QUIZ ON A DIVINE DISCOURSE
DELIVERED IN KODAI KANAL
Right answer on your 1st attempt |
3 Points |
Right answer on your 2nd attempt |
2 Points |
Right answer on your 3rd attempt |
1 Point |
Bhagavan Baba tends to visit Kodai Kanal every year around April-May, leaving the heat of Prashanti Nilayam and Bangalore for the cooler climes of the green sylvan hills so that the devotees are much inconvenienced because of the warm climate. During such trips, Bhagavan always takes a few students and elders with Him, and uses this time to teach them, often in a playful way. But he also gives extended series of Discourses to the devotees who have made the pilgrimage to Kodai from all over the world. We now present a quiz taken from one such discourse, delivered in “Sai Shruthi”, Swami’s residence in Kodai Kanal, on 26 April 1999.
1.During His Divine 1999 Discourse in Kodai, Swami, very poetically, revealed the different aspects of Speech.
“Speech is the cause of prosperity,
Speech is the cause of friendship,
Speech is the cause of bondage, and
Speech may even cause death.” [Sanskrit Verse]
While elaborating more on this topic, Swami said: “When the speech is good, man becomes ___________.”
2. While imparting knowledge concerning the “I” principle, Swami expanded: “Several ways were enunciated in Vedanta to clarify one question: ‘Who am I?’ What is its inner significance? Question yourself, ‘Who am I?’ A doubt may also arise as to why you should try to know ‘Who am I’, when there are so many other things of interest in this age of information.”
According to Swami, how does understanding the word “I” help us?
3.During the Discourse, Swami used a very pertinent example to teach the Truth of how the ‘One’ becomes many in the Vedantic language. “There is only One without a second. That is Divinity. If you recognize Divinity, you will be able to understand the nature of the Self, immanent in all individual beings. Everything has emanated from the Divine.
“Here is an example. First you were alone. Later you got married. Before marriage you had only two legs and you enjoyed greater freedom. You could go wherever you wanted to go. After marriage, you acquired two more legs and your movements were restricted, since you did not feel like leaving your wife alone at home. This is ___________.”
4. While explaining the phenomenon of the changeless Atma, Swami uses the example of the screen in a theatre: “The world is like a cinema, and the Atma is the screen. The different projections that appear on the screen are transient, whereas the screen remains as it is. That is why Vedanta proclaims Brahma sathyam jaganmithya (Brahman is truth, the world is an illusion). The pictures in the form of projections on the screen come and go, but the screen does not change. Let us analyze this from the standpoint of the Vedantic statement sarvain khalvidam Brahma (the entire universe is Brahman). When the pictures appear on the screen, it become invisible. Where does it go? It is there within the picture, but it is invisible. But without the screen you cannot see the pictures.”
After elaborating more on the function of the screen in a theatre as merely a witness, to what does Swami compare the permanent screen of our heart to?
5. In an attempt to guide us towards attaining liberation, Swami reveals the formula: “The conscious perception of what is going around and the people we come across through bodily senses and mental powers are transient. Conscience is within. It vibrates throughout the body, whereas conscious perception is associated with the senses. Where do these two, conscience and conscious perception, come from? Both have their origin in the all-pervading universal consciousness. Where do you find consciousness? It is not confined to one place. It is infinite, immutable, invisible, and all-pervasive. First, you should understand this consciousness. You can then attempt to merge it with Divine Consciousness. This merger leads to bliss and liberation.”
Swami then asks us: “What should we do to attain this liberation?”
Cultivate more purity and divinity
6.While teaching us how to love with purity, Swami prods us: “God is not different from you. He is not confined to places like temples, mosques, and churches. He is Omnipresent. He is the resident of your heart. The body is the temple of God. So, you should strengthen the feelings of love within you.
“You do develop love, but it is based on bodily relations. You love your son, father, and mother. You identify yourself with the body, so you direct your love toward those with whom you have got a relationship at physical level. You are not able to manifest the kind of love that is beyond name and form.”
How does Swami teach us to love everyone without directing it on the physical level?
7.While imparting a very profound message, Swami guides us: “As long as you are awake, you aspire for many things and indulge in many activities. You are also subject to manifold experiences. But you forget everything while sleeping. The state of sleep can be compared to a short death, and death can be compared to a long sleep. It is not easy to understand the true meaning of birth and death. You forget in sleep state what you experienced during the day. So, sleep state can be considered as a short death. Similarly, the waking state can be considered as long life. However, the waking state and the sleep state are temporary. But in both the states, witness consciousness exists, which experiences everything.”
What is the powerful message Swami ingrains in us while using the example of the three states of our being - waking, dream, and deep sleep?
Everything is illusion
8.While teaching us how important it is to live in the present, Swami stresses: “Do not brood over the past. Past is past; forget it. Future is not certain. It is beyond your perception. So, live in the present, since it is permanent. It is not ordinary present; it is omnipresent. How? Past is in the present, since the present is the result of past actions. Future is also in the present, since it depends on the present actions.”
How does Swami want us to live in these three time periods?
9.Expressing His loving concern, Swami makes us realize: “Man yearns for happiness in every act, in every kind of experience. He pines for happiness. All his actions are aimed at deriving happiness. Whether he does business or work in an office, his aim is to derive happiness. But does he find it? No. It is a temporary phase only as it is worldly happiness. He may be happy for a while, but permanent happiness is attained only by contemplation on God. So, contemplate on the Divine.”
According to Swami, before we pass away, what is the task expected of human beings?
To experience divine bliss
10. Towards the end of the Discourse, Swami helps us further to attain our spiritual goal: “The world today is full of misery. There is no place without fear and grief. People are afraid to travel by air, by trains or by cars, because they are wary of evil elements. Even walking has become unsafe. People are not happy at home also, since they are haunted by numerous fears. They are terribly fear-stricken. What is the reason? They are unable to bear difficulties and ordeals.”
What solution does Swami provide to get rid of our fears that result in misery?
Attend more study-circles to gain more spiritual strength
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- Heart2Heart Team
