How Narada Muni get his guru?

 

Value: Truth

Sub value: Devotion, Faith

Did you know that at one time Narada Muni did not have a Guru?

At that time He was already travelling the Three Worlds.

One time He attended an Assembly at Svarga loka, where all Devas and Devi’s are present. There are all 33 crores devata’s and all the Nine Planets.

There was a sacred fire, Vedic rites being conducted. Narada was given a place to sit, below everyone else.

He questioned Brahma, stating as Brahmas own child, why was He given such a lowly place to sit?

Brahma told Him, it was because He has never taken a Guru.

Narada considered this, and realized He did not have a Guru mantra.

In other words, though He always sings the Names of God, and repeats Gods Name as a mantra, He has never taken a mantra as initiated by a Guru.

And He told the Gods, Whoever I see at dawn, I will take as my Guru. Narada Muni then left the assembly with the promise to return soon.

Where did He go?

It was at dawn He saw an old fisherman with a net on shoulder, both walking and weaving his net.

Narada ran to the fisherman and declared to this old man that the fisherman was Guru and begged for initiation from the old man.

The old man said he was not worthy.

The old man said, he had never himself taken initiation from a Guru and that he did have any mantra to give.

Nevertheless, Narada requested from the old man to speak whatever was in his mind at that very moment.

The fisherman said Hari Bol, upon which Narada returned to the assembly of Devas and was given a seat in front of the Assembly having declared He now has both a Guru and a Mantra.

The assembly demanded to meet His Guru, upon which Narada returned to the Fisherman and requested the old man to come.

But the old man said he was partially lame, so Narada carried the old man on His back.

Narada presented the old man to the assembly and then gave His full pranam, lying completely down before His Guru.

The 33 crores of Gods were surprised.

At that moment the old man became Shiva before all of them.

For Shiva was not at that Assembly. And so, what kind of Assembly was it?

And so we understand, the Guru of Narada is Shiva Himself. At another case father of Narada Muni is also his Guru because he give him knowledge of Srimad Bhagavatam.

Learning:

This story illustrate how everyone should have proper guidance from spiritual teacher on his path of bhakti.

Guru often can manifest to us in a ways which we often cannot recognize.

Guru who direct us to Krishna may not be always Swami with long beard. Krishna can manifest throw everyone and help us advance.

Source  adapted from bhagavatam-katha.com

 

 

 

Master’s messages- Vol 1- Chapter 11-Man And God: Nara And Narayana

Sathya Sai Speaks Vol 1- Chapter 11

Nara will become the divine vehicle of Narayana if Nara acquires two qualities of Sathya and Prema.

Practise what you preach

Individual reconstruction is much more important than the construction of temples. Multiply virtues, not buildings; practise what you preach, that is the real pilgrimage; cleanse your minds of envy and malice, that is the real bath in holy waters.

Man is suffering today consequent to his own actions.

Of what avail is the name of the Lord on the tongue if the heart within is impure.People have to set themselves right and correct their food, their recreation, their method of spending their leisure as well as habits of thought.

Three types of intellect

For understanding this ,the intellect has to be kept sharp and clear. There are 3 types of intellect – Thamas (inertia/sloth), which confuses truth with untruth and takes untruth as truth; Rajas (passion/activity)-which like a pendulum swings confused between the truth and untruth and can’t distinguish between them; Sathwa (Purity /serenity)-which knows which is truth and which is untruth.

Sense of Discrimination with Equanimous intellect is necessary to reach One’s goal

The wisdom in hot chocolate ( Develop equal mindedness)

http://media.radiosai.org/journals/vol_10/01MAY12/09_chocolate.htm

Leading to Mukthi

Eat well so that your physical faculties and intelligence grow. Bhakti (devotion) will lead to Shakti(power); this will grant Yukthi(skill) ,which will lead to Rakthi ( help fix your attachment on proper objects) ,and this will finally lead you to Mukthi (liberation).

Do unto others as you would like them to do unto you .

https://saibalsanskaar.wordpress.com/2014/06/04/wooden-bowls/

Others are not separate from you

Instead of criticising others and finding faults with them(because of ego) ,look for your own faults , as faults in others is a reflection of your own personality traits.  Pay no heed to little worries; attach your mind to the Lord. This will lead you to good company of people where your talents will be transmuted.

Be a bee, not a mosquito

Bee drinks and distributes nectar while a mosquito drinks blood and spreads disease.

Give up anger,envy,cynicism and falsehood.

Have Prema (love) in your heart. Believe that Love is God, Truth is God. Love is Truth ,Truth is Love.

Be grateful to parents . Parents ,as servants of God, must encourage children when they evince any interest in spiritual advance and study

https://saibalsanskaar.wordpress.com/2013/03/07/an-exemplary-balvikas-guru-tribute-to-my-mum-on-her-18th-anniversary/

Focus on the Atma

Not on the transitory body.Give up the delusion you are this physical body .

Develop Sathya (truth) and Prema(love)

you will receive everything without asking. Man (nara) and God(Narayana)are two wires-positive and negative which combine to bring electricity.

Nara will become the divine vehicle of Narayana if Nara acquires two qualities of Sathya and Prema.

 

Sai Satcharitra – Chapter 32- Love and Faith

 

Value: Love

Sub value: Devotion, Grace

Story 1

Fasting and Mrs. Gokhale 
Baba never fasted Himself, nor did He allow others to do so. The mind of the faster is never at ease, then how could he attain his Paramartha (goal of life)? God is not attained on an empty stomach; first the soul has to be appeased. If there is no moisture of food in the stomach and nutrition, with what eyes should we see God, with what tongue should we describe His greatness and with what ears should we hear the same? In short, when all our organs get their proper nutrition and are sound, we can practise devotion and other sadhanas to attain God. Therefore, neither fasting nor overeating is good. Moderation in diet is really wholesome both to the body and mind.

One Mrs. Gokhale came to Shirdi with an introductory letter from Mrs. Kashibai Kanitkar (a devotee of Baba) to Dada Kelkar. She came to Baba with a determination to sit at Baba’s Feet observing a three days fast. The day previous, Baba said to Dada Kelkar, that He would not allow his children to starve during the Shimga, i.e., Holi holidays, and that if they had to starve, why was He there? Next day when the woman went with Dada Kelkar and sat at Baba’s Feet, Baba at once said to her, “Where is the necessity of fasting? Go to Dadabhat’s house, prepare the dish of Puran POlis (wheat rotis with gram-flour and jaggery), feed his children and yourself too.” Shimga holidays were on. Mrs. Kelkar was then in her menses and there was nobody to cook in Dadabhat’s house. So Baba’s advice was very timely. Then Mrs. Gokhale had to go to Dadabhat’s house and prepare the dish as directed. She cooked that day, fed others and herself. What a good story and how beautiful its import!

Story 2

Baba’s Sircar 
Baba gave a story of his boyhood as follows:- “When I was a youngester, I was in search of bread and went to Beedgaum. There I got embroidery work. I worked hard, sparing no pains. The employer was very much pleased with Me. Three other boys worked before Me. The first got Rs. 50/- the second Rs. 100/- and the third Rs. 150/-. And I was given twice the whole of this amount, viz. Rs. 600/-. After seeing my cleverness, the employer loved me, praised me and honoured me with a full dress, a turban for the head and a shell a for the body, etc. I kept this dress intact withoutusing it. I thought that what a man might give does not last long and it is always imperfect. But what My Sircar (God) gives, lasts to the end of time. No other gift from any man can be compared to His. My Sircar says “Take, take,” but everybody comes to me and says ‘Give, give.’ Nobody attends carefully to the meaning of what I say. My Sircar’s treasury (spiritual wealth) is full, it is overflowing. I say, “Dig out and take away this wealth in cartloads, the blessed son of a true mother should fill himself with this wealth. The skill of my Fakir, the Leela of my Bhagwan, the aptitude of my Sircar is quite unique. What about Me? Body (earth) will mix with earth, breath with air. This time won’t come again. I go somewhere, sit somewhere; the hard Maya troubles Me much, still I feel always anxiety for My men. He who does anything (spiritual endeavour) will reap its fruit and he who remembers these words of Mine will get invaluable happiness.”  the help of a good guide (Guru) is absolutely necessary. However learned a man may be, or however deep his study of Vedas and Vedangas (sacred literature) may be, he cannot go to his destination safely. If the guide be there to help him and show him the right way, he would avoid the pitfalls and the wild beasts on the journey, and everything will be smooth-sailing.

Baba’s experience in this matter, the story which He gave out Himself, is really wonderful, which, when attended to, will give you faith, devotion and salvation.

Essence:

We must have firm faith in our Guru. When we practice devotion with faith, when we feel some situations are impossible for us to embark on, suddenly we feel the task unfolding in a easy manner for us to complete the task effortlessly. It is nothing but the unseen hands of our Guru guiding us in every step. Therefore let us develop Devotion and Faith.

For Children:

It is good to practice devotion in our everyday life. We can observe that devotion gradually develops Faith. When we have devotion and faith on our Guru we can accomplish any task with ease, beacause he is always there to guide us in the right path

The Story below beautifully depicts how a Guru guides his students;

https://saibalsanskaar.wordpress.com/2016/09/26/the-importance-of-guru/

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Being a SSE (Sai Spiritual Education) or Balvikas Guru- 1

Balvikas-‘The blossoming of young minds’ was part of my life since my childhood. I was the first student of the Balvikas class started at home by my mother who was my first Guru. Swami (Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba) blessed my mother way back in late 70s to start this program at our place for young children to help develop the moral values as well to learn our great culture and tradition. I was in that program for about 7 years and later assisted my mother in taking classes for the younger children. Prayers, human value stories from great epics as well as from lives of great Masters, personalities, bhajans, role plays, value based games are all part of the interesting lesson plans. These classes planted in me the seeds of basic human values as well as love for God which in my later life has helped me shape my character and progress in my spiritual journey.

About 15 years after I completed my Balvikas classes; I was fortunate to be one of the SSE teachers here in Singapore where I reside. I taught the classes for about 10 years after which I took a break and in between off and on conducted simple moral value classes at home for our neighbourhood children. 5 years later; one day Swami (my inner voice) clearly indicated me to work on the human value blogs to spread human values and since then for the past 6 years I have been working with a team of dedicated volunteers and are now in 13 languages by the Divine grace. (https://saibalsanskaar.wordpress.com)

I have written about our human value blogs in many of my earlier posts; then why again? This is just to give a brief intro before I proceed to actually capture the humbling moments, the joy, the sense of fulfilment and an attitude of gratitude towards my first Guru; my mother and my Divine Guru and Divine Mother- Mother Sai.

About a year ago ie in mid of 2018; a strong thought of re-joining the SSE classes came to mind. I knew this was an indication from Swami. Perhaps He felt the need for me to again be ‘hands on’ with the children. I was busy with other activities so I postponed the idea and despite many calls for joining back to the program by the Sai family; I couldn’t commit time as I travel quite often. However, I was continuing my home classes as and when I was around. Recently I have re-joined the classes at the centre as per His guidance and indication.

In my home class experiences; children would look forward eagerly to Wednesday evenings to attend the classes as it was an interactive session and more focus was on sharing of value based stories and experiences. I also encouraged them to write for our blogs. Festival times were fun; they could help out with rangolis for Diwali, modakams for Ganesh Chaturthi etc. They would never want breaks from these classes. Many were new to Swami. Though the purpose was never to influence anyone into the Sai fold; the children were slowly getting attracted to the Divine Master. I will share the transformation of one such student and her family who are now totally committed to Swami’s activities and seva.

One day as I met up with one of the parents of my student who were not Sai devotees; she was happy to share that her daughter is learning a lot of values in the class and gives the feedback sessions of the classes at her home. The mother then went on to share a significant incident which was the beginning of a positive change in their family. One evening; the student’s father was back from office and was not in the best of his moods. He was short tempered by nature and that evening the family had to bear the brunt of his mood. This child walked up to her father and asked him nicely to calm down and told him; “Why do you get angry like this? Don’t you know ‘Anger is dog and Love is God’?? The father was taken aback and enquired “Who has taught you all this?” The child then informed him that all these were taught in the Balvikas class. He then asked her more about what she was learning in the class and how it was benefiting her? He was happy to note that the child was understanding and practising the values as well as praying daily. From then on the father has been careful in his approach with the children and the mother got totally involved in Sai activities and is always in the forefront to help out in all the sevas and Swami is the presiding deity of their home now.

The prompting to share this post now was my meeting up with my old SSE students last week. I met them at a Sai event. These were the girls whom I had taught more than 12 years ago. They have all graduated from the universities and I was glad to meet them. I could see so much happiness and joy on their faces as they came looking for me and sharing their future plans with me. They never fail to mention that they cherish the memories of their SSE classes with me and it was their most memorable time in SSE. I was indeed humbled by the love and words of these children who remembered their teacher and the lessons imparted to them even after so many years.

Later the next day I met another student of mine who is a bright young girl who’s done all of us very proud. She was grateful and thanked me profusely for teaching her valuable lessons in life which she treasures. Her words were “Your class was the most impactful and inspirational for me. I will always remember the lesson on ‘letting go’ that you taught me. I can never forget that day when I was bullied in school; badly hurt and carrying the hurt for many days; when you comforted me and shared with me about ‘putting the cup down and let go’. (https://saibalsanskaar.wordpress.com/2019/07/08/put-the-cup-down/). That changed my life. I became strong after that. It made me feel light. To this day I share this story with so many of my other friends. Thanks for that lesson. Though I may not follow it everytime; I am aware of it and try to implement whenever I can.” When I heard this from my student; it set me thinking!!!! Do I always follow this?? I too have to remember the lesson what I have taught the children and constantly improve myself.

The above incidences were indeed reassuring and I knew Swami was bringing to my notice these instances at this point in time as I re-join the classes with a new set of young minds to work with. HE has shown me that this seva is one of the most significant sadhanas; which positively benefits not only the life of a student, their family and society but me too.

It is our self-transformation through love, dedication, constant awareness and most importantly living the message which will help us to play a small part in creating a better world by inspiring young minds who have been entrusted to us.

Eternally grateful and humbled to be His instrument and guide His children and in the process improve myself constantly.

“Gurus (teachers/preceptors) have to be examples who can inspire the pupils. They must practise what they preach. As the teacher, so is the pupil. When the tap is turned, water flows down from the overhead tank. The quality of the tap water is the same as that of the water in the tank. When the heart of the guru is full of goodness, selflessness and love, the pupils will express these virtues in every act of theirs.”

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

 

Put the Cup Down

Value- Peace

Sub value- Letting go

Once a teacher wanted to impart a profound lesson to her students. She began her class by holding up a cup with some water in it. She held it up for all to see and asked the students, “How much do you think this cup weighs?”

100 gms!…. 200 gms!’….the students answered.

“’We won’t really know unless we weigh it,” said the teacher, “but, my question is…what would happen if I held it up like this for a few minutes?”

“Nothing” the students said.

“Ok! What would happen if I held it up like this for an hour?” the teacher asked.

“Your arm would begin to ache,” said one of the students.

“You’re right. Now what would happen if I held it for a day?”

“Your arm could go numb. You might have severe muscle stress and paralysis and have to go to hospital for sure!” ventured another student and all the students laughed.

“Very good. But during all this, did the weight of the cup change?” asked the professor.

“No…” the students said.

“Then what caused the arm ache and the muscle stress?” The students were puzzled.

They said in chorus “Your holding it for so long caused the pain”

“Put the cup down!” said one of the students.

“Exactly!” said the teacher.

“Life’s problems are something like this. Hold it for a few minutes in your head and they seem okay. Think of them for a long time and they begin to ache. Hold it even longer and they begin to paralyze you. You will not be able to do anything. So just put it down. Let go”

Learning

“It’s important to think of the challenges (problems) in our life. But EVEN MORE IMPORTANT is to have trust in HIM and to put them down at the end of every day before we go to sleep. That way, we are not stressed, and wake up every day fresh and strong and can handle any issue and any challenge that comes our way!” Let go and let GOD.

 

 

 

Master’s messages–Vol 1- Chapter 10 –Discrimination and Detachment

Sathya Sai Speaks- Vol 1- Chapter 10

Discrimination and Detachment- 2 wings leading to Bliss

Nature of Man

Man is Divine. He is here on a holy mission –divine purpose. Man’s true nature is Peace(Shanti). Restlessness is an unnatural state. The accumulation of riches, maintenance of health, Mastery of knowledge and cultivation of arts will not guarantee Peace

For Peace , one must Speak Less, Speak Sweet .

Avoid arguments and disputes and practice moderation in speech. It will help develop love (prema) as most misunderstandings arise out of carelessly spoken words. When the foot slips, the wound can be healed, but when the tongue slips, the wound it causes in the heart of another will fester for life. The tongue is liable to four big errors: uttering falsehood, scandalising, finding fault with others, and excessive articulation. These have to be avoided if there has to be peace (santhi) for the individual as well as for society.

https://saibalsanskaar.wordpress.com/2015/09/04/good-tongue-bad-tongue/

Silence is the language of the realised.

This is why it was prescribed as a vow for spiritual aspirants by the spiritual texts. You are all spiritual aspirants at various stages of the road, so this discipline is valuable for you also.

Prema must transform all relationships.- social, economic, educational, professional, family, religious, legal, and others.

The father must love the child a little more intensely and intelligently; the mother must spread love to all who come within her influence; children must love the servants. The sense of equality that everyone is the repository of the divine Essence must transmute social and individual behaviour.

https://saibalsanskaar.wordpress.com/2014/06/28/unconditional-love/

God is Embodiment of Divine Love (Premaswarupa)!

The Grace of the Lord is always flowing like the electric current through the wire. Fix a bulb, and the current, to the extent of the wattage, will illumine your home. The bulb is the spiritual exercises you perform; the home is your heart. Come to Me gladly; dive into the sea and discover its depth; there is no use dipping near the shore and swearing that the sea is shallow and has no pearls. Dive deep and you will secure your desire.

Yet again , Prema & the senses have to be rigorously controlled by discrimination and detachment, the twin talents given exclusively to human.

Discrimination instructs you how to choose your avocations and your associates. It tells you the relative importance of objects and ideals.

https://saibalsanskaar.wordpress.com/2015/12/23/only-experience-direct-knowledge-can-make-one-wise/

Detachment saves you from too much attachment and injects a sense of relief, at times of elation or despair.

https://saibalsanskaar.wordpress.com/2019/03/19/how-to-free-your-mind/

They are the two wings that lift the bird into the air. They hold before you the impermanence of the world and permanence of the Bliss of Reality.

They prompt you to direct your lives toward spiritual disciplines and the never failing contemplation of the glory of the Lord.

 

 

 

 

 

MAHA PRAGNA and MAHA KARUNA (Awareness and Compassion)

 

 

Value: Right Conduct

Sub value: Awareness and Compassion

One day, a young boy came into a monastery and asked the Chief Monk, to give him some job and food!

The Chief Monk asked him about his qualification, experience in any job and what he knows!

The boy replied: I have not studied in school.

I have no proficiency in any work!

I can do some odd jobs like washing food plates, cleaning up the cottage etc. I do not know anything else!

The Chief Monk asked are you sure you do not know anything else?

The boy replied: Oh, yes, Sir, now I remember.

I can play Chess!

The Chief Monk said: Oh that’s good. Now I shall test you in your game.

He asked another monk to come with chess board and pieces and asked a table to be placed so that the game could start.

Before start of the game, the Chief Monk said: Now see, I have a sword on my hand.

Whoever is defeated, his nose will be severed!

The boy became nervous. However, without any other way to go, he agreed!

The game started.

Initially, the boy made some mistakes in moves. His position on the board became almost hopeless.

*He then concentrated completely on the game and improved the position to a winning level*.

Then he looked at the monk sitting opposite and playing.

He was not quite nervous but obviously a little disturbed.

The boy then thought, “I am a useless fellow in life.”

*Nothing will change the world if I lose the game and lose my nose!*

But this monk, is well qualified person, doing meditation and is sure to attain spiritual hood, Why should he lose?

So, *the young boy deliberately made a wrong move, so that the monk sitting opposite could take advantage and win the game!*

The Chief Monk suddenly flashed his sword on the table.

All the pieces flew in different directions.

He then said: The game is over.

Boy, you are IN. You will be with us in the monastery hereafter!

The boy did not understand.

The Chief Monk explained:

“I did not ask you to play chess to find out your calibre in the game.

But I was looking for two essential qualities that are necessary for Self realization.

*One is the MAHA PRAJNA -Great Awareness!*

I found that in you. When your game became positionally bad, you put your entire concentration and attention on the game and improved your game.

*The second one is MAHA KARUNA – The Great Compassion!*

I found that also in you.

When your opponent was about to lose the game, you looked at him with great compassion and deliberately made a wrong move so that he could win.

These two qualities are adequate to do *SADHANA* and make life Meaningful! YOU ARE IN.

Life isn’t about winning or losing -there is nothing to win and nothing to lose.

Learning:

When we approach any situation with awareness, we learn to accept the consequence irrespective of success or failure. This attitude of awareness will help us to be compassionate which brings peace to us as well as the people in the surrounding. So let us consciously develop Awareness which will help us to be compassionate.