By: Sri Narasimha Swamiji
While the rest of the world was in the Stone Age, ancient India had reached the zenith of human development. The accent shifted from conquering the world to gaining control over the mind. Saints and sages guided generations of Indians to master the inner world. Sai Baba sculpted millions of Indians from the remote village of Shirdi. Success and happiness came as by-products. If we had lost this inner enrichment, we would have faced external bankruptcy.
Like Gulliver, we are asleep to our real worth. And the Lilliputians of the world are holding us for ransom. Sai Baba has guided us to wake up to the powerhouse of knowledge we are heir to. The Bhagwad Gita, written 5,000 years ago, addresses the Arjun of today – dynamic, ambitious, young adults seeking excellence. Sai Satcharita prescribes the formula for success through words of Sai Baba’s wisdom.
The young are talented, knowledgeable, and hard-working. But there are the last-minute nerves and stunning defeats that come in the way. A brilliant student well-prepared for the exams suddenly goes blank. An outstanding sportsperson fails because of his obsession for the trophy. A job aspirant who is anxious about the job fumbles at the interview.
Action is under your control. Fruit is dependent on factors beyond your influence. Dependence on the fruit makes you a slave to the world. The First Class in the exam or the Olympic Gold is not under your control. But nobody can take away your knowledge or the fact that you are an outstanding athlete. Find fulfillment in the action. Give your best to it. Enjoy it. You gain merit. You are independent of the result. And success is yours.
Fix an ideal beyond your selfish, self-centered interests. The higher the ideal, the greater the energy, enthusiasm, and creativity. If you think of the goal while acting, the mind shifts from the
present action to the fruit, which belongs to the future. Your concentration slips. Action becomes flawed, and results in failure. And you are stressed out. When a student is anxious to get good marks, the mind is not on the question paper. He commits a series of mistakes and underperforms. A batsman in his nineties thinks of the hundred, not of the next ball, and gets out.
While acting, focus entirely on it. Do not allow the thought of fruit to interfere with the action. The action will be perfect. Success will be yours. And your mind will be at peace. Such a person is defined as a sannyasi – a person of renunciation. Not a celibate priest or one who has retired to the Himalayas.
A selfish person with a myopic view of life achieves neither excellence nor is he happy. To excel and be happy one must necessarily have a higher mission in life. One must act dynamically. An inactive, lethargic person will not achieve anything.
Vedanta and its cream were prescribed by Sai Baba. It is summarized in the Gita, 3:30. It consists of two aspects – creating energy and plugging the dissipation of energy.
Energy is generated by three methods by Sainatha Parabrahman. Lord Sainath directs the intellect and all thoughts to the chosen goal. All energies – light, wind, or water – gain power when unidirectional. ‘Ekagrata’ on Sainath makes all thoughts meandering in different directions lose power. The mind surrenders to Sai Parabrahman as its goal and is devoted to the ideal. When you play for the country, the power of 1.3 billion Indians rests in you. And the body acts dynamically. The more you act, the more energy you generate.
This energy gets dissipated in three ways – worry over the past, anxiety for the future, and a frenzy in the present. When Sai Baba is close behind your thoughts, the intellect focuses the mind on the present action and does not allow the mind to meander into wasteful avenues of the past and future.
Nothing in the world lasts. Everything changes passes and is impermanent. So, acquire and possess the whole world. But never depend on it. Seek the one permanent anchor within. The abode of infinite bliss.
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