What is Sacrifice?
Puttaparthi, Poornachandra Auditorium (Dasara )
Giving with a sacred feeling, a ripe fruit is sacrifice. Giving a rotten fruit is not sacrifice. It is only when there is strength in the body, mind is strong, intellect is steady, and time is ripe enough, all jobs must be completed before the destined moment sets in. All good deeds must be completed which includes community service. Instead, if one is obsessed with Ego and does nothing, his life is a waste.
What is sacrifice in its true sense00:01:23
This body is mortal. Sacrifice means not to leave this body or wife and family. The evil qualities that cover us like hatred and jealousy are to be sacrificed. These are covering our human nature. If that cover is removed we get the Bliss. A layer that covers the lens of the eye is to be removed to get the correct vision. Likewise, the cover of attachment, hatred and jealousy are to be removed. That is the real sacrifice. Sacrifice does not mean giving away your material properties. You should sacrifice all your bad qualities. Then our real self comes out. It is your duty to do that.
Sacrifice is the hallmark of human life00:02:25
True form of scholarship is not mere assimilation of all that is contained in the texts. A person without a liberal and soft heart is useless irrespective of his scholarship. One might master the Vedas and the accompanying texts, but without the qualities of “tyaga”, sacrifice and “Seva” service all the learning is useless. Hence first and foremost one must develop the sacred quality of sacrifice. In this context the Vedas have stated that: it is sacrifice alone that confers immortality and not the material pleasures and possessions. Unfortunately today, the tendency to receive is dominant in man than the tendency to give. This way man is belittling his existence. It is the quality of man’s petty nature. Man must put in efforts to fill his heart with the sacred qualities of sacrifice, patience and love for life. Seva done with such sacrifice transform into true yoga.
Sacrifice is the true quality of man00:00:58
Sacrifice is the main quality of mankind. Under any circumstances you should never disobey God's command. That is true determination. Out of determination, there arises sacrifice, and sacrifice alone gives you immortality - not by low level practices. No money, no authority, no association will give you immortality - it is only sacrifice which will give you that. Sacrifice and sacrifice. Be ready to sacrifice your body to propagate the message of God.
Truth and sacrifice are the goals of life00:01:28
Man has prosperity and wealth as long as he follows truth. “Sathyamu trikala bhagyamu.” Meaning truth remains unchanged in all the three phases of time namely the present, past and future. Truth is God. One who follows truth suffers no dearth or shortage. Reputation comes to the one who has the spirit of sacrifice. But in the world today one does not find truth or the spirit of sacrifice. Truth and sacrifice are the goals of life.
Sacrifice is the way to move ahead in life; With analogies00:05:48
Students learn swimming and know this better. When in the swimming pool, one has to push back the water in order to go forward else one remains in the same spot. Pushing back the water is sacrifice. One has to sacrifice everything, either the good or the bad. One can only marvel at the tasks done by one’s body! One eats food; all the organs work selflessly to digest it! And this can be understood by analyzing the five elements that make up the human body. There is juice in this tumbler here. The tumbler does not realise the taste of the juice. One puts a straw in the tumbler and sips the juice; but the straw too, cannot realise the taste of the juice. It is only the tongue that realises the taste of the juice. Tongue merely tastes the juice but it cannot enjoy the taste. It realises the sweet taste of the juice and sends it to the stomach. It rejects the juice if the taste is not good. It only tastes but does not enjoy the taste. Similarly, the heart can be compared to a tumbler; it contains the juice called ‘life’. The heart doesn’t know that. Through the pipes in the heart the juice of life is pumped throughout the body. But even the pipes cannot realise this. The intellect tastes the juice called life; it discriminates between good and bad, right and wrong. It only discriminates; it does not enjoy it. It sends the juice, ‘life’, to the ‘life force’; it’s not the force but the source. That which comes from outside is force and that which emanates from within is the ‘source’. One must dedicate one’s life to that ‘source’. That is also the ‘spring’ which does not have hindrances or obstacles. That is the secret of God’s creation! How marvellously do the cells and the nerves work in the body!! The cells develop the nerves, strengthen them, and help the five sensory organs to express themselves: eyes to see, ears to listen, tongue to taste, skin to feel and the nose to smell—all these are obtained from the divine source which is unfathomable!! But the human beings and scientists today call it the ‘law of Nature’. From where did one get this ‘law’? There must one who must have drafted this law!! If one says that there is a silver tumbler, then it goes for granted that there must have been a one who must have made it; it cannot have manifested by itself!! The silver is God’s creation; the tumbler is the creation of the goldsmith. In the world, the water and the mud are God’s creation; but the potter mixes them and makes the pots. The potter is the creator of the pot; but the five elements are created by the God. None can create the elements! Man relies more on the physical faculties, however those too are needed. The scientist who is after comforts discovers the aeroplane. Brave and courageous men discover aeroplane; a fear stricken man discovers a parachute to drop down! The courageous man discovers aeroplane and the fearful man discovers parachute!! Both are of immense use; one leads to danger and the other to escape danger. Hence one must make every effort to stay away from danger.
Swami on sacrifice, purity and selfishness00:02:29
In this world, you find sacrifice everywhere. Rivers flow. They don't drink their own water. They distribute their water to world. Trees yield fruits. But they don't partake their own fruits. They offer their fruits to humanity. Then there are the cows. No cow drinks its own milk. The milk is distributed to everybody. Likewise, the divinity latent in mankind should be shared. Today man is spending life, leading a life of selfishness and self-interest. Animals at least share. But man today does not have broad feelings. He entertains narrow feelings. In every matter he is engrossed in selfishness. Because of increase in selfishness, he turns mad. Today, there are no virtues in education. In this world there are a number of educated people. There are many intellectuals. There are many scientists. There are many Nobel laureates. Where you find their names today? They are only of academic value. But the names of noble souls - Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was illiterate. He did not know any other language. Ramadas, Kabirdas - they were great devotees. Their names are not confined to books, they are imprinted on our hearts. The names of those sacred souls remain with us in our hearts. The names of worldly people are limited to books. Our names need not be written in books. They should be imprinted on the hearts of the people. Therefore, we should do good.
Sacrifice is most important path in life00:01:29
There is no quality higher than sacrifice. To be able to sacrifice is like the king of quality. It is in this context that the Vedas have said, "Not by your wealth, not by your effort, not by your strength, you can attain immortality, it is only by sacrifice you can attain immortality". Thus, whatever learning you have acquired, you should pass on to the students and promote sacred ideas in them. In this context, I am hoping that, in order to promote such sacred ideas and thoughts into the minds of the children, the balvikas gurus should spend time and put efforts in this direction and should become useful teachers for the country.
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