Hidden Treasure – Myths And Legends

The basis of the Buddha’s psychological teaching is that our efforts to control what is inherently uncontrollable cannot yield the security, safety or the happiness we seek. By engaging in a delusive quest for happiness, we only bring suffering upon ourselves. In our frantic search for something to quench our thirts, we overlook the water all around us and drive ourselves into exile from our own lives.. Here are two parables that clarifies this point..

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There was one great master, a Buddhist master, Nagarjuna. A thief came to him. The thief had fallen in love with the master because he had never seen such a beautiful person, such infinite grace. He asked Nagarjuna, “Is there some possibility of my growth also? But one thing I must make clear to you: I am a thief. And another thing: I cannot leave it, so please don’t make it a condition. I will do whatsoever you say, but I cannot stop being a thief. That I have tried many times–it never works, so I have left the whole sport. I have accepted my destiny, that I am going to be a thief and remain a thief, so don’t talk about it. From the very beginning let it be clear.”

Nagarjuna said, “Why are you afraid? Who is going to talk about your being a thief? The thief said, “But whenever I go to a monk, to a religious priest, or to a religious saint, they always say, ‘First stop stealing.'”

Nagarjuna laughed and said, “Then you must have gone to thieves; otherwise, why? Why should they be concerned? I am not concerned!” The thief was very happy. He said, “Then it is okay. It seems that now I can become a disciple. You are the right master.”

Nagarjuna accepted him and said, “Now you can go and do whatsoever you like. Only one condition has to be followed:! be aware Go, break into houses, enter, take things, steal; do whatsoever you like, that is of no concern to me, I am not a thief–but do it with full awareness.”
The thief couldn’t understand that he was falling into the trap. He said, “Then everything is okay. I will try.”

After three weeks he came back and said, “You are tricky–because if I become aware, I cannot steal. If I steal, awareness disappears. I am in a fix.”

Nagarjuna said, “No more talk about your being a thief and stealing. I am not concerned; I am not a thief. Now, you decide! If you want awareness, then you decide. If you don’t want it, then too you decide.”

The man said, “But now it is difficult. I have tasted it a little, and it is so beautiful–I will leave anything, whatsoever you say. Just the other night for the first time I was able to enter the palace of the king. I opened the treasure. I could have become the richest man in the world–but you were following me and I had to be aware. When I became aware, diamonds looked just like stones, ordinary stones. When I lost awareness, the treasure was there. And I waited and did this many times. I would become aware and I became like a buddha, and I could not even touch it because the whole thing looked foolish, stupid–just stones, what am I doing? Losing myself over stones? But then I would lose awareness; they would become again beautiful, the whole illusion. But finally I decided that they were not worth it.”

From Awareness The Key to Living In Balance by Osho.

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A lady had a precious necklace round her neck.  Once in her excitement she forgot it and thought that the necklace was lost.  She became anxious and looked for it in her home but could not find it.  She asked friends and neighbours if they knew anything about the necklace. They did not.  At last a kind friend of hers told her to feel the necklace round her neck.  She found that it had all along been round her neck and she was happy.  When others asked her later if she found the necklace which was lost, she said, ‘Yes, I have found it.’  She still felt that she had recovered a lost jewel.

Now, did she lose it at all? It was all along round her neck.  But judge her feelings.  She was as happy as if she had recovered a lost jewel.  Similarly with us, we imagine that we will realize that Self some time, whereas we are never anything but the Self.

From Be As You Are Teachings from Ramana Maharshi by David Godman.

Hundred Rupees – Sathya Sai Baba Quotations

Sri Sathya Sai Baba Stories and Parables
Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Anecdotes

BROTHERS

Swami often asked young boys, “How many brothers do you have?” Boys invariably replied along expected lines by saying two, or three, etc., as is the case. Swami then smiled and softly whispered, “All are your brothers!” After this He asked of another boy, “How many friends do you have?” Taking the cue from the earlier conversation, this second boy would say, “Swami, all are my friends.” Swami would again smile, and gently say, “No, all are not your friends; God alone is your friend!”

HUNDRED RUPEES

For Bhagavan Baba, quality is always more important than quantity; and to stress it, He often says: “One ounce of cow’s milk is much better
than a barrel of donkey’s milk!” There is an incident that graphically illustrates the point:

During the period the Super Speciality Hospital in Puttaparthi was under construction, Bhagavan was quite busy and could not spend as much time with His students as He normally did. In the afternoons, after Darshan and a few Interviews, He would be closeted with doctors.

One day, after giving Darshan and receiving letters from the public as well as students, He adjourned as usual to the Interview room. Suddenly He came out holding a letter in His hand. Waving the letter He went towards the students and asked, “Which of you wrote this?” Hesitantly, one boy got up. Swami asked, “You wrote this?” Meekly the boy nodded his head, fearing the worst. Swami then turned towards the elders in the veranda and said, “This boy is a student here. He is very keen to contribute to the Hospital Project. In this letter, he says that he is not a doctor and therefore cannot contribute service.
He is not a rich man and therefore cannot make a donation. He is only a mere student. Yet, he is keen to do his bit. So, what does he do? He saves his pocket money, collects hundred rupees and gives it Swami.” So saying, Baba pulled out a hundred rupee currency note from the envelope in His hand and displayed it to the devotees there. Bhagavan then slowly added. “For Swami, these hundred rupees represent pure Love emanating from the heart. They are therefore far more valuable than a big donation made perfunctorily.” God always cares only for quality and not quantity.

“I AM SWAMI”

Once in Brindavan, as Bhagavan Baba was coming out for Darshan, He saw four boys standing. Swami stopped and asked one of the boys, “What is your name?” The boy told Baba his name. Swami then asked the same question to the other three boys. Two of them gave their names but the
third one said, “I am Swami.” Baba then told that boy, “In that case,  go and give Darshan!” and moved away.

Man certainly is an aspect of God. In fact, as Swami says, man is God. But this fact must be realised in the heart and not merely understood in the head. And having realised this basic truth, man must always have that Godly feeling. Merely declaring, “I am God!” will not do.

YOU ALSO ARE GOD

Swami loves children and can be frequently seen talking to them [especially the Birthday boys] in the veranda in Sai Kulwant Hall in Prasanthinilayam. A favourite question of His is: “Boy, how old are you?” When the boy concerned replies, Swami’s next question would be: “How do you know?” Invariably the answer would be, “My mother told me.” Swami would then smile and remark, “Yes, it is always the mother who is the first teacher.” Changing the subject, Baba would then ask: “Where do you come from?” Quick would come the reply: “Swami, I have come from You!” Swami would laugh and then say, “I just want to know where you were born.” After a bit of light banter like this, Swami would then ask, “Who am I?” Without any hesitation, the boy answers, “Swami, You are God!” Swami would smile, pat the boy and slowly say, “You also are God!”

Kodai-Krishna, Tales From Discourses – Sathya Sai Memories Cont.

 

Govinda Meaning

“I worship Govinda, the Primeval Lord, the First Progenitor Who is tending the cows, yielding all desires, in abodes built with spiritual gems, surrounded by millions of purpose-trees, always served with great reverence and affection by hundreds of thousands of Lakshmis or Gopis.”

Small Gems from
Swami’s Kodaikanal Discourses

In 1997, Swami gave discourses everyday in Kodaikanal. To make them more interesting to us, he often included small parables to get the meaning across. I wrote down  several of those stories to be use in our magazine InnerViews. Now they will do equally well for Sai Memories.

Four Wives and Four Ways

A rich man had four wives. The first wife was highly spiritual. The second wife was sick. The third wife read many good books. The fourth was a modern wife; she enjoyed fashionable sarees and jewelery.

The rich man went to America on business. There he was delayed. He wrote to his wives to explain, and asked each of them to send a fax and tell him what they wanted him to bring home.

The fourth wife, the modern woman, wanted the husband to bring her the latest fashionable sarees and jewellry. The third wife wanted books full of information and biographies of noble people. The second wife said, “Bring the latest medicines.” The first wife said, “I don’t want anything. It is enough that you return safely.”

The husband returned. He gave the latest sarees and jewels to the fourth wife. All books he gave to the third wife. To the second wife he presented the latest medicines, and then he stayed with the first wife. The three other wives were angry, and asked, “Why do you stay there? Why don’t you stay with us?”

It is difficult to live with one wife, and beyond measure with two wives. Three wives were responsible for Rama being sent into exile. Four wives are unbearable! All three wives started to fight with him.

Then he said, “I gave you what you wanted. You wanted the jewels and sarees; you wanted good books, and you wanted medicines, but first wife wanted me, and I am staying with her.”

God is the same. He acts in a similar way. If someone prays to God, “Oh God, I want wealth and comfort.” God may grant them. If some others pray to God for wisdom, certainly God will teach them wisdom. God also has constructed the Super Specialty Hospital for those who fall sick.

But to those who pray, “Oh God, I want you!” He will be very close to that one. These are the four ways of approaching God.

– Sai Baba

The Best Visa

Whatever you want, God will grant it. But your desires are not important; God is important. If you have God, you will have everything. Real wealth is God; real health is God. You should make every effort to pray for God, because you are from God. You should go back to God. So many have assembled here. Where do you come from?

You belong to different countries all over the world, and now you are here. Though in a blissful state, you have to go back the moment the money is spent, or when the visa expires, you must then return. It is not possible to stay here always.

However, God is not a temporary visit, you should have a permanent visa. It is God’s grace that you can acquire love, love, love! When once you have love, you will have a permanent visa.

There is love in each one of you. Develop that love and share it with others. You can also experience it from others. Love is not one way traffic, it is two ways _ give and take. We don’t need to go anywhere, if we have love.

Many foolish, foolish, foolish people go everywhere seeking that Swami and this Swami.

You need not go anywhere. God is in your heart. Have full faith in God. Do not change your faith. Do not change your concentration, follow one path, have belief in one God; that is the spirit of love.

– Sai Baba

Two Brothers

Excerpt from discourses given in Kodaikanal on the 25th April, 1997

“Once there were two brothers living together. One was a miser and the other was an even greater miser. They were so miserable that they didn’t enjoy anything in life. They heard from a nearby village that an elderly person had died the evening before, and the elder brother decided to visit the village to pay his respects.

To save money, he walked rather than take the local bus. He got up early the next day, lit the lamp and went on his journey. When the younger brother saw the lit lamp he extinguished it with his hands to save oil. Alone in the dark a scorpion stung him, and he suffered greatly.

A half an hour later there was a knock on the door. When he went to open it he saw his brother had returned. I’ve returned to ask you whether or not the lamp was put out,’ said the elder brother. The younger brother still in great pain said, ‘Brother, what have you done? By going and returning, the soles of your shoes have worn out.’

One who has greed and miserliness will have no happiness. Sacrifice is most important. There is no higher quality than sacrifice; with sacrifice one can attain everything.”

– Sai Baba

The Highest

Excerpt from a discourse given in Kodaikanal on the 2nd May, 1997

“People have come here from many distant countries and spent a lot of money. Why? They have come here, due to Divine Love. Without love they could not have come this far and also undergo so many discomforts.

Love is within everyone. Think of everyone as a temple of love. Have love for society, not the illusory love of 1 + 1 + 1. (My, myself and I). Love all the world. At least when you come here try to expand your love.

The world is a mansion where all men belong to rooms called countries, such as India, Japan and America.

Each nation is a room with a different name. But all people are the same Atman. Understand the intimate relationship between the house and the family. Man can achieve anything with unity, but he must make an effort.

“Look to the highest.”

– Sai Baba

Rose Coloured Glasses

Excerpt from a discourse given in Kodaikanal on the 1st May, 1997

“An optimist and a pessimist were both looking at the water in a tumbler. The optimist said that the tumbler was half full and the pessimist said that it was half empty. The optimist is full of happiness. The pessimist uses a parachute, but the optimist uses an aeroplane. But sometimes the parachute is correct. Pessimism and optimism both depend on the attitude.Hopelessness is due to faulty vision. The optimist and pessimist can walk down the same street, the optimist looks up and sees the stars, whereas the pessimist looks down and sees a hole. Both are walking on the same road but there is a difference in the vision or attitude.

Change your vision to think that everything is God. Know the difference between spectacles and vision. With our natural eyes we see colours. When we use the spectacles of love, the entire world is full of love. Everything becomes love. Spectacles cover the eyes but do not obstruct vision. See the proper colour, the whole. God is full of love. Wear the glasses of love.”

Darshan seating!

From a discourse given in Kodaikanal on the 3rd of May,1997

“The darshan queues now resemble a bus queue. Everyone is thinking only of him or herself. There is no thought for others. When the time for the bus is due the queue pushes and tramples over others to get to the best available seats. No one stops to consider others, their welfare. All rush without a care for anyone else!

This is not right, THERE IS A SEAT FOR EVERYONE. No one should take all the best seats at the expense of others!

( Swami gave a direct look to those in the bhajan hall ) I tell you, there is a seat available for everyone of you – no need to worry.”

– Sai Baba

Fire is hidden in wood and God in Man – Baba

The best and only religion in the world is the religion of love. The good-hearted man who professes no religion is the truly religious man. All are pilgrims on the road; some going very fast, some going slower, that is all. The goal is the same for you all though the roads may be very different and many in number.

–  Sai Baba