Tuesday, April 22, 2008

Sai Inspires 22nd April 2008 ( What is the true meaning of devotion?)

There are no short-cuts in the spiritual field. As a matter of fact, bhakthi (the path of devotion) is even more difficult than jnaana (path of wisdom); for, to get the attitude of 'Thou' not 'I', one has to surrender completely to the Higher Power, personified as the Lord. The ego has to be fully curbed; the faith that "not even a blade of grass can shake in the wind without His being aware of it and thus having caused it" has to be implanted in the mind. Devotion is not a leisure time job. Erase sensual desire; clear the heart of all blemish; then, the Lord will be reflected therein as in a mirror. Spiritual discipline is very necessary; it is not enough if you place charcoal over the cinders; you must fan vigorously, so that the charcoal too is changed into burning cinders...You have to engage in sadhana to win God's Grace.

Di bidang spiritual, kita tidak mengenal jalan pintas. Sebenarnya bhakthi (jalan pengabdian/devotion) adalah jauh lebih sulit dibandingkan jnaana (jalan kebijaksanaan); sebab untuk memiliki attitude 'Thou' (Dialah) dan bukan 'I' (aku), maka engkau perlu memiliki sikap surrender (pasrah diri) secara utuh terhadap Higher Power (kekuatan Ilahi), yang dipersonifikasikan sebagai 'Tuhan'. Untuk itu, sang ego harus diatasi terlebih dahulu sembari menanamkan keyakinan di dalam batin kita bahwa "tak ada sehelai rumput yang akan bisa bergoyang di tengah terpaan angin bila memang itu bukan atas kehendak-Nya." Devotion bukanlah kegiatan di kala senggang. Singkirkanlah keinginan-keinginan sensual; bersihkanlah hatimu dari noda-noda batin; maka dengan demikian, Tuhan akan tercerminkan di dalam hatimu bagaikan pantulan bayangan kaca. Disiplin spiritual sangat penting; batu arang tidak bisa diletakkan begitu saja di tempat pengapian; melainkan engkau perlu mengipasinya secara terus-menerus, agar batu arang itu dapat menjelma menjadi bara api.... Untuk mendapatkan rahmat Ilahi, engkau harus melakukan sadhana.

- Divine Discourse, March 26, 1965.

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