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2014/10

自我的解脱

容我与你们再一次的相聚联谊。

亲爱的兄弟姐妹，

顶礼于薄伽梵峇峇莲花足下，今天确实是这个国家，印度，历史上的一个大日子。在整个印度，这一天大家都以爱国精神来庆祝这个‘共和纪念日’。我们有游行，悬挂国旗以及领袖高呼爱国主义的口号。我在这‘共和纪念日’所要谈的是此节日的灵性层面。每一个国家都有其自己的国家庆典。没有一个国家是优越于另一个国家的。我们相信平等。我们相信沙迪亚赛哲学，即，国家其实只有一个而种姓也只有一个，那就是‘人的种姓’，以及，宗教只有一种，那就是‘爱的宗教’。因此，我认为这一天的庆祝就如一个黄金机会以便聚焦于赛的某些无时不适用于所有国家的见解。这不仅限于印度这国家与印度人而已。这些基本原则适用于全世界的每一个人。

首先，让我们认识我们的主对人类活动的每一个领域都有其见解。薄伽梵峇峇不只是谈灵性方面，哲学方面或死后生命方面的事物。祂广泛地谈论有关人类在现代世界里的每一个领域的活动。我们或许认为‘共和纪念日’仅是一个政治日。肯定不是！每一事物都是灵性的。第一点是个人的特质与国家的特质。这放诸所有国家而皆准。薄伽梵说国家特质远比个人特质更为重要及更为基本。因此，每一个国家需要刚毅的国家特质的男女国民去明确地带领国家达到目的地。这国家特质因而应该置于首要和优先的地位。

接下来谈谈个人特质。我们每一个人一生下来都是自由平等的。我们谈到‘独立日’。这是政治上的自由平等。就灵性而言，我们生下来就是自由平等的。虽然我们自由平等，但是我们却自行地舍弃之。我们因自己的行为，言论，理想，友好关系，社会义务和承担，如种姓，信条等等而使我们失去自由。凡此种种都足以使我们丧失我们的自由平等。人基本上是自由平等的。薄伽梵峇峇说，“你并非土地的儿子，你是永垂不朽之子”。随着时光的流逝，我们失去了我们的自由平等，因为我们被自己的欲望所束缚。我们被局限于某些狭窄的，区域性的，言语的，官僚的思虑和各式各样的情趣。其实，我们大可不必为自由平等而苦苦挣扎，因为我们已被赋予了自由平等。我们要做的就是维系这与生俱来的自由平等。当以上所述及的那些因素介入而妨碍我们的自由时，我们就应该为自由而战。

那些因素的形成是基于什么根本原因？那是‘自我’。一个人趋向于成为自我，贪婪，嗔怒，憎恨，羡慕，妒忌，欲望，以及其他诸如此类的不必要的恶习的奴隶。一旦你摆脱了这些习性，你就不再拥有任何欲望。无欲之境乃神之境。生命减掉欲望就等于神。当你拥有欲望时，你就不得不感激或顺从某人。如果我需要一份工作或职业位置的提升，那么我就不得不讨好他人了。所以，欲望就使我们丧失自由。没有人抢走我们的自由，是我们自己作茧自缚，自我奴役。

要抓猴子，饵如花生等必须置于陶壶之内。猴子把手放入但却不能把花生拿出来。于是，我们众人的典型代表，可怜的猴子，感觉到好像有人在壶中拉着牠的手。猴子只要把手中的花生放下，牠便自由了。没有人握住牠或强制牠。同样，我们，典型的猴子，也因手握欲望的花生而丧失了自由。我们紧握着各种欲望，骄傲自大和嫉妒猜忌的花生而不放。我们想像有人握着我们或拉着我们。不，放下而你即得自由。因此，那介入我们的自由而使我们感觉到被奴役的不是什么而是我们对欲望的执着。执着令人目盲。其实，自由是我们与生俱来的。丧失自由是我们咎由自取。

有一个伟大的灵性导师，名叫斯瓦米亲瑪延南达（Swami Chinmayananda）。他也是一个赛信徒。有一次，一个年轻人问他，“斯瓦米，你可曾坠入爱河？”然后斯瓦米回答，“年轻人，请审查你的话语，‘掉入爱河’的意思。它意味着在爱中，你会跌倒。为何你要我跌倒？”所以，这一类的跌倒是你自作自受的。我们天生自由。生命是自由的，但介入的一切把我们给束缚起来。一旦我们摆脱了有如过眼云烟般介入的一切，我们就恢复了原来的荣耀，得享天赋我们的自由了。

我们必须了解薄伽梵峇峇锁定的第二个要点：“只要你的自由不干扰到你的邻居，你就可以一直享受你的自由。”例如，一个人拿着手杖在街上正快乐作早晨散步，并且肆无忌惮地挥动他的手杖。这时另一个绅士走过来并劝他要控制手杖，不要胡乱摆动以免打到人。那人说，那是他的手杖，他有权随心所欲地摆动。另一人回答，“你的自由停在我鼻子前。”因此，我们都有资格拥有自由。我们生来就自由，但我们不应该侵犯他人的自由。身为一个自由国家的国民，我们应该了解这基本的一点。

至于另一要点，为了维系这自由，薄伽梵六十大寿时在祂的讲道中说：‘Daiva preethi’，要爱神。这把人们带到一起。为了维系一体性，友谊和谅解，以及培育互相迁就的牺牲与合作的精神，我们就应该培育这兄弟情谊的素质，而这只有在接受‘神为父’的理念之后才有可能做到。所以，Daiva preethi（爱神）确定和保证‘人皆兄弟神为父’的理念。薄伽梵述说的另一个要点是：Papa bheethi，畏惧犯罪。当人们畏罪时，法律和秩序就容易树立。然后我们就不必需要更多的警察和保安人员了。当对神的爱被肯定和保证之后，畏惧犯罪才是可能的。

在宣誓的仪礼上，部长们与总理在圣经或梵歌或其它相关的宗教经典的名誉下宣誓。同样，你在神的名字下宣誓，因为你知道神是永恒的见证者。神正在观察我们所有人的行为。这帮助我们培育起对罪恶的畏惧，‘Papa bheethi’。薄伽梵所说的第三个要点是：Sangha neethi，社会道德。社会道德是前两个部分，即Daiva preethi 和Papa bheethi，的顶点或最高峰。薄伽梵以自己独特的方式说：“达到永生（immortality）的法门是什么？去除‘不道德’（immorality）。” 因此，作为一个国家，我们应该具备这三个必要条件。在这样的场合里，我要每一个人记取薄伽梵峇峇的教导，以便我们知道我们在社会上所扮演的角色。

我们到处听到人家说‘国家应该改革或社会应该转变’。然而根据薄伽梵的说法，这种种无非是愚昧的论调罢了。在政治舞台上，你可以发表这样的论调。‘社会应该改革，或国家应该改革’。实际上，那是不可能的。薄伽梵峇峇说，当一个人改变时，家庭就会改变。当家庭改变时，社会就会改变。当社会改变时，国家就会改变。所以，改革是从个人开始的，从‘小我’到‘大我’，而不是从‘大我’到‘小我’。

今天许多领导者说，‘普通人在受苦’。致辞者也是一个普通人。薄伽梵举了一个合宜的例子。一天，有一个人买了一张地图给他儿子。儿子看都不看一眼就把地图撕成碎片。父亲很生气地责备他。然后父亲就去洗澡，让自己冷静下来。当他洗完澡后，他发现儿子已把地图修补得完好无缺。父亲甚感讶异，地图是如何连接得如此完好，有如不曾被撕破一样。儿子说，“这个地图，其背面是一个人的图片。当我把人的各个部分凑合起来时，地图也就凑合的完整无缺了。”这是薄伽梵所给的例子：“当人改变时，世界就改变。”但遗憾地，我们只想到世界改变而不是人的改变。这不是实用的Vedanta（吠檀多）。所以，在每一个国家里，慈善应该从家里开始，家齐而后国治。

在另一个场合薄伽梵说，“每一个国家都要维护其主权，民主制度并承担起世俗的承诺。我们的国家是一个主权完整，民主的共和国，主张世俗主义及平等。我们作出努力维护这些原则。平等的精神并非政治的一个成就。平等精神不能得之于社会或逻辑理论。不可能！你们之间平等吗？不！一个肤色是白色的，一个是褐色的，或黑色的，而我们还说‘平等’。这可能吗？每一个人的体型大小有异，样貌不同而衣着有别。每一个人的饮食习惯也不一样。然而，在智力上，社交能力上及理解能力上我们有不同吗？因此，‘平等’这个词儿是没有意义的。”那么，我们就不能大谈‘平等和民主’。只有在一个灵性的基础上，平等才有可能。只有通过灵性，我们才能带来平等。

在政治上，平等是存在的，只不过有人掌握权力，有人没有而已。政治上，你拥有民主。有人富有，有人贫穷。有人受聘，有人无业。所以平等这个词儿是没有意义的。就灵性而言，平等是可能的。怎么可能？在人人之内的内寓者，精神或灵魂都是一样的。譬如，我听到敲门声，我问，‘是谁？’回答会是‘我来看你。’每一个人都以‘我’来介绍自己，不论他来自英格兰，爱尔兰或波兰或其他国家。这‘我’是共通的，共有的。没有人会说，‘俄罗斯的我来了’或‘印度的我来了’。所以，这‘我’是超越地理环境的，超越国籍的，超越性别、年龄、职业等等的。这‘我’时时刻刻完全是一个样的。无人描述他自己或她自己为‘年轻男人的我在此，或，‘女人的我在此’。不。‘我’是第一，而其他任何东西都在其次。所以这‘我’，一旦你认同，它是你的肉身，它就显得不同了。当你以职业去认同它，他就成为另一样东西。就灵性而言，这‘我’是名副其实，不折不扣的Atma（自性）。

这‘我’是给每一个人的第一个名字。这不是父母取的名字。父亲不会说，你的名字是‘我’。母亲也不会在教堂里说，你的名字是‘我’。这‘我’是你生下来就有的第一个称号。每一个人都介绍自己为‘我是一个医生，我是一个工程师等等’。它就是阿特瑪。就灵性而言，这精神或灵魂是一个，同样的一个；它树立起平等的基本原则。在自性的观念来看，我们都是平等的。所以，这灵性的平等是必须强调的。在政治上，这是不可能的。在社会上或经济上，也是不可能的。只有在灵性上，它才有可能。饥饿对大家而言是共有的，不论一个人是富是贫。食物的目的在于充饥。睡眠也是大家所共有的。我们不能称之为英国睡眠或美国睡眠。睡眠是睡眠，不论到哪儿。当然，有的人睡得多而有的人睡得少。灵性必须加以强调。就像在餐桌上，主食是米饭一样，其他不同的菜肴仅是辅助的，附属的；同理，灵性是主要之物，一如主食，其他的是附属品。让灵性为主食，以便我们能够享受其他菜肴如主权，共和地位，世俗主义，民主。这就是看待世事和观察一个和平与和谐的世界的方法。

有一次薄伽梵说，“成为内在敌人的奴隶者不能征服外在敌人。”Bhagavatha（《薄伽梵》）就是一个好例子。Prahlada（钵罗赫拉德）对他父亲说，“噢，父亲，你是一位很成功的君主，意气风发，所向无敌。你可以征服整个世界但你征服不了你自己。你征服不了憎恨，妒忌，愤怒；那么，你又怎能自称‘伟大’呢？”薄伽梵要我们在对付外在敌人前，先战胜内在敌人。在六十生日庆典时，薄伽梵说，“每一个人，不论它属于哪一个国家，都应该爱国，报国，以国为荣。所有国家都是平等的。没有一个国家是优越的或低劣的。一个人首先应该感激母亲的养育之恩，因为母亲为他做出的牺牲太多了。如果你令你母亲伤心落泪，那你有一天会流下更多的眼泪。一个人应该感激他的祖国。你是你祖国历史和遗产的继承者。母语也极其重要。”因此，我们必须时时念及这三者，它们对我们的恩惠太大了，我们毕生难报。是故，在这一天，我们应该清楚地理解这一点。

第二个层面是主权。你有绝对的特权和控制权去管理你自己，制定法律。就此层面，薄伽梵说了什么？我们都知道有关主权的政治与社会的层面。然而，薄伽梵谈及基本的事实，即主权的灵性层面。有一次神遇见一个人并跟他谈话。祂说，“我的孩子，你是自由自在的。我所创造的五大元素是供你享受的。整个世界及其内的一切生物都是给你享用的，但有一个条件。你可以享用，但你必须面对你行为的果报。若你行善，你会得到善果。若你行恶，你就会得到恶果。若你执行有功德的事情，你可以很快乐。但如果你从事邪恶的行为，你必会受苦。”那人说，“噢，神啊！您虽赐予了很多，但这个条件就足以抑制我了。我要以我喜欢的方式去欢享一切，但那是您所不欣赏的；而现在，你要我面对所有的果报。我应该考虑我必须承受的惩罚。”

有一个年青人，他想知道他的未来，于是他便去找一个手相师。很多人对手相甚感兴趣，因为过去并不那么具有魅力，现在又是枯燥乏味，而因此他们想知道未来。他们忘了，当过去是不好的，现在更不好，而未来将是极度的‘最不好’。他问手相师，能否算算他的未来，而手相师回答说，“当然可以，五十个卢比。”手相师开始分析他的手掌。“噢，年青人，你将有一个非常美丽的妻子。”他回答，“是真的吗？那就多加十个卢比给你吧！”手相师说，“你会建一座富丽堂皇三层楼的房子，你会考得博士学位。”所有这一些都令他感到振奋。然后手相师告诉他，虽然他会拥有这么多好的东西，但有一个问题就是他活不长。神给我们每一样东西去享乐。然而人不能逃避他的行为所带来的果报。所以，主权意味着你有行动的权力，你可以决定你的一生，但你得准备去面对果报。

因此，值此之际，我们应该提醒自己有关薄伽梵的另一则论述。主权和民主就是我们在梵文里所说的Swechcha（自由）。祂把这个字分开为‘Swa’+‘Ichcha’。‘Swa’意指自性或阿特瑪而‘Ichcha’意谓欲望。所以，整个字的意思是渴望去认识自性。因此，一个人是不能随心所欲地去做他想做的事的。这里有一则薄伽梵的箴言：“智慧的目的是超脱或自由；教育的目的是培育人格；文化的目的是达到完美；知识的目的是爱。”一个人可以宣称他拥有很多知识，体验和智慧，但他却允许自己被别人收买。他不了解自由就是智慧。他绝不应该受到左右。如果你认为只有罗摩才是神，那你就设下条件和限定了。

薄伽梵说，“首饰众多，黄金是一；牛只众多，牛奶是一；花卉众多，花环是一；生命众多，气息是一；星星众多，天空是一；国家众多，地球是一；宗教众多，神是一。”那就是智慧。然而在另一方面，如果你局限自己于任何特别的宗教，法门或派系而认为那就是‘生活的全部及终极目标’，那么这就是基要主义。它是一个狭窄的心态，把人们区分，然而，灵性就不同，它会把人们结合在一起。灵性促进亲善关系，而不是敌对关系。因此，自由意谓一体性，兄弟情，平等，谅解以及遵循一个人自己的理想迈进。

世俗主义是对所有宗教的尊重。就灵性而言，若任何地方有自由的话，那就是在这里，百善地尼乐园了。原因何在？你任何时候都有自由来这里，任何时候都可以离开。在此，每一个人都得到平等的待遇。所以，真正的民主就在此。薄伽梵对印度总统所说的爱与跟大专院校学生所说的爱并无二致。所以，爱，在此，是民主的根基。只有在爱的基础上，自由方能体现。薄伽梵决不会说，‘只遵循这个宗教’。祂给了Dr. John Hislop（约翰希斯乐博士）一个小十字架。祂给了一个穆斯林邮差一个弯月星星的穆斯林徽章。薄伽梵变现一个佛陀偶像给一个日本信徒。你有权追随任何宗教；所以如果在形式上和精神上还有主权的话，那可就是在百善地尼乐园了。如果对任何宗教都存有尊敬的话，那就是这里，这个地方，因为凡化为行动而落实的一切都具备灵性的根本基础。在灵性上，我们的思想是平等的，这是人类的基本素质。从神的观点来看，我们是平等的。

有一次，一个外国人来见薄伽梵。他在走廊间站了三天。我一直在观察他而最后，在第四天，我终于鼓起勇气慢慢地跟薄伽梵说，“那个人已在此站了三天而您却还未跟他说话。”薄伽梵回答，“他带着一个请求而来。他希望赠我一架直升机。”薄伽梵不想接受它。这只意味着薄伽梵没有欲望。祂在贫富之间是无所分别的。最后，在第四天，薄伽梵跟他说话了。那个人说，“薄伽梵请接受直升机吧！方便您以后要到哪儿就到哪儿。”薄伽梵说，“不，我有车子。”“OK，薄伽梵，那就接受一辆特别的车子吧！”薄伽梵回答，“不，你就是我的车子。”

薄伽梵总是说，人身就像是一部车子，因为两手两脚就像是四个轮子。肚子可比为油箱。两眼有如车灯。口就像是喇叭。心念就像是方向盘而感官控制是刹车器。薄伽梵说，“你是我的车子，而我一直很舒服地乘之旅游。难道你不知道，我什么都不想要吗？我只要‘你’，别无他物。要记得这一点。”这就是自由。这就是平等。因此，以仁慈为根据的平等，以爱为根据的自由，以灵性原则为根据的民主，凡此种种都是我们必须致力于获得，成就和体验之物，而不单单是政治上的自由。因此，我的朋友，我祈求薄伽梵在我们朝向自由的灵性目标迈进时，协助我们。智慧的目的是自由。

Sai Ram （赛罗姆）。

取自《薄伽梵斯里沙迪亚赛峇峇普及和实用的教导》第20章

Freedom of the Self

Kindly let me have another rapport with you.

Dear brothers and sisters,

With pranams at the lotus feet of Bhagavan Baba, today is really a great day in the history of this country, India. All over India, Republic Day is celebrated with a patriotic spirit. There are parades, hoisting of the national flag, and a call for patriotism by the leaders. It is the spiritual aspect of the occasion which I would like to project on this Republic Day. Each nation has its own national festivals. No country is superior to another. We believe in equality. We believe in the Sathya Sai philosophy that all nations are truly one and that there is only one caste, ‘the caste of humanity’ and there is only one religion, ‘the Religion of love’. Therefore, I consider the day’s celebration as a golden opportunity to focus on certain views of Sai, which are applicable to all nations at all times. It is not restricted to India and Indians only. These fundamental principles are applicable to everybody all over the world.

Firstly, let us realize that our Lord has something to say about every field of human activity. Bhagavan Baba does not speak only on spirituality, philosophy or life after death. He speaks of things that have relevance in every field of human activity in the modern world. We may consider the Republic Day as just a political day. Certainly not! Everything is spiritual. The first point is individual character and national character. This is applicable to all nations. Bhagavan mentioned that national character is even more important and fundamental than the individual character. Therefore, every country needs men and women of strong national character to steer clear the country to its destination. This national character should therefore be dominant and given top priority.

Next comes the individual character. Everyone of us is born free. We speak of the Independence Day. This is political freedom. Spiritually speaking, we are all born free. Although we are free, we lose that freedom of our own accord. We lose freedom because of our actions, speech, ideology, affiliations, social obligations and commitments like caste, creed, etc. These are the things that make us lose our freedom. Man is essentially free. “You are not the sons of the soil, you are the sons of immortality”, says Bhagavan Baba. We lose our freedom with the passage of time, because we are chained by our own desires. We are bound by certain narrow, regional, linguistic, bureaucratic considerations and varied interests. As a matter of fact, we do not need to struggle for freedom, as we are already free. We have to maintain this freedom with which we are born. We should fight for freedom when those factors already mentioned come in the way of our freedom.

What is the root cause of those factors? The ‘Ego’. One tends to become a slave to ego, greed, anger, hatred, envy, jealousy, lust, and such other undesirable vices. Once you are free from these things, you do not have any desire. The desireless state is the state of God. Life minus desire is equal to God. When you have desires you have to be obliged to somebody or the other. If I need a job or a promotion in my profession, then I have to please another. So, desires make us lose our freedom. No one is robbing us of our freedom, we become enslaved ourselves.

In order to catch monkeys, baits like peanuts are kept in an earthern pot. The monkey puts its hand in, but it cannot pull out the peanuts. So, the poor monkey, which is a typical representative of all of us, feels that someone is pulling its hand and holding it there in the pot. The monkey has to only drop the peanuts. No one is holding or forcing it. Likewise, we, the typical monkeys, have also lost our freedom by holding on to the peanuts of desires. We are holding tightly to the peanuts of lust, pride and jealousy. We imagine that someone else is holding or pulling us. No, drop it and you are free. Therefore, that which comes in the way of our freedom and makes us feel enslaved is nothing but attachment to desires. Attachment makes us blind. In fact, we are born free. We are losing our freedom on our own account.

There was a great teacher of spirituality, Swami Chinmayananda. He was also a devotee of Bhagavan Baba. Once a young man asked him, “Swami, did you fall in love any time?” Then the Swami replied, “Young man, please examine your sentence, ‘fall in love’. It means in love you will fall. Why do you want me to fall?” So, this kind of fall is one’s own making. We are born free. The life is free, but all that comes in between puts us in bondage. Once we are free from that which comes in between like a passing cloud, we go back to our pristine glory of enjoying the freedom with which we are born.

We have to understand the second point that Bhagavan Baba made: “Your freedom can be enjoyed so long as it does not interfere with that of your neighbour.” For example: A man was walking down a street with a hand-stick. He was enjoying his early morning walk waving his stick about. Another gentleman came by and asked him to control the movement of his stick. The man said that it was his hand-stick and therefore, he could do as he pleased with it. The other man replied, ‘Your freedom ends where my nose begins.’ Therefore, we are all entitled to freedom. We are all born free, but yet it should not infringe upon the freedom of others. This is the fundamental point that we should understand as citizens in a free country.

Another point, to maintain this freedom Bhagavan mentioned in His discourse during His 60th Birthday Celebration was: “Daiva preethi”, love for God. This brings people together. To maintain unity, friendship and understanding, to develop the spirit of sacrifice and co-operation, of give and take, we should develop this quality of brotherhood, which is possible only if the fatherhood of God is accepted. So Daiva preethi, love for God, ensures the brotherhood of man and fatherhood of God. The next point Bhagavan mentioned is: Papa bheethi, fear of sin. When people fear sin, law and order is easily established. Then there will not be any need to have more policemen and security. Fear of sin is possible when love for God is ensured.

At the oath taking ceremony, the ministers and the Prime Minister swear in the name of the Bible or the Bhagavad Gita or any other religious text that they are associated with. Similarly, you swear in the name of God, because you know that God is the eternal witness. God is watching all our actions. This helps us to develop fear of sin, ‘Papa bheethi’. The third point Bhagavan Baba mentioned is: Sangha neethi, morality in society. Morality in society is the climax or the culmination of the first two components, Daiva preethi and Papa bheethi. Bhagavan puts it in His own inimitable style: “What is the way to immortality? The removal of immorality.” Therefore, as a nation we should have these three requisites. I want everyone to remind themselves of Bhagavan Baba’s teachings on occasions like this, so that, we shall know our role in society.

Everywhere, we hear people say, ‘The nation should change or the community should be transformed.’ But according to Bhagavan these are foolish statements. Politically on the platform one can proclaim such statements. ‘The society should change or the country should change’. In reality it is impossible. Bhagavan Baba says, when the individual changes, there will be a change in the home. When the family changes, there will be a change in the society. When there is change in the society, there will be transformation in the country. So the transformation should start from the individual level, from ‘I’ to ‘we’, but not from ‘we’ to ‘I’.

Many leaders today say, ‘The common man is suffering.’ The speaker is also a common man. Bhagavan gave a suitable example. One day, a man bought a world map for his son. The son instead of seeing the map, tore it to pieces. The annoyed father scolded the boy. Then he went to have his bath to cool down. By the time he had finished his bath, he saw his son return the map to him intact. The father was surprised, how the map was joined neatly as though it were not torn. He asked the son and the son explained. The son said, “Here is the world map. On the reverse side is a picture of a man. When I assembled all the parts of the man together, then the world map too was assembled as one whole.” This is the example Bhagavan gave: “When man changes, the world changes.” But unfortunately we think that only the world should change and not the man. This is not practical Vedanta. So, in every nation, charity should begin at home.

On another occasion Bhagavan said, “Every nation wants to preserve its sovereignty, democratic set-up and uphold its secular commitments. Ours is a sovereign, democratic republic, committed to secularism and equality. We make every effort to maintain these principles and safeguard them. The spirit of equality is not a political achievement. The spirit of equality cannot be achieved socially or logically. Impossible! Are we equal to each other? No! One is white, one is brown or black in colour, yet we say ‘equality’. Is this possible? Each one is different from the other in size, in shape and in dress. Each one’s taste is different in food habits. But, do we differ in our intelligence, in our assimilation and in our understanding. Thus the word ‘equality’ is meaningless.” So, we cannot say ‘equality and democracy’. This equality is possible only on a spiritual basis. Through spirituality alone we can bring about equality.

Politically there is equality, but some are in power and some are out of power. Politically you have democracy. Some are rich, whereas, some are poor. Some are employed, whereas, others are not. So the word ‘equality’ is meaningless. Equality is possible spiritually speaking. How? The indweller, the spirit or the soul is uniform in everyone. Supposing I hear a knock on the door, I ask, ‘who is there?’ The reply will be ‘I have come to see you.’ Everyone introduce themselves as ‘I’ whether they are from England, Ireland or Poland, or any country. This ‘I’ is common. No one will say, ‘Russian I has come’ or ‘Indian I has come’. So, this ‘I’ is beyond geography, nationality, sex, age, profession, etc. This ‘I’ is uniform at all times. No one describes himself or herself ‘young man ‘I’ is here’ or ‘woman ‘I’ is there’. No. ‘I’ is first and everything else next. So this ‘I’, once you identify it with the body, is different. When we identify it with the profession, is a different thing. This ‘I’ spiritually speaking, is the Atma in the true sense.

This ‘I’ is the first name given to everybody. It is not a name given by parents. No father will say that your name is ‘I’. No mother will say you are named ‘I’ in the church. This ‘I’ is the first title with which we are born. Everyone introduces himself as, “I am a doctor, I am an engineer, etc.” It is the Atma. Spiritually speaking, this spirit or soul, is one and the same, which establishes the basic principle of equality. We are equal from the Atmic point of view. So this spiritual equality has to be emphasized. Politically it is not possible. Socially or economically it is not possible. Only spiritually it is possible. Hunger is common to all, whether a person is rich or poor. The purpose of food is to satiate hunger. Sleep is also common to all. We cannot call it British sleep or American sleep. Sleep is sleep everywhere. Of course, one may sleep more or less. So, spirituality must be emphasised. Just as on the table rice is served as the main dish, whereas the different items are ancillary, so also, spirituality is the main thing like the main dish, and others are ancillary. Let the main dish be spirituality, so that we can relish the other dishes like sovereignty, republican status, secularism, democracy. This is the way to view things and envision a world of peace and harmony.

Bhagavan once said, “The one who is a slave to the enemies within cannot conquer the enemies without.” A good example is the Bhagavatha. Prahlada said to his father, ‘O, Father, you are a very successful emperor, triumphant and victorious. You could conquer the whole world, but not your own self. You could not conquer hatred, envy, jealousy, anger; so, how can you call yourself ‘great’?” Bhagavan wants us to fight with the inner enemies, before we deal with the outer enemies. During the 60th Birthday Celebrations, Bhagavan said, “Everyone, no matter to which country he belongs to, should be patriotic, committed and proud of his country. All the nations are equal. No nation is superior or inferior. One should first be grateful to one’s physical mother, because she sacrificed a lot and gave birth. If you make your mother shed tears, then you will have to shed lots of tears one day. One should be grateful to the motherland. You are the inheritors of the history and legacy of your country. The mother tongue too is very important. ” Thus, we have to be always indebted to these three. Therefore, on this day we should understand this point clearly.

The second aspect is sovereignty. You have absolute authority and control to govern yourself, pass legislation. What does Bhagavan say on this aspect? We know about the political and social aspects of sovereignty. But, Bhagavan speaks of the bedrock, the spiritual aspect of sovereignty. It so happened that, once God met a certain man and spoke to him. He said, “My son, you are free. The five elements that I created are all for you to enjoy. The whole world and all its creatures are for you to enjoy, but on one condition. You can enjoy it, but you have to face the consequences of your actions. If you do good, you will have good results. If you do bad, you will have bad consequences. If you perform meritorious acts, you can be happy. But if you do sinful acts, you have to suffer pain.” The man said, “O, God! You have granted a lot, but this one condition is enough to restrain me. I want to enjoy things the way I like which you do not appreciate; and now, you want me to face all the consequences. I should think of the punishment I will have to suffer.”

There was a young man who wanted to know his future, and so he went to a palmist. Many people are interested in palmistry, because the past is not so glamorous, the present is dragging and therefore, they want to know the future. They forget that when the past is bad, the present is worse, and the future will be the superlative, ‘worst’. He asked the palmist if he could read his future and the palmist replied, “Yes, fifty rupees.” The palmist started reading his palm. “O, young man, you will have a very beautiful wife.” He replied, “O! Is that so, take ten more rupees.” The palmist said, “You will build a beautiful house of three floors. You will graduate and get a Ph.D. degree.” All this thrilled him. Then the palmist told him that though he would have so many good things, there would be one problem, that he would not live long. God gave us everything to enjoy. But, one cannot escape from the consequences of one’s actions. So, sovereignty means you have the right of action, you can decide your life, provided you are prepared to face the consequences.

Therefore, on this occasion, we should also remind ourselves of another statement of Bhagavan. Sovereignty and democracy are what we call in Sanskrit, Swechcha (Freedom). He split the word into ‘Swa’ + ‘Ichcha’. ‘Swa’ means Self or Atma, and ‘Ichcha’ means desire. So it means the desire to know the Self. Thus one cannot do whatever one wishes. Here is a dictum of Bhagavan: “The end of wisdom is freedom; The end of education is character; The end of culture is perfection; The end of knowledge is love.” A person my claim to have much knowledge, experience and wisdom, but yet he allows himself to be bought by people. He does not understand that freedom is wisdom. You should never be conditioned. If you think that only Rama is God, then that is conditioning.

Bhagavan said, “Jewels are many, gold is one; Cows are many, milk is one; Flowers are many, garland is one; Beings are many, breath is one; Stars are many, sky is one; Nations are many, Earth is one; Religions are many, God is one.” That is wisdom. But, on the other hand, if you limit yourself to any particular religion, path, or sect and consider that as the ‘be all and end all’, then it is fundamentalism. It is a narrow attitude, which divides people, but spirituality should bring people together. Spirituality fosters amity, but not enmity. Therefore, freedom means unity, fraternity, equality, understanding, and following one’s own ideal.

Secularism is respect for all religions. Spiritually speaking, if there is freedom anywhere, it is here in Prasanthi Nilayam. Why? You are free to come here anytime, to go anytime. Everyone is treated equally. So, real democracy is here. The love with which Bhagavan speaks to the President of India and to the school or college students is the same. So, love is the basis of democracy here. Freedom can be realised only on the grounds of love. When we think of sovereignty, Bhagavan will never say, ‘Follow only this religion’. He gave Dr. John Hislop a cross. To a Muslim postman here, He gave a Muslim emblem of the star and crescent. Bhagavan materialised an idol of Buddha for a Japanese. You have the right to follow any religion; so, if there is sovereignty in letter and spirit, it is in Prasanthi Nilayam. If there is respect for any religion, it is here in this place, because all that is translated into action has the basic foundation of spirituality. We are equal spiritually in our thought, which is the basic human quality. From the stand point of God we are equal.

Once a foreigner came to see Bhagavan. He stood there in the verandah for three days. I was watching him and finally on the fourth day I picked up some courage and slowly said to Bhagavan, “That gentleman has been standing there for three days and you have not yet talked to him.” Bhagavan replied, “He has come here with a request. He wishes to present a helicopter to me.” Bhagavan did not wish to accept it. It only means that Bhagavan has no desires. He does not distinguish between the rich and the poor. Finally, on the fourth day, Bhagavan spoke to him. The man said, “Bhagavan, please accept the helicopter, so that you can travel freely.” “No, I have a car.” Bhagavan said. “O.K. Bhagavan, then please accept a special car. Please, kindly accept.” Bhagavan replied, “No, you are my car.”

Bhagavan always says that human body is like a car, because the two hands and the two legs are like the four wheels. The stomach can be compared to a petrol tank. The two eyes are like the lights. The mouth is like the horn. The mind is like the steering wheel, and the sense control is the brake. Bhagavan said, “You are my car that I have been travelling comfortably all along. Do you not know that I don’t want anything? I only want ‘you’ and not anything else. Remember that.” This is freedom. This is equality. Thus, equality on the grounds of compassion, freedom on the grounds of love, democracy on the grounds of spiritual principles are something to strive for, to be achieved and experienced, and not just the political freedom. Therefore, my friends, I pray to Bhagavan to help us in our journey towards the spiritual end of freedom. The end of wisdom is freedom.

Sai Ram.

Universal & Practical Teachings of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Chapter 20