Bangalore, India
(Satsang began with devotees from all over the world singing hymns and songs in their national languages. The crowd from various countries around the world and from all parts of India united with one another through music and singing.)
This is the true spirit of Navratri - Uniting the whole world.
Even in the ancient days, each person would specialize in a different Veda, in one particular branch of knowledge, and in Navratri everybody would converge and everyone would bring their part of knowledge, music, dance, culture, and everything together.
You must have seen, day before yesterday, we had the flute music, the string instrument, the tabla, the drums, and singing.
The variety that is present in the Universe is all converged with the knowledge that there is One Spirit; One Universal Consciousness, i.e., The Divine Consciousness (God).
Divinity is not somewhere up in the heaven; it is in the five elements. So, honor the Earth, honor water, and make good use of Fire. Not just the external fire, but the fire inside you as well. There is a fire inside everybody, a passion, keep that in the right direction.
You don't have to be afraid of God because it is like the mother who cares for you, loves you, adores you and uplifts you. All the motherly qualities are present in God.
Usually we say, ‘Be God fearing; God is there to punish you’, no! This is a wrong idea. God will never punish you, but only educate and uplift you.
We must celebrate life.
We just heard the song, ‘La-Ilaha-Illallah’ – There is only one Divinity, and that Divinity is not somewhere up in the heaven, it is in the five elements, i.e., Earth, Water, Fire, Air and Ether.
So, honor the Earth, honor water, and make good use of Fire. Not just the external fire, but the fire inside you as well.
There is a fire inside everybody, a passion, keep that in the right direction. You know, fire can destroy, and fire can create as well, so allow the fire to do something creative. Give a direction to that fire (passion) inside of you.
Water can quench thirst and it can drown you as well.
Remember the Divine Mother; the Divinity is in the five elements, and in the Self. And real celebration is getting back to the Self with peace and ease.
So we must have this confidence – God loves me dearly. No more questions and no more doubt!
Also, don't compare yourself with anybody, this is also important.
‘Oh, that person can sing but I cannot sing’; ‘That person is intelligent but I am not’, no! You have everything inside you. At different times different things will come out, just have patience.
Another thing is that we say that we want blessings and we want Grace, isn’t it?!
Blessings are available in plenty, but if your vessel is small, then what to do?
If you bring this cup (Gurudev picks up a small cup), and say, ‘Give me two liters of milk in this’, how can two liters of milk fit in this little cup? The cup is small and you are asking for too much.
You need to bring a cup with a capacity of three liters and then I can give you two liter or three liter, whatever you want.
So, you must remember that whatever you get is your capacity, and if you want to get more then wait; expand your capacity.
When our capacity increases more will definitely come to us.
This is the reason why people are unhappy. They take a little cup and say, ‘Give me one liter of milk in this.’
The cup is then overflowing.
So this is what we need to know.
See, in life, irritations do come to you. ‘Oh, that person is no good’; ‘I cannot be with these people, they insult me’, these sort of the little things come in the mind, and then when you sit for meditation, all these things come and bother you. Isn't it?
Raise your hands and tell me honestly, when you sit for meditation, don't you think about these things – ‘Oh, it is better if my husband does this’; ‘Oh my child doesn’t listen’.
Things about the neighbors, friends, known people and unknown people, all these little irritations come and bring anger, frustration and irritation inside of you.
So, how do you handle this irritation?
Suppose you are doing some important work and a fly comes and sits on you, would you be bothered too much about the fly? No, you wouldn’t get bothered about a housefly, you would just shoo it away lightly.
Know that is what all these things are.
You must remember that whatever you get is your capacity, and if you want to get more then wait; expand your capacity. When our capacity increases more will definitely come to us. This is the reason why people are unhappy. They take a little cup and say, ‘Give me one liter of milk in this.’
These little irritations help to bring the acceptance inside you. Irritation means non-acceptance. Non-acceptance means holding your fist closed tight. Acceptance is like opening your fist.
Irritation is stiffness. Don't you feel stiffness when you get irritated?
Acceptance is openness, and when your hand is open, the sky is the limit; everything is inside you (referring to his open hand). But when you are closed (referring to his closed hand) then there is nothing inside.
So, letting go is important.
Now the question comes, ‘If I let go then how will I take action?’
Somebody is doing injustice and you think, ‘Oh, Gurudev talks on acceptance, and so I will accept it.’ No!
See, the fire is there, you have to give it the right direction.
Being irritated and doing an action is not going to help. First accept and then take the right action.
This needs a lot of courage and patience.
Another concern is being humiliated.
I tell you humiliation is very good. It is humiliation which expands your capacity; it makes your vessel bigger. It is humiliation that makes the I dissolve, makes the ego go away, and you become simply like a child.
Do you know, you can never humiliate a child because it is hollow and empty!
But when we become somebody, when we hold on to some idea about ourselves then we feel that, ‘Oh it is a humiliation.’
Somebody said, ‘Don’t come’, or, ‘Don't do this’, and all these little things bother you. That is why this is called Maya, because those things which are not worthy of paying attention to, the mind is dragged into that.
And when you say, ‘Even this is not mine’, then that is Mahamaya; it is a Divine play. Because then you start fighting with it, and fighting with it makes it even more. It becomes a catch 22 situation. You get stuck in the rut.
So, don’t shy away from humiliation. If humiliation happens take it as Tapas (means Heat. In Hinduism, it is used figuratively, denoting spiritual suffering, mortification or austerity).
‘Okay, this is Tapas. I will bear this. I take it.’
Tapas makes you stronger and more beautiful.
So, it is said, ‘Gyaninampee Chetansi Devi Bhagwati Hi Saa, Baladakrishya Mohay Mahamaya Prayachhati.’
This is what is written in the Durga Saptshati which we sang yesterday.
The power of Maya, the power of ignorance is so strong that even the most wise people and great intellectuals are just taken into her sway.
She can sway everybody, and so it is said, ‘Oh my dear Mother Goddess, you have swayed us into this play of illusions of the mind.’
We give importance to things which are not worthy of importance. We give too much importance to things which are temporary and fleeting which are not going to stay. They all come and they go. That is why it is called Mahamaya.
You know yesterday I said, ‘Ya Devi Sarva-bhutesu Bhranti-rupena Samsthitha Namastasyei Namastasyei Namastasyei Namo Namaha.’
The consciousness is also present as delusion, not only as Shanti (Peace) or Shakti (Strength) . It is also present as hunger, as confusion, as delusion, and all these manifestations.
When you notice this then you smile at the play of the mind.
Then when the little mind plays around, you don't identify with it; you go beyond and that is where you get that permanent peace – Chira Shanti. The mind is absolutely at peace; unshakable.
This is worth having in life, and for that only, all these blessings are needed.
Today we did the Rishi Homa. From ages, many saints in the past have preserved this knowledge.
In the tradition, it is Parashara (a Rigvedic Maharishi and author of many ancient Indian texts) whose specialty was Poojas.
In Guru Pooja we sing, Narayanam Padma Bhavam Vashishtham Shaktim cha tat putra Parasharam Cha.
The fifth saint in the tradition is Parashara. He emphasized on expression of love and devotion through Poojas – Poojadishu Anuraga iti Parasharyah.
Another concern is being humiliated. I tell you humiliation is very good. It is humiliation which expands your capacity; it makes your vessel bigger. It is humiliation that makes the I dissolve, makes the ego go away, and you become simply like a child.
Today also, Ayudha Pooja is done. This is done to honor all the instruments that we use.
When you go to the city tomorrow, you will find all the buses will have sandal-paste, Kumkum and flowers on them.
People will decorate their vehicles.
It means that, from a needle or a pin to a pillar; everything is permeated by the Divine, so honoring all the instruments.
Even small things like pins, knives, scissors, screwdrivers, spanners, all these things are honored, and it is said that Divine mother is present in all the instruments, and so we honor them.
You will see that once a year, in factories they clean all the instruments.
Today the people will honor and show gratitude to instruments, vehicles, buses, cars, everything, because the Divinity is present everywhere.
Ayudha Pooja is done on the ninth day of Navratri. Tomorrow is Vijaya Dasami, the day of victory.
So when Maya takes over the mind just become aware that it is the Maya of the mind.
It is the mind which is going around and doing all these things. Just let go of that.
That is the main message for the Navratri.
