Birth and Rebirth” August 17, 2009
OM…OM…OM… Sai Ram With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Bhagavan, Dear Brothers and Sisters, With feelings of gratitude to everybody for making it convenient for me to be here for this satsang: I thank you very much for your gracious presence because it helps me to think, read, write and finally share. I consider this as my only sadhana. So I thank you because you are helping me to proceed along this path of sadhana. birth and rebirth Well, this morning I would like to talk to you on certain important aspects. You must have heard of people talking about birth and rebirth. This morning’s newspaper says that a girl of seven years claims to be a close friend of Dalai Lama; and that girl also says that Dalai Lama would come and see her very soon. She mentions the names of her parents in the previous life—and she is just seven years old! Even earlier, we came across certain episodes where children started recollecting their past lives: mentioning their parents’ names, families and relationships. Another child is known to have taken all the villagers to the place where they lived in their previous life, recollecting their previous husbands, wives, and children--including their rooms and their furniture! LIFE IS A COMBINATION OF RATIONALITY AND IRRATIONALITY So the theory of birth and rebirth cannot be dismissed or denied. We cannot take it as irrational or unscientific. For your information, life is a combination of both: rationality and irrationality. Why do I love a person? I may not give any reason for it. Why do I love a person? There may not be a scientific explanation, proof, demonstration or an experiment. Why I love, I do not know. There is no reason, no rationality behind it. So there are certain things which are irrational, illogical, unscientific and unreasonable, yet we have to accept them; we cannot deny them. While at the same time, we accept that which is scientific, logical and rational. Therefore, my friends what I want to draw your attention to is this point: that life is a combination of rationality and irrationality. If you think in rational terms only, you are mechanical. If you hold on to irrationality only, you are blind. Therefore, birth and rebirth is one such concept that seems to be irrational, but at the same time cannot be denied. Whatever that may be--what could be the reason for rebirth? What could be the reason? When we study the lives of people, we find right from childhood one has an inclination for music; or one has a liking for literature; or right from the beginning, one wants to be a painter or one wants to be a service man or one wants to work on machines. These are certain inclinations, tendencies or traits which are not cultivated. Please understand. Poetry is not cultivated. Reading poetry can be cultivated: you can read a poem, understand it, and I can create an interest in you for poetry; but no one can make you a poet. A poet is born, not trained. A painter is born, not trained. So there are certain qualities within us which blossom in due course of time, which are brought forward from the previous life. Why and how does this happen? MIND IS THE CAUSE FOR REBIRTH First of all, let me say that the cause for rebirth is the mind. Mind is the cause for rebirth. That is the reason why great thinkers, seers, sages and spiritual heads want us to grow beyond the mind. Spiritual doctrines or spiritual theories also prescribe the methods to grow beyond the mind. HOW TO GO OR GROW BEYOND THE MIND Some say just through prayer you can grow beyond the mind. Others say, no! Maybe patience is the only way to go beyond the mind. So people suggest methods to go or to grow beyond the mind. No religion says, “Limit yourself to the mind.” No religion says that. No philosopher would ever say, “Act according to the mind.” No! Every school of philosophy wants us to go beyond the mind. Why? Because mind is the cause for birth and rebirth. Then the question may arise: why bother? So let me be born again--what is the harm? What is the harm? Let me be born again. Good--if you think so! But life experiences, truly speaking, may not make us say that. Life experiences will not prompt us to say that--more so in the present times, when there are no proper relationships or values, when the standard of life is degenerating or declining day-by-day. YOU ARE BORN NOT TO BE BORN AGAIN If anyone asks you, “Would you like to relive your life?” --you might say, “I am sorry, I don’t want to.” “Why?” “Because I am bored, and I am tired and vexed.” If we have a repetitive life of disgust, vexation or boredom, we do not want it again. Our life may be luxurious or extravagant, yet we do not want to live again. We do not want to be born again. Therefore, all religions suggest that we should work, while living this life, to be birth-less. We are born, not to be born again; we should die in such a way that we do not have to die once again. This should be the final journey. I don’t want to be brought forward, like in an account book. Enough is enough! Hence, all religions want this life to be final, so we don’t have to be born again. And that state of birthlessness or deathlessness is what is called liberation, kaivalya, moksha, the kingdom of heaven or nirvana. These are all different names given to the same state which will not allow us to be born again, and which will keep us with the Divine, in the Divine, of the Divine—in a state of bliss forever and ever which is non-dual. Therefore, my friends, mind is the cause for birth and rebirth. WHAT IS The MIND DOING? Then the question may arise: what is it that the mind is doing? What is the mind doing to make me be born again? What is it doing? Let’s observe the present life. What is the mind doing? We say, “This is my friend and the other is my enemy.” “This is my friend because he says, ‘Sai Ram’ to me every time.” “That one is my enemy because he avoids me.” “He is my friend because he obliges me; he is not my friend because he does not oblige me.” These are all recorded in the mind. They are the reasons for prejudice, for bias. VRITHIS AND VASANAS We develop certain feelings towards people. All these things are stored in the mind and the mind is very anxious to show off. “Yesterday you didn’t look at me; therefore today I do not look at you.” (Laughter) “Yesterday you insulted me; I am waiting to pay you back in doubles and multiples.” Mind always is expressive, because it records all these things. Those things which are recorded are called vrithis. Vrithi is a Sanskrit word which is nothing but a recording of experiences, consequences or results of our actions. It expresses at any moment and at any time, that which is inside; it comes out naturally. Then there is also another situation: previous life experiences are also recorded in the mind and they are called vasanas. Vasanas are the experiences and the results of past life. Vrithis are the actions, reactions of the present life. Mind is a beautiful DVD or a TV, while the body is a player. Body is only a player. We say, “Come on, put on the DVD,” and it begins. Suppose you hear some bad music; there is no point in breaking the CD! Suppose you record my music, what will happen? You will have to break the player, and you will have to break the CD also, because I am not a singer by any standards! Therefore, there is no point in blaming the player or the CD because the CD player plays what is on the CD or DVD. So, player is the body, while the music that you hear is the result or the consequences or the manifestation or the expression of the CD or the DVD kept there. It may play the present experiences--what we call vrithis, or it may play past experiences—that is, vasanas. (I think I can make use of my preliminary fundamental knowledge of the computer to some extent!) (Laughter) Therefore my friends, mind is the cause for birth and rebirth, and it has the sound recordings and experiences of the previous life--what we call vasanas. Now how should I get out of it? I am already in trouble with the present.I am trying to get out of the present and forget the past! Past is also bothering me, past is also hanging heavily. I have loans now, and the loans of the past years also are haunting me. Therefore, past loans and present loans have to be repaid with compound interest. I have to pay with compound interest--so what shall I do now? FIND PEACE AND HAPPINESS WITHin YOU Vedanta philosophy says that until you find peace and happiness within you, you cannot get out of the mind. Vedanta clearly says that you are not the body, and that you are not the mind. Mind is as much an instrument as the body, and intellect is as much an instrument as the body. Legs, hands, eyes, ears, mind are all instruments. Some are seen outside, while some are within—just as some parts of the car are seen outside, such as bulbs or tires, while other parts of the car are inside, like brakes or steering. Therefore, friends, until we find happiness within, we cannot go beyond the mind. If I depend on the mind for my happiness, the mind will show the other extreme also. Mind will put us to any torture. That is the reason why we are like this. For example, I am quite happy now; but after an hour, I begin to think whether I will be happy tomorrow or not? I am happy now, but my worry is whether I will be happy tomorrow or next month! There are some very good people who will worry about the next ten years also! (Laughter) Then we also worry about our misery last month or last week. Therefore, we are not living in the present. So, mind makes you happy for some time, and then it will make you unhappy also. Therefore, let me not depend on my mind for my happiness, because it will also show me the other side: like a pendulum, it will not stop at one side. Unless the pendulum is damaged, it has to move--that’s all! The pendulum has to oscillate from this extreme to that extreme. It goes on swinging between happiness and unhappiness, success and failure, light and darkness. That is duality. The mind goes on oscillating, so how can I depend on my mind--which is not steady--for my happiness? Therefore, my friends, Vedanta says, if you want to go beyond the mind, never depend upon the mind for your happiness.
