Summer Showers In Brindavan, 1972

Summer Showers In Brindavan, 1972

Discourses By Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

During the Summer Course in Spirituality and Indian Culture for College Students at Brindavan, Whitefield, Bangalore

Sri Sathya Sai Sadhana Trust, Publications Division

Prasanthi Nilayam - 515 134

Anantapur District, Andhra Pradesh, INDIA

STD: 08555 ISD: 91-8555 Phone: 287375 Fax: 287236

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The paperback edition of Summer Showers In Brindavan, 1972 has been revised in 2013 with updated content and rectified spellings. This first e-book edition has been created from the 2013 paperback edition.

First Edition: 19th August, 2013 (19/08/2013)

ISBN: 978-93-5069-175-5

Paperback ISBN: 978-81-7208-974-0

Paperback Set ISBN: 978-81-7208-691-6

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Sri Sathya Sai Sadhana Trust, Publications Division

Prasanthi Nilayam, India, Pin Code – 515134

STD : 08555 ISD: 91-8555 Phone: 287375 Fax: 287236

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Message From Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Philosophy is the butter churned out of knowledge. But, since human aspirations and ideals, which change from place to place and time to time, decide which aspects of knowledge are included in the churning process, it is often incomplete or inadequate or contradictory. Generally speaking, religious beliefs and practices, folkways, customs and traditions, educational methods, art-forms, etc. help the formulation of the underlying philosophy.

Believing that the world as cognised during the waking stage is real and that the highest goal is the attainment of happiness in that world, man accumulates the instruments and symbols of that happiness; he fashions after his own taste and inclination, according to the dictates of his own reason, the laws, ideals, institutions, and principles that would bolster that happiness. This attempt leads to a philosophy, which can be named Western.

But, can the goal of Life be just this – to struggle amidst the waves of joy and grief that rise and fall in this visible objective world, to be carried along the current of desire, gathering food, shelter, comfort and pleasure, and finally, to flounder into the jaws of death? Consider what is happening now: in the name of progress, art is degraded into immoral and sensuous entertainment; educational advance results not in the advance of humility and reverence, but in rampant indiscipline, arrogance, and irreverence. The emphasis long placed on the development of character and the promotion of virtue through education has now been dropped. In their place is enthroned as ideals worldly success, self-aggrandisement, and high living. Laws, rules, and regulations are multiplying fast; but, there is no sign of unrighteousness and injustice being diminished. Greed is growing beyond control; the advance of science is marked, not by a proportionate advance in peace and happiness, but by a phenomenal increase in terror, unrest, and anxiety. With his thousand-faced curiosity, man is analysing and utilising the outer world; but, the inner world, which is basic, is ignored and forgotten.

Human life is a composite of the secular and the spiritual. But, now, the flesh is coddled, while the spirit is consigned into oblivion. As a result, neither the individual, nor the society, nor the nation can hope to have peace and security. The framework of Creation is an amalgam of right and wrong, joy and grief, cold and warmth; so, it is against the Nature to expect only right, or only joy, only wrong or only grief. It is not possible to uproot right wholly from the world; nor is it possible to make the world wholly free from grief in any form. The burden of wrong and the agony of grief can be reduced, however, in proportion to the loyalty that man offers to sublime ideals and his efforts to put them into practice.

So long as man lives on the level of the beasts, concentrating all his talents in the task of securing food, shelter, and other physical and material needs, the unrest now rooted in his heart cannot be got rid of. Therefore, the path of Dharma or Righteousness, which ensures inner purification and harmony, should not be given up.

What is Dharma? It is the way of higher life, directed by the ideals one holds dear, by the level of attainment one has reached, by the status of the individual in society, and the individual’s own awareness of himself and his status. Mere awareness of ‘I am a human being’ will not guide him into the path of Dharma; those, who are aware only of this, will be guided only into the path of feeding, sleeping, and avoidance of fear from danger. Awareness of ‘I am a human being’ is only half the truth. ‘I am not a beast’ is the other half. Always remind yourself of what you are, as well as what you are not; when this is done, when activities are in accordance with that awareness, man will be manifesting the full significance of the name he is known by.

When man has resolved to understand his reality by the method of inquiry, he must avoid the error of condemning the points of view held dear by others. It is not right to deny their validity. He has to give value to all aspects, consider all views, for there is no clear cut distinction between mine and thine, this and that other. Truth is Knowledge; Knowledge is Limitless. Truth has to be discovered by analysing the complex mass of facts and things.

Indian Culture is the product of the experience of generations in the field of this Truth, of Knowledge that is limitless, that is seen through the vision of the Wise. When students have the chance once to look upon the Culture, to contact its living embodiments and expressions, and to hold converse with its manifold manifestations, all doubts regarding it will vanish from their minds. It is a fact that persons, who are too lazy to learn, who have not grasped the validity of Vedanta, or the relative reality of the world, feel that Indian culture is at best a ruse to while away one’s time. We are not concerned with such persons. They have such ideas, because they do not know that Vedanta is their own history. Animals are not conscious that they are alive; they live without being aware of life. If man, too, leads life in this manner, verily, he is no better than a mere animal.

Your forefathers were being fed from infancy on breast milk reinforced by the mixture of sublime ideals and principles of righteousness. As a result, they stuck to the path of righteousness, steadily, in a commendable form. They strove to help each other; co-operated in all efforts to promote the welfare of others and sympathised when others suffered or incurred loss or injury. They did not allow feelings of hatred, revenge, or violence to tarnish their minds. They recognised that their chief duty was to devote themselves in activities conducive to general good.

Today, those, who pride themselves on the enormous advance achieved by man and prance about, prattling the stories of their paltry victories, are only demonstrating by their behaviour that they are totally ignorant of the high principles followed in life by their forefathers. What is the reason for the disappearance from the present generation of the sublime virtues of those days, of sympathy and mutual aid, of the peace and happiness that prevailed then? No inquiry is probing into this problem.

Can a King, declaring himself the master of a state, fulfil all the wishes of his subjects? Why, he finds himself incompetent to fulfil even all his own wishes! If he decides to pursue his fancies on the plea that he is the lord and master, his subjects draw him down from the throne. How does this happen? However high a person’s authority, he has to bow his head to some laws and limits that are laid down to ensure proper exercise of that power. They might have been laid down by the king himself, but once accepted and announced, he is bound to them as strongly as anyone else. If he acts in contravention of the covenant, the subjects, too, would break away from the laws and limits that regulate their activities and behaviours, and anarchy would result. For, the saying goes, As the ruler, so is the ruled. Therefore, the law-maker should obey the law; he, who lays down the limit, should himself respect it. This is the precious lesson, the shining lamp of wisdom that the Ramayana is holding forth for the benefit of man. This is the excellence of the culture and history of India.

Students have to be instructed on these monuments of Indian Culture and informed of the ideals, which they embody. Their intellects, thus charged and cleansed, have to be offered to the nations of the world as ideals to be emulated. They themselves will be saved thereby; they will serve as guides and leaders to others. Intending to place before them the Truth, to remove from their minds the ruinous beliefs that have sprouted there, as a result of the craze for novelty in recent times, to uproot the specious arguments and fantastic doubts that are clinging to their reasoning faculty, and resolving to imprint on the pure, steadfast, and conceitless hearts of the young the peace and joy that their forefathers were able to live in, we have arranged to invite elders of invaluable experience in these fields and instruct youth on moral, ethical, spiritual, physical, and secular truths.

When such a sacred Yajna is held every year, present-day Youth can easily understand and appreciate not only the Culture of India, but also the Wisdom garnered by people of other lands. Thus, they will be rid of all feelings of separation and difference; they will be equipped and made ready to demonstrate in their lives the Truth that has been revealed to them. This Summer Course on Indian Culture and Spirituality has been planned and arranged with this belief and in this faith.

May this attempt achieve Victory! May all beings derive therefrom Peace, Happiness, Prosperity, and Security.

Baba

Preface

It is well-known that there are many gaps in the equipment of the student, which the present system of education does not find it easy to fill. Quite a few Commissions and Study Groups have reported on the problems relating to pressure of numbers, the medium of instruction, examinational procedures, the status of teacher and students, and the reforms required in the constitution of university bodies. The University Grants Commission has appointed several committees that have produced modernised syllabuses for various subjects, reported on the scope and method of research on educational problems, directed the production of text-books with an Indian and World View, and discussed the possibility of a general course for undergraduates in the evolution of Indian culture.

The re-orientation of the very objectives of higher education is also engaging the attention of educationists. The Kothari Commission has stressed the need for value education, for a moral and spiritual impact on the evolving personality of the student. The problem of value education has to be urgently solved. Some countries have a system of education, which is compulsive, seeking to fit students into patterns predetermined by the State. In spite of its excellence, the ancient Indian system was exclusive, designed for a section of society, not for all. The Colonial system revived values like Science, Love of Freedom and Reason. But, it left the ego unchanged and was powerless to bring about the sublimation of character and attitude.

A National System of Education in India will not stop short of Reason. All subjects, the physical and social sciences and the humanities, will be so studied and developed that they will help the blossoming of the spirit. They are at present tied up to the apron strings of philosophies, which do not emphasise the value of spiritual life. Education in India has to envisage a society built on love and co-operation, integrating castes and communities and creeds into one, through the awareness of the immortality of the soul and the equality of all in the realm of the spirit.

The philosophy of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba lays stress on the core of Love and Bliss in each human being. Cutting across all distinctions, it underlines the brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of God. It promotes Truth, Righteousness, Peace, and Love in the individual, the family, the society, the nation, and the world. As an instrument for the reconstruction of humanity on these pillars, Bhagawan has planned Summer Courses in Spirituality and Indian Culture, of a month’s duration, to groups of College Students and Teachers gathered from all the states of India. Each Course includes lectures by eminent scholars, thinkers, administrators, and repositories of classical learning and exponents of art, on Hinduism and other Religions, Vedanta and other systems of philosophy, Science and its impact on cultural values, Mystics and Saints of all lands, and kindred subjects, which will foster the values so essential for an educated person today. As a practical supplement to these discourses, the students will have bhajan, meditation, yogasana training, self-help activities, social service programmes in the villages around the place, where the Course is held. Bhagawan Himself discourses every evening at the Camp, amplifying and clarifying the points raised during the lectures of the day and elaborating in His unique, sweet, and simple style, with plenty of parables and stories, His Message of Love. These Discourses are herewith offered for the edification of all, so that His Message to the Students might be studied and assimilated by all those, who are interested in the uplift of youth. The book will also serve as an Introduction to the Teachings of the Avatar of the Age, for the uplift of Humanity.

Contents

1. Exhortation To Students

2. Vedic Truths Belong To The Whole World

3. Nature Of The Human Mind

4. What The Upanishads Teach Us

5. The Nature Of Truth

6. ‘Kama’ And ‘Krodha’

7. ‘Purusha’ And ‘Prakriti’

8. Lessons From The Gita

9. Meditation

10. Destiny And Divine Grace

11. Self-control And Detachment

12. Sankara Jayanti

13. Customs And Character

14. The Perishable And The Imperishable

15. Worship Your Parents

16. Anger - The Greatest Enemy

17. The Path Of Devotion

18. Dvaita, Advaita, And Vishishtadvaita

19. God’s Love Is Like Sunshine

20. Pleasure And Pain

21. Learning And Humility

Chapter 1

Exhortation To Students

When clouds gather in the high skies, they are usually accompanied by lightning. In the same manner, wherever there is education, it should be accompanied by wisdom. We have to recognise such an association as an essential truth. Many things like the fullness of life and all that is purposeful in this world have been involved in problems of education. Because we do not see these things clearly and they appear to us tarnished to a large extent, whatever is good in education is being hidden from us. Every thinking individual concerned with education is today faced with a large number of problems; problems that have been agitating the minds of students and of teachers. It is the duty of everyone to see that these problems are solved and the right solutions are put into the hearts of young people and thereby, infuse a sense of the Divine in their minds. Because good qualities, like sacrifice, forbearance, truth, and love, have been somewhat pushed to the background, the society is suffering from various ills. It is the sacred duty of good education not only to rectify such ills and give proper shape and form to society, but also to rid the minds and hearts of people, as well, of all evils. In our educational methods of today, we are attaching great importance to giving voluminous books and the information contained in these voluminous books to the students. We are not making an effort to improve the ideas and ideologies of the students. By their acquaintance with these books, the students are filling their heads with the contents of such books to the fullest capacity and without any discrimination. They are not utilising properly the matter that is going into their heads. It has been mentioned earlier this morning that the present educational system in our country is resulting in our students taking in quite an amount of information and that they are not converting this information into useful knowledge and wisdom. But, I feel that our students lack in the discriminating capacity by which to selectively absorb only good information. If they do so, they can also convert it into useful knowledge. We are no doubt keeping in mind today the ideals and the goals of good education, but that is not enough. We should also make an effort to put them into practice.

Keeping aside for one moment the educational system itself, I have to state that in the name of education, many new habits, many new cultures, and many new ideas are being injected into the minds of our children. As a result, the parents are not able to lift their heads with honour in the society around them. Fathers and mothers, who have sons and daughters who are students and are part of the contemporary educational system, know that the children are behaving in such a manner as to create problems in the house. The parents often wonder how these problems can be tackled and how their children can be handled. These sons and daughters are not able to develop sufficient confidence in themselves. Their fathers and mothers wonder what their future is going to be. Today, man’s ideas are taking an extraordinary and crooked shape, because there is a certain amount of distortion in their minds, caused by their running after western civilisation and western notions. As a result, they attach great importance to temporary gains and transient successes. Life is not that transient or that trivial, so as to be played with. It should not be sold to running after wrong and distorted aims. Students should attach more importance and sanctity to life than they do now. The minds and hearts of students are tender, sweet, soft, and gentle. If, at this age, when their hearts are still tender and gentle, they cannot take in the values of life, they will not be able to take them in later. The essential reason for this lies in the way fathers and mothers are looking after their children and in the ideas they are giving to their children. In the ambition and desire of the parents that their children should have freedom and that they should rise to high positions in their lives, they are giving them freedom without telling them how dangerous freedom could be, if not utilised properly.

The end of wisdom is freedom.

The end of culture is perfection.

The end of knowledge is love.

The end of education is character.

There is a desire on the part of all of us to acquire these four qualities, namely wisdom, culture, knowledge, and education and reach their ends, namely freedom, perfection, love, and character. But, students should realise that if these qualities are not properly utilised, then they cannot call themselves students. As students and future citizens of this country, you have the responsibility for shaping the future of this country. Put your hearts in the right path by listening attentively to the more experienced men. Then, you will be in a position to enlighten others and proclaim the ancient glory and culture of this land to the whole world. I have no doubt that after this summer course, you will be able to proclaim proudly the sacredness of the culture of this land of ours and of the values contained therein. You may be thinking that there are only about three hundred students from this vast country of India attending this course and you may be wondering how such a small number can do anything to rectify and alter the terrifying phases, which life in this country has assumed.

My dear students! There may be hundreds and thousands of sepoys and jawans to be trained, but there will be only a small number of teachers to train them. These are the commanders and leaders. Taking this example, even though there are thousands of students in this country, you as leaders must get the training you require to train the many thousands of others in the country. This is the idea, with which you must go through the summer course. This is the first summer course you are attending and I hope and bless you that, after you have gone through it, you will acquire the virtues of leadership. Those of you, who are here, have to acquire by going through these classes, a certain amount of strength and character. With this strength, you will be able to lead your country. In this world, most of you wish to do some noble and difficult work. All those, who wish to participate in such work, have to accept leadership and responsibility. Those students, who today feel that it is good to accept such a responsibility, are the ones, who will do well in the future.

If we cannot recognise our duties, we will not be able to rectify our methods. Take the example of a leader, who is very much addicted to drinking. How can he propagate the usefulness of keeping away from drink? How can he preach prohibition? In the same manner, how can such teachers and students, who succumb to evils, do good to and improve society? If we want to accept the responsibility of telling others to rectify their faults, then the first thing to do is to rectify our own faults and change our own lives, so that there are no more faults left in us. So, the right thing to do is to cleanse our own hearts and then, move to the area around you, say your own village. After purifying the people of the village, then you can move to the district; after purifying the district, you can move to the state and after purifying the state, you can become a leader in your country. If you want to become a leader without these prior acts, then you will be disappointed and you cannot be a leader. It is only when we understand and recognise the responsibility and the duty of a citizen, we will be able to change the methods of education and infuse into those methods love and peace, which are the essential qualities of a good citizen. For students and other members of society, education should be a kind of social ideal. It should constitute a bridge, on which you should walk to reach your goal. If this bridge of education is not built with sufficient strength, it will be harmful to the individual. The students should take the road of reorganisation and endow education with the strength it needs. By developing prejudicial attitudes and maintaining attachments, we are not going to derive happiness from our actions. It is only by developing a correct vision of things that we will be able to derive happiness. Today’s education is aimed at giving those, who go through it, an amount of temporary happiness, temporary beauty, and temporary pleasure. The conduct of students of today is not controlled in any manner. Principles of education, which do not connect the students with their parents, will bring unhappiness to all of us in the future. One of the essential facets of Indian culture is to recognise the mother and father as equivalent to God. If we do not deserve the love of our mother and of our father, from who else can we ask for such affection? We should therefore develop attitudes, by which we can promote such love and respect. It is only when you are able to respect your parents, your children will respect you when you, in the future, become fathers and mothers. In every action of ours and in every thought of ours, there is a reflection and an echo. If in your future, you aspire to and want some happiness, pleasure, and peace; you must practise certain principles at the present time. You must practise these principles now to bring peace and contentment for yourself in the later stages of your life. Indian culture is constituted of certain rituals and certain practices, which have been handed down to us through the ages. Today, students regard these rituals, some of which are the essence of Indian culture, as being foolish. They think that they are very clever and that these rituals are meaningless.

Today, many scientists of great reputation are inventing gadgets and flying to the moon. They are spending so much money on such things, but they do not have peace of mind. Leaders and men, who are at the top of society, feel that they have everything. Alas! They do not have any peace of mind. Why is this so? We have to enquire and find an answer for this. One can count stars and fly to the moon. But, if one cannot look into the inside of one’s self, how can he find happiness? Our culture and traditions are such that they enable you to know who you are and help you to understand yourself. The first thing to have is self-confidence, after which alone you will get self-satisfaction. Once you have got self-satisfaction, then you must acquire the virtue of self-sacrifice and after self-sacrifice alone, you come to self-realisation. Thus, to achieve self-realisation, self-confidence is the most important thing. In all these four attributes, namely self-confidence, self-satisfaction, self-sacrifice, and self-realisation, the one common word is self. To understand this self, you must find out from experienced people what they know about it. From today, for a whole period of one month, to enable you to find out the meaning of this self, we have invited a large number of people, who have experienced this self, to tell you what it means.

It is possible that during this one month, there may be certain inconveniences that you have to put up with. The food and comforts may not suit you. You have to bear up with all this and bear it up with happiness, because such a training is essential in your