This is not the food I want. I want jnana biksha (food of wisdom). Anybody can get ordinary food. I don't want this food."

One day, he saw a farmer distributing grains. The Buddha went to him for alms. The farmer said to him, "O! lazy monk! Why should I give you alms? I give food for those people who work hard. I also work hard. I till the soil. I sow the seed, remove the weeds, water the fields, and harvest the grains. But you don't do anything."

To this, the Buddha answered, "I till the soil of the heart; I water it with love; I remove the weeds --bad tendencies; I harvest the grain of wisdom; I get the fruit of bliss." The Buddha thus convinced the farmer how he too was working hard, but in a different level!.

The joy we get from singing bhajans and by performing worship is temporary. But by experiencing the essence of "soham" mantra, you will get eternal joy. This soham is also known by the name "Hamsa Gayatri". "So" means "that"; "ham" means "I am". "I am that" is the meaning of soham. You should chant soham with every breath. When you breathe, you are inhaling "so" and you are exhaling "ham". If we repeat soham mantra with every inhalation and exhalation of breath, it will do a lot of good to you. Repeat "soham" with every breath and watch your breath carefully.

The word WATCH has an important message to convey. WATCH means:

W: Watch your Words
A: Watch your Actions
T: Watch your Thoughts
C: Watch your Character
H: Watch your Heart

The watch you that you wear breaks one day or other. But this watch is unbreakable. Watch whether you are speaking good or bad. Watch whether you abuse others or appreciate others. Your tongue can indulge in many sins. You should not use your tongue in abusing others. Abusing others is not a virtue but a vice. If you abuse others, others will also abuse you. There is reaction, reflection, and resound for everything. Hence, exercise control over the tongue. Don't allow the tongue to indulge in sin. The tongue that criticises others is a sinful tongue. Don't allow the tongue to indulge in gossip and criticism of others.

The Buddha observed silence and became very quiet. He began to experience soham within him. You can chant the names of Rama, Krishna, and Govinda for some time as a part of your sadhana (spiritual exercise). Continue the sadhana till the mind becomes steady. Once the mind becomes steady, practice the silence of the mind. Speech is silver, whereas silence is golden. Once words become less, the activities and vagaries of the mind also become less. As words increase, the vagaries of the mind also increase. Hence, we should kill the mind.

But it is not the nature of the mind to die. Man may die but the mind will not die. But it is possible to kill the mind. Mind vanishes when words vanish from the mind. Observing mounam (silence) is one of the ways of silencing the mind. Don't allow the mind to go wherever it likes and do whatever it likes. Don't allow the mind to ridicule, hurt ,and hate others. If you hurt anybody, you will be hurt ten times more. You may take pride that you have scolded somebody very thoroughly, but you cannot escape the consequences of your misdeeds. There will come somebody who will scold you someday.

Embodiments of love!

We have taken human birth. What should we do having taken human birth? Should we use human birth for earning wealth? No, we should use the mind for the acquisition of virtues and not wealth. The students of today are interested in acquiring kalimi (wealth), balimi (strenght), and chelimi (friendship), but not guna (virtue). What is the use of leading a life without acquiring virtues?

The dunce studies and becomes an eminent one.
He studies all disciplines of learning but ends up as a dunce.
The wretched one may master many types of learning but he cannot be free from the vices that he had cultivated.
Too much learning encourages a person to become a logician.
But he cannot acquire wisdom at anytime; what is the use of learning and dying.
Master that education which knows no death.

The body is temporary. It is a water bubble. The body comes and goes, as the water bubbles come and go.

The body is a den of diseases.
It is a basket that degenerates in course of time
It is a weak raft that cannot cross the ocean of samsara
It is a quiver of arrows.
O man! Do not think that the mind is permanent.
Surrender yourself at the feet of Hari (The Lord).

We should perform all deeds with a spirit of devotion to God.

The Buddha gave utmost importance to sense control. To control the mind, control the five senses. Only then will you be able to realise God.

Embodiments of love!

All these things can be acquired by love alone. Love is God, live in love. We can acquire understanding of spirituality only by cultivation of love. That is why I often say,

Start the day with love,
Fill the day with love,
Spend the day with love,
End the day with love,
That is the way to God.

Everything is possible by the power of love. Love is everything in this world. The world cannot exist without love. But the world exists to some people who have bad desires. Those people who are drowned in bad desires will not have even a peaceful death. We must keep the mind peaceful and sacred. We can acquire peace of mind only by love for God.

Embodiments of Love!

You have come here from long distances, facing much stress and strain. You should always be full of joy and peace. You may have troubles, but you should not allow the troubles to gain hold over you. Only if you set your troubles aside can you earn peace.

It is not enough if you pray to God. You should consider that you are God. The Buddha asked people to think that they were divine and hence he asked people to contemplate on the subject "I am God". The Buddha believed that man is divine. God is always in you, with you, around you, below you. If you enter through the gate of spirituality, you will become God. But if you enter the world, you will become a dog. You must cultivate the feeling of oneness with God.

You have come here from different parts of the world, enduring stress and strain. I bless you that you will go back home safe and secure, peacefully and joyfully. Cultivate the faith that everything happens to you by the will of God. The Buddha tried different kinds of sadhana (spiritual exercise). The Buddha believed that sense control is very important to realise God. What are spiritual practices? Control of the five senses is real spiritual practice. We should not allow the senses to go wayward. Senses can be controlled only by love. Always live in love. We must make others happy with love. Never harbour hatred or evil toward anybody. Help ever, hurt never. It is said,

Paropakara punyaya papaya parapeedanam
Merit lies in helping others, sin lies in hurting others.

You can control the mind by silence and by surrendering it to God. You can do your sadhana (spiritual exercise) based on your faith. In the beginning sadhana may be difficult. But it gives happiness to some extent in course of time. It is said,

Body is the temple of God.
God exists in you. God does not exist elsewhere.
He exists in you.
Sin is not elsewhere.
It exists where wrong action is committed.

Whatever spiritual practices you may pursue, there is always God in you. God is intertwined with your life. All that you need is self-confidence. Self-Confidence is most important for spiritual development.

Where there is self-confidence, there is truth.
Where there is truth, there is bliss.
Where there is bliss, there is peace.
Where there is peace, there is God.

Hence you must cultivate self-confidence. Otherwise there will be utter confusion. You must build every thing on the foundation of self-confidence. For example, take this very building. The foundation is the basis for the building. The building cannot exist without the foundation. Similarly, faith is the foundation for everything. Do your duties. The Buddha sacrificed many things in life for the sake of ananada. Where there is sacrifice, there is ananada.

Embodiments of Love!

Reduce your attachment to the body. As you go on increasing your attachment to your body, your suffering also increases. Your body is the temple of God. Think that this is not your body, but as a temple of God. The body is sacred, because God resides in it. Hence, you must use the body for performing good deeds. You have been gifted with the body to obtain ananada. You may do your spiritual practices, but perform your spiritual practices with the feeling "God is none other than you." Strengthen this feeling in you and shape your lives accordingly. "Live in Love and Live with Love."