Reduce Your Desires
by
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

There is no disease greater than greed,
One's anger is his greatest enemy,
There is no sorrow deeper than poverty,
There is no greater peace than wisdom.

Embodiments of love!

Love, aham, Atma, I - these are all synonyms of the same entity. Every person commonly uses the word 'I'. It means he is revealing his true identity of being the Atma. Sarvam khalvidam Brahma (This entire creation is Divinity). Whatever you hear, see, or experience is all Brahma alone. Brahma is yet another synonym for 'I'.

Einstein once said, "There is no matter in creation, it is all energy and energy has no form". He discovered this truth in this age, after a number of investigations. A few thousands of years prior to this, the seven-year-old Prahlada came to the same conclusion with out any kind of experimentations. He stated, "It isn't possible to decide that God is present here and not present there. He is everywhere, and there can be no doubt about it. You can find Him wherever you search for Him".

How did the young lad have such an experience? His own father, Hiranyakasipu, tried to have him killed by the bite of poisonous snakes. All Prahlada did was to chant the Lord's name, "Om Namo Narayana!" and lo and behold, the serpents turned into garlands! Hiranyakasipu then ordered that Prahlada be chopped into pieces. Several swords were used, but Prahlada kept chanting, "Om Namo Narayana", and the swords couldn't make a scratch on the boy. They then decided to make him drink poison. Prahlada kept repeating, "Om Namo Narayana!" He didn't have any other name or thought in his mind. As a consequence, the poison changed into nectar. Seeing the futility of these procedures, they hurled the boy from the hilltop into the ocean below. Prahlada kept chanting the Divine name, "Om Namo Narayana!" and smilingly fell into the ocean. The deity of the ocean rescued the boy and brought him to the shore.

The inner significance of these events is that faith is highly essential. It is the basis. Without this faith, any number of times the Lord's name may be chanted, but it will prove ineffective. It is the same as a tape recorder repeating God's name. Prahalada was tuned into the primordial sound of Brahma Tatwa, which originated from his navel.

Man's body is a powerful dynamo . The entire limbs and the body constitute a generator. There is a steady supply of current from the body. Everything in man is Divine power . Prahalada experienced this current and therefore firmly believed that God can be found wherever He is looked for.

Today's scientists have performed several experiments to ascertain Einstein's statement regarding matter and energy. They came to the same conclusion. Energy can neither be created nor destroyed.

Newton echoed similar sentiments. He had dedicated his entire life to investigate the attractive power of the Earth. He realized that the power of gravity cannot be destroyed. It has no specific point of origin or destination.

He is eternal without birth or death,
He is ancient without beginning or an end,
He doesn't die, he doesn't take birth, he is blameless,
He remains the eternal witness.

Newton investigated in great detail about such a divine power. He was a great scientist who understood the force of gravity associated with earth. How did he learn this? It is because he discovered aspects of this attractive power wherever he looked. He saw the magnetic power in everything; he also concluded that this energy could not be created or destroyed by anyone. However, it could be transformed from one form of energy to the other. For example, magnetic energy can be transformed into electrical energy. Electrical energy can be transformed to light energy. Though the basic magnetic energy can be converted into any type of energy, it itself retains its original identity. It can vary its intensity --ebbing and growing as necessary. It changes all the time but never diminishes away. As long as the earth is there, magnetic strength remains. It attracts our steps; it attracts our vision and our hearing.

When born, man when was without any desires. At such a time he was in a pure and pristine state. He was steady and peaceful. All the strengths of man were at their highest intensity. In the eyes of every man, thirteen crores of light receptors enable him to see. His tongue has thirty lakhs of taste buds. A further fifty lakh cells in his ears help him in his hearing. The entire body of man is a divine experience itself. It is said, "Sarvam khalvidam Brahma (The creation is entirely Brahma alone) ."

Ancient man was so pure that when he touched any object, the object would get stuck to him! Such was the extent of divine powers that pulsated through his body from head to toe. As desires gradually multiplied, these divine powers in him started to recede. You need not think so deeply to understand this concept. You can test this idea now itself. You have several desires. Let us say that you have thirty such desires that are to be fulfilled. Out of the thirty, eradicate three of them completely. You can easily feel the difference in the energy flowing through the body! Your memory also increases. The sages of yore could easily recount from memory incidents that happened long ago and recite things learnt a long time ago. This was because they had minimal desires in them.

Sage Saraswati was the first one to initiate the chanting of Vedas in the sense that he contributed eight letters: Ka, Cha, Ta, Tha, Pa, Ya, Sa, Ha. In these eight letters originated the entire Vedas because these letters were used as the basis to form syllables and words. Man hence developed his vocabulary. He first created eight names, glorifying God as the embodiment of eight essential features. These eight names are sabdhabrahmamayi, characharamayi, jyothirmayi, vangmayi, nityanandamayi, paratparamayi, mayamayi, and srimayi. These eight names describe God as the embodiment of sound, movement, light, speech, eternal bliss, eternal strength, illusion, and prosperity, respectively.

The entire Vedas came up using just the eight letters given initially. The sages explained, "O Citizens! We have visualised the divine form shining like a brilliant sun beyond tamas."

The citizens were naturally curious to know where they had seen Divinity; was it inside or was it outside?

The answer came "Antharbahishcha tat sarvam vyaapya Narayana stithaha", which means that He is there inside, outside, and everywhere. He can be seen wherever He is looked for. Divinity is therefore all pervasive. A consequence of this all pervasiveness was that the rishis (sages) would not travel around. They would remain seated at one spot and spent their time contemplating on the Lord. It was their constant worry that if they traveled about, they would stamp upon this all pervasive God! They did not wish that Divinity come in contact with their feet. Such was the sacred feeling with which tasks were carried out by the sages of yore. Such sentiments were responsible for the highly idealistic characters developed by the people of the yore.

What a far cry it is today! With deliberate audacity, one does not mind placing his legs on the idol itself! These are all extreme perversions in action. Why have they originated? The saying goes, "As one's doom approaches, good sense takes leave." In those days there was a pious environment and therefore pious feelings abounded.

What are the forms that God's strength assumes? The rishis of the yore gave these strengths certain names. The first is "Saikotikam maha". What does this statement mean? It praises God as follows, "Wherever I see, it is your divine form and your sacred sound."

Gradually, as the power of investigations improved, a second name was given to God. This name was "Bhakshakthi". This means divine power. None can touch this power in its absolute form. However, you can feel a fraction of it in yourself. Just hold your own hand while you are walking and you can feel it. Such divine power was experienced, enjoyed, and shared amongst one and all in those days.

Is it possible to have such an experience and share it with others today? Most certainly, yes! Will you ever be able to grasp such a power in your hands? Certainly! All it needs is to develop the required faith. Where is this faith? Man does not have faith in himself, so how can you expect him to develop such strong faith in God?

Where there is love, there is peace,
Where there is peace, there is truth,
Where there is truth, there is bliss,
Where there is bliss, there is God.

Such a feeling of love needs to be fostered. Without love, where will you even experience the truth? If there is no truth, peace can never be obtained. And without peace, bliss is a far cry. Bliss is like a wave pulsating throughout the creation. It would soak the hermits in the deep forests who were lost in the contemplation of God. When this bliss touched them, the sages would go into fits of ecstasy.

The sages and hermits walked and lived all alone in dense and fierce forests. What gave them the courage to do so? What weapons did they possess? Guns and bombs were obviously unheard of! Effectively, they had none of these with them, but they had a great deal of faith in God. This faith was like a big bomb in their hands. Their faith enabled them to accomplish many things.

India has remained rock steady down the ages because of the faith that our people had in God. You will find nothing in India that is temporal and not steady. You will see only things that are permanent, associated with truth and peace. A notable feature of those times in India was the extremely young age at which people would take to the forests. Children below the age of nine would be active in performing penances.

How old was Dhruva? He was just 6 years old. He was emboldened by the humiliation he had suffered at the hands of his stepmother. He took his mother's blessings saying, "Mother! I shall obtain the grace and blessings of the Lord and only then return." He selected a spot that was totally deserted and isolated. It was a totally peaceful and silent locality. There, the forest was so thick that one could not even take a step on clear ground. Moving about was out of question. At such a place, little Dhruva stood on one leg and carried out a determined penance by chanting, "Narayana! Narayana!"

The lord appeared and asked him, "Child! What do you want?" The intelligence of the child Dhruva cannot be matched even by the grown ups and educated lot of today! Dhruva replied, "I am a small boy. I am here in a totally isolated area, and yet you found me. It is only you who could have known about my presence here. You who know where I am will definitely know what I want."

The Lord replied, "Son! Manasekam, vachasekam, karmanyekan, mahatmanam. You must become a noble person by synthesizing your thought, word, and deed. You have determined in your mind to do penance and obtain the Lord's grace. Accordingly you commanded your body, came and did severe penance. Your thought and your action are hence in cohesion. But your words are yet to be ascertained and have not been expressed yet. This is why I am asking you what you need."

Dhruva replied, "When I started out, I desired a cheap trinket of a glass piece. But now I have got a priceless diamond instead. Once I have got this diamond, why should I desire the glass piece? I had come to do penance with a great desire that I become a prince and sit on my father's lap. Now I don't have any such desires. I want only you."

The Lord replied, "Son! I am ready to give you anything. But I must first sanctify you. You have thought of something and acted accordingly. But your words are not in harmony with your thought and action. Your desire will be fulfilled only if all three are in harmony. Therefore, you should now set about to achieve this harmony. I shall then satisfy what you have now wished for."

Obeying the Lord's command Dhruva returned home.

What a high degree of intelligence was there among the children in those days! Such sacredness in their thought! What a noble path they chose to tread! Prahlada was a great devotee of the Lord. He had a steady faith in Lord Narayana. He didn't rely on his own father or mother. He knew that mother and father are related to him through desire. He used to say, "Lord Narayana is related to me without any attachments. The Lord doesn't relate to me with some desires in mind. His only aim is to cause my emancipation. Hence, I desire only He who has no desires in him. I should express my desires only to He who Himself has none."

It was therefore advised to everybody that desires must be gradually curtailed. As desires multiply, attachment increases. This leads to more and more bondage. Bondage causes man to suffer in several ways. Where does the bondage come from? Your own desires create your bondage. Your sorrows are your bondage. Reduce your desires and you will be peaceful. You will not face any dangers. Therefore reducing desires give peace to man. It is rightly said, "Less luggage, more comfort."

Today, desires are growing at an alarming pace. Even if he is about to die in a couple of minutes, man still expresses some desire or the other! What are these desires? What are you gaining from these? Nothing! On the other hand, if you had no desires, you would be so very peaceful. You may believe it or not, I have no desires within Me. That is why I have no worries. Follow Me! When you too have no desires your heart will be blissful. Desires only imprison you; they don't set you free as you think.

When your wishes are fulfilled, you praise Me sky high;
If your wishes are unfulfilled, you censure Me severely;
You commit sinful acts and pray for good fruits;
Crying to me to pull you out of the mess And save you,
You put the blame on Me For misfortunes of your own making!

You commit several sins. But ask for fruits of meritorious deeds instead! This is not proper. You must not subject yourself to sin in the first place. Always enter into virtuous deeds. As far as possible we should be of some help to others. God Himself is always helping others. Can't you do at least a fraction of this good work to others?

Follow the Master,
Face the devil,
Fight till the end,
Finish the game.

Make it a point to follow the Master. You will then receive His abundant grace. You have been worshipping for several years with devotion. You take ritualistic bath and sing bhajans unfailingly. Has at least an iota of dirt in your mind been wiped out? On the contrary, it is increasing day by day. Are you able to experience at least a moment of bliss wholeheartedly? Definitely not! If yes, why then have you so many desires? What do you gain by desiring progeny? To some extent this desire is essential. It is a duty to be discharged by you. Certainly do it. But once done, God will take care of the rest. You need not entertain worries on that count. Today, you are indulging in looking after their welfare. What is the result? Is it not much better to offer the responsibility to God and let Him handle it? You will be happy and so will they.

Therefore, don't ride on your desires. They should be gradually reduced. Lesser the desires, more the happiness. First make attempts to understand the nature of God.

When earth was first formed, there was only pitch darkness everywhere. Nothing was visible. At such a time, everyone prayed. As a result, it rained heavily for crores of years thereafter. It is an effect of this deluge that the oceans formed. After the rains, the clouds cleared. Gradually the stars appeared. The sun shone and showered its rays on the earth. The light enabled man to go about his daily life, grow crops, and eke out a livelihood. When there was total darkness, man had no desires. As light gradually appeared, so did man desires, because he could now see the creation. Today, his day begins with desires! However, during the night he is not assailed by desires. Hence, darkness appears to give no scope for desires. On this count at least one should welcome darkness!

At the time of Rama's birth, for fifteen days there was no sunshine. It was darkness all around. Consequently, the moon was agitated. It lamented, "Alas! I am unable to have a glimpse of Lord Rama!" After the passing of fifteen days the sun itself was curious to see Rama. He gradually started rising. Consequently, the moon started its lunar phases. The sun and the moon started executing their assigned tasks. This caused day and night to appear on earth. If you investigate the mystery of nature, you will find that man plays no role anywhere in it.

How will you visualize and merge into chittakasha? I shall explain it in detail later. In this world, several scholars and experts explain Divinity quite extensively. However, Divinity that can be explained is not true Divinity! These are only descriptions and pointers to Divinity. They can easily make you happy or even delude you. But you must go beyond these and aim to see the reality that is "Tat". "Tat twam asi  (Thou Art That)." "Thou" means "this". "That" is "Tat". Both should therefore become one.

Today, man is inventing medicines to control the population. Such a thing is not possible through medicines. When desires go down, automatically the mind is turned toward God. What is first required is sense control. Tomorrow, we shall see in more detail the story of Prahlada.

This day, people from several countries have gathered to spread the message of Lord Buddha to the world. You must all listen to the nature of Buddha and use it to control your mind. Today, controls are being exercised on everything except the mind and desires. It is the desires that must first be controlled. This will give you a great deal of peace. You will be surprised to see so much peace in yourself. Peace is natural to man and will arise on its own, once desires are controlled.

Peace is everywhere. Truth and love are everywhere. You are the very embodiment of the love. You are the embodiment of peace and truth. You are the embodiment of God. Realise this truth first. Truth is not at some far of place. Truth is here itself! Where there is truth there is God. We chant santhi (peace) three times. Outside what you will find is only pieces. Peace is God's property and is available only with Him.

Develop the feeling that God is in your heart. Believe in the truth that God is always residing in your heart. When you have faith in this truth, peace will definitely dawn.

God created everything from truth.
Everything will merge one day in this truth.
There is no place that is not pervaded by truth.
This is the highest and purest truth, realise that!

We need not set out to search for God. Wherever there is truth, God appears. Where Narayana appears, his consort Lakshmi, the goddess of plenty and prosperity, also appears. Hence, if you want wealth, you have to take the first step! When you succeed in installing Lord Narayana in your heart, goddess Lakshmi follows her Master into your heart.

With noble thoughts, good deeds, and constant contemplation of God, undertake good actions. Help others. Never entertain jealousy. Jealousy leads to total ruin. It makes man totally useless. Unfortunately, today, jealousy thrives. Some people even cry when they see someone else better off! They cannot tolerate the other person being happy. This is a very bad trait. You must feel happy at other's happiness. You will also then enjoy success and gain bliss. This is the secret of Divinity.

There is plenty of grace that God can give you. But it is at a depth! Some effort is required to obtain it. If you need to fetch water from a well, you need to tie a rope to a bucket, lower it into the well, and draw the water out. You are neither tying the rope to the bucket nor lowering the bucket into the well, so water is therefore not reaching you. The rope to use is that of devotion. This rope must be tied to the vessel of your heart and lowered into the well of God's grace. What you receive from the well, when the water is drawn out, is the water of pure bliss. The well is that of God's grace (anugraha) and not that of anger (agraha) or jealousy (asuya)!

Get rid of the bad qualities in you. In this sacred environment, why do you give scope for bad habits? By developing bad habits, you are leading yourself to a bad fate.

Embodiments of love!

Live in love with everybody. Once you earn this love, everything else will be added unto you.