If you lack purity of heart, you will not be able to understand the principle of Atma, irrespective of your educational qualifications. You may be a highly learned person but you are not able to see your own body when you are in deep sleep. On the contrary, even an illiterate person can see himself and the surroundings if he opens his eyes. Just as ash covers the live embers, man’s vision is clouded by delusion.

Consequently, he is unable to realize his true nature. Man should understand the intimate relationship between himself and Divinity. You can acquire immense power and strength once you develop purity of heart, gain spiritual knowledge and understand Divinity. Sadhana or spiritual practice does not mean undertaking good activities like Japa and Dhyana. True Sadhana lies in removing the veil of illusion that covers the Antahkarana (inner instrument). It is said, Pashyannapi cha Napashyati Moodho. (He is a fool who sees yet does not recognize the Reality.) Oh man, is it not foolishness on your part to think that you have not seen God though you see Him in the form of the world. Fire is seen if you blow the ash from live embers. You can see the pellucid waters only after removing the moss. A person’s vision is clouded when he has cataract in his eyes. But when the cataract is operated upon, he gets back his normal vision. Similarly, as long as a person is under the influence of the mind, he identifies himself with the body and experiences pleasure and pain. Once he transcends the mind, i.e., Maya, the dualities of the world do not exist for him. He visualizes Divinity everywhere.

Today man tries to know Divinity with his mind. In order to visualize Divinity, you should understand the principle of Atma or ‘I’. The Atma is formless. So long as you are attached to your form, you will not understand what Atma means. Everyone introduces himself using the letter ‘I’, which is nothing but the Atma. Though not seen, the Atma is present in one and all. This Atma is all-pervasive.

There are three types of ethereal dimensions, viz., Bhutakasha, Chitthakasha and Chidakasha. Bhutakasha is engulfed by Chitthakasha, which in turn is encompassed by Chidakasha. The Bhutakasha, which consists of the earth, the sun, the moon and the stars, is very vase. The sun is much bigger than the planet earth, having a circumference of 8000 crore miles. But it looks small to our eyes, as it is at a distance of 9 crore miles from the earth. The stars are still farther away and are much bigger than the sun in size though they look like small diamonds adorning the sky.

Light travels at a speed of 180 thousand miles per second. Some of the stars are at such a great distance from the earth that the light emanating from them is yet to reach the earth. All the stars, the sun, the moon and the earth form a part of Bhutakasha. All these are present in Chittha in a subtle form. So, Chitthakasha is many times bigger than Bhutakasha. You feel the sun is self-effulgent, but in fact it is the Atma which illumines the sun. So, the Atma is the greatest of all. Its vastness cannot be described in words. All the five elements are made up of atoms, whereas the Atma is not made up of atoms, as it is formless.

What do you mean by vision of the Atma? It is visualization of the all-pervasive effulgence. The Atma is present in every cell of the human body. In order to understand this, you have to transcend form. All the material objects have a definite form, but in due course of time, they lose their identity and merge into the causal dimension, i.e., in the Atma. So, man should make an effort to go beyond form and merge into the Atma. All the activities that are related to the form correspond to Pravritti (outward path) i.e., Bhutakasha, which is made up of atoms. All this will ultimately merge into the Atma.

In the days of yore, many sages made concerted efforts to recognize the nature of the Atma. Ultimately, they declared to the world, Vedahametham Purusham Mahantham Adithyavarnam Thamasa Parasthath. (I know the Supreme Being who shines with the effulgence of sun and who is beyond Thamas, the darkness of ignorance.) Oh people, the Atma transcends name and form. It is self-effulgent. In order to have the vision of the Atma, you don’t need to go to the forest and undertake penance. You can see it everywhere once you dispel the darkness of ignorance from within. Efforts in this direction amount to true Sadhana. Divinity is latent in humanity, but you are attributing various names and forms to it and are trying to visualize it through worship and rituals. As a result, you are subjected to frustration and depression. First of all, you should make efforts to realize the Divinity that is latent in Bhutakasha. But how can one understand the Divinity when he fails to understand humanness. In the first place, man should understand what humanness means. Only when you transcend Bhutakasha and Chitthakasha, can you understand Chidakasha. Bhutakasha is like a small star in the sky of Chitthakasha. The same can be said of Chitthakasha as compared to Chidakasha. Chidakasha is nothing but the Atma. There is nothing beyond this.

To understand the formless Atma, you should go beyond form. In the beginning, you meditate on a specific form. But gradually you should go beyond that form and realize the formless Divinity. So long as you are attached to the form, you are bound to experience pleasure and pain. The formless Atma is experienced in the deep sleep state (Sushupti) in which you lose the identity of name and form. In the deep sleep state, there are no feelings pertaining to Bhutakasha. So long as your mind dwells in Bhutakasha, you identify yourself with a form. Though the modern man is highly educated, he is unable to comprehend the principles of Bhutakasha, Chitthakasha and Chidakasha. He is keeping himself away from such an enquiry, thinking them to be abstruse philosophical truths. It is not mere philosophy. They are the eternal truths, which are to be understood and put into practice in daily life.

In Bhutakasha, beings are many, but the underlying Atmic principle is the same. Right from his childhood to old age, man uses the letter ‘I’ while introducing himself. Man passes through different stages of life, but the ‘I’ in him remains the same. That changeless ‘I’ is verily the Atma. Oblivious to the presence of such Divine Principle within, man is after the worldly and ephemeral pleasures. This corresponds to Pravritti. But the Atma is related to Nivritti. As man is engrossed in Pravritti, he is not able to realize his true nature.

All of you who have assembled here are the embodiments of God. Even this hall is a manifestation of God. In fact, you are yourself God. Though you see God everywhere, still you search for Him. Here is a small example. The hostel boys see Sai Geeta every day, so they are not excited about it. If they happen to see even the tail of an elephant in a forest, they feel thrilled. Likewise, though you see God in the form of people around you, you are not excited. But if you see a person with three heads, you will become ecstatic thinking that you had the vision of Divine Cosmic Form. You should understand that Divinity pervades the entire nature.

Form is associated with Pravritti. It is the root cause of delusion. What is Maya? That which leads to mistaken identity is Maya. When you mistake a rope for a snake in the darkness, you are scared. But when you flash a torch light on it, you realize that it is a rope and not a snake. It is the mistaken identity that has given rise to fear in you. Once you know the reality, you become fearless. Due to the influence (Prabhava) of worldly objects, you have forgotten your Swabhava (true nature). Once you recognize your Swabhava and strictly adhere to it, there will be no scope for delusion or fear. Where is the question of fear when you are everything and there is nobody other than you?

First of all, understand what Atma means. The principle of ‘I’ that is present in everybody is Atma. The Vedas declare Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahma.) But in My view, even this is not complete Truth because the presence of "I" and Brahma symbolizes duality. Truth is one, not two. Man should hold onto the principle of non-dualism and sanctify his life. Once you develop faith in this principle, you will have all the purity and prosperity. Today is the very auspicious day of Sivarathri. Siva stands for auspiciousness.

What is so special and auspicious about Sivarathri? Mind has 16 aspects, of which 15 are merged on this night and only one is remaining. Make proper use of this holy night by undertaking Sadhana with devotion and steadfastness.

What sort of Sadhana you must undertake? Cleans your heart of all evil qualities. Evil qualities arise in you because of the misuse of the senses. It is the root cause of all sins. Sadhana does not mean doing Japa and meditation. You should develop pure and Divine feelings in you. Consider everyone as Divine. Respect them. "All are Mine and I belong to everybody." Once you have such firm conviction, you can enjoy immense happiness in life. There will be no trace of worry in your life.

Place your firm faith in God." Realize your self-confidence. Self-confidence leads to self-satisfaction and self-satisfaction leads to self-realization. Students! ‘I’ is a permanent reality. Consider this Atma as Godhead itself. Without a substantial basis, there will be no manifestation. The basis for the waves in the ocean is the water therein. In the same manner, Atma is the basis for the phenomenal world. All the good and bad, praise and blame that happen are all mere passing clouds. The baby, the boy, the youth and the old man are all differences in form but the Atma in the person is the unchanging entity. While traveling in the train, you see out of the window trees, mountains and lakes fleeting past. This is an illusion. Sometimes in the skies you see as if the moon is moving fast, while in reality the clouds are moving. This again is an illusion. The moon is not moving at the same pace as the clouds. In the same way, the Atma does not change or move. It is only our feelings that change. Today is a very holy day. The time at 6 o’clock is highly sacred. At that time, the Atma Lingam will be manifested. God is sometimes called the Hiranyagarbha. The golden Lingams emerge from Hiranyagarbha itself. Don’t conclude that only Swami is Hiranyagarbha. All of you are manifestations of Hiranyagarbha. You are also eternal and self-effulgent. Hold this truth firmly in your heart. Keep this awareness firm. We have ‘Awareness classes’ in our Institutions. Knowing this or that bit of information is not complete awareness. Awareness implies total understanding. Having seen just the tail of a rat, how can you claim to have seen the rat itself? Today what the scientists have known is only a fraction of the total truth. But they think that they know everything.

First of all, you should understand what humanness means? In accordance with your form, you should have human qualities. Of what use is your life if you behave like a monkey? Understand that you belong to mankind. Do not have monkey mind. One whose heart is full of compassion alone is a true human being. Today man talks of the need for compassion but has filled his heart with demonic qualities like anger, greed, jealousy, etc. Man should put a ceiling on his desires. As man’s conduct is perverted, today we find natural calamities taking place. You are aware of the devastation caused by the earthquake in Gujarat. Thousands of people lost their lives. The reason for this is that, man is entertaining excessive desires. God maintains perfect balance in His creation. In God’s creation, the earth and the oceans are endowed with balance. But man is indiscriminately exploiting the earth for extracting oil. Every day tonnes of fish are caught form the oceans. This indiscriminate exploitation of nature results in imbalance in earth, which is playing havoc with human lives. Only when man is free from ‘Kampam’ (unsteadiness) within, will he not be troubled by Bhukampam (earthquake). Not only the people of Bharat, but also the people of the entire world should strive to maintain balance. The five elements are nothing but the manifestations of Divine. Man’s life will be secure only when he realizes this truth and acts accordingly. 

A few days back, I had sent lorry loads of rice, grams, etc. to the earthquake victims of Gujarat. Some people asked, "Swami, why should you take the trouble of spending so much money for sending the relief material to Gujarat. You could have as well averted the earthquake." I replied, "My dear, man has to blame himself for the earthquakes. Due to excessive greed for wealth, he is disturbing the balance of the earth. Hence the earthquake. That is the law of nature. You have to express your love for man by helping the needy. Love is your nature. Just as balance is very much essential for nature, so also love is very much needed for man. Know that whatever God has created is for your own welfare. You should enjoy Nature according to your need. You should not rob Nature of its resources to satisfy your greed. Here is an example. Once a greedy person owned a duck, which used to lay a golden egg every day. One day, he ripped open the stomach of the duck thinking that he would get many golden eggs at a time. Today man also is indulging in such foolish and greedy acts. Instead of being satisfied with what Nature is giving him, he is aspiring for more and more, and in the process creating imbalance in Nature. Today the scientists are interested in new inventions. The advancement in science and technology has also led to imbalance in Nature. As a result, there are earthquakes and no timely rains. Science should be utilized only to the extent needed. Science has its limitations and crossing those limits leads to danger. You have a long way to go. Adhere to Truth and Righteousness. Our ancient sages said, Sathyam Bruyath, Priyam Bruyath, Na Bruyath Sathyamapriyam. (Speak Truth. Speak pleasantly and do not speak unpalatable truth.) Make proper use of the natural resources and do not put them to misuse. Help everybody and make them happy. Share all the good things you have learned with others. This is your foremost duty.

JAI SAI RAM

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