published March 2010 theme DEDICATION
From dedication to determination
Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Those who have mastered the Five D’s:
Dedication, Devotion, Discipline, Discrimination, and Determination are qualified to receive God’s Love.
DEDICATION
Dedication: It means offering.
As soon as Swami arrived (in the Auditorium) teachers and students made offerings of flowers and offered their salutations. The flower symbolises the heart.
When you offer the flower of your heart to the Lord, it should be free from the pests of desire, hatred, envy, greed and the like.
Only pure flowers are offered to the Lord or to those whom you revere.
All forms of pride, based on birth, wealth, power or scholarship, have to be given up totally. Only when egoistic pride is offered as a sacrifice at the altar of the Divine can man discover his true nature. This is the Dedication that is called for as the first step in the spiritual journey.
DEVOTION
Next comes Devotion. This is the highest form of your love.
“Service to God is known as Bhakti,” says the Sutra. Devotion means constant contemplation of God.
The term Bhakti is derived from the root Bhaj (to worship). Devotion means loving contemplation of God, repetition of His Name, worshipping Him and doing penance for Him. Service to the Lord is the highest expression of devotion. There is nothing which is not attainable through loving service to the Divine.
Once Tulasidas was engaged in meditation at the confluence of the three rivers (Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati). Rama and Lakshmana appeared before him as two young boys. They asked him:
” Kakaji! What is it you are doing?”
Tulasidas replied: “Children! I am doing service to Rama.”
The boys asked: “What is the use of doing service to Rama?”
Tulasidas replied: “Through service I get a sweet.”
They said: ” What is the use of getting a sweet? Once you have eaten and digested it, nothing remains.”
Then Tulasidas explained that the sweet gotten from others is digested in a brief time.
But the sweet given by God is His love, which is not digested and cast away.
When it is eaten, all hunger is appeased. The sweet of Divine love illumines the spirit.
When the oil of Devotion is put into the lamp of the Antahkarana (the indwelling motivator) and the wick of integral consciousness (Prajna) is lit by the fire of spiritual enquiry, the flame of Self-knowledge shines effulgently.
Devotion is not something to be proclaimed or demonstrated. True devotion should be an expression of love both internally and externally.
DISCIPLINE
Next comes discipline. This is most essential.
From the moment you wake up, you have to carry out your morning ablutions, meditate on God and then do your prescribed duties in an orderly manner without deviating from the regular routine. Variations in the routine from day to day are undesirable. You should not wake up at one hour on one day and at a different time on another day. The day’s activities should be regulated by the same schedule. Immediately after finishing the morning chores, one should devote, in the calm and serene atmosphere of the morning, at least a few minutes to loving meditation on God. The human estate is based upon regulations and self-control. These have to be strictly adhered to in daily life.
DISCRIMINATION
Then comes discrimination.
The world is a mixture of good and bad, of joy and sorrow, right and wrong, victory and defeat.
In a world replete with such opposites, man has to make constantly the choice between what is right and proper and what is wrong or undesirable. A man who has no such discriminating faculty is an animal. Man should not let himself be guided by the mind. He should follow the directions of his intelligence (Buddhi). As long as you follow the mind, you cannot obtain Madhava (Divinity). You should enquire on every occasion as to what is the right course and what should be avoided. You should decide on what you should do and where you should go after due enquiry. Having acquired knowledge, you should not behave like an illiterate, uneducated person. Humility is the index of true education. Without humility, scholarship will lack lustre. Discrimination is essential for everyone.
DETERMINATION
Determination is the fifth D. It is like the reins for a horse. When you want to achieve something, you must have the determination and persistence to secure it by all your efforts. No room should be given for doubts and hesitations. There is nothing on earth which cannot be achieved by firm determination. Starting with Dedication, you end with Determination. There is no use of relying solely on book knowledge or mere intellectual cleverness. There must be firm faith in God as the basis of everything. You must develop Divine Love. You must be resolute in striving to achieve what you aim at. Only then will your devotion and discipline bear fruit.
There is no meaning in parading one’s devotion. The external human form has no significance. You must be human in your actions and feelings. By reforming your conduct and purifying your thoughts and actions, sanctify your lives. That alone will lead you to Self-realisation.
Sri Sathya Sai Baba
