DIVINE LOVE - 108 gems from Swami's messages

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DIVINE LOVE

108 gems from Swami’s messages

What is Divine Love? How do we honor, nurture, and express this Love in our

lives? What is its power? How do we express it in the world? Sathya Sai Baba’s

guidance on these matters is itself filled with Love. Swami often begins

discourses with "Embodiments of Divine Love..." He sees Love as our nature, as

we are sparks from the Divine fire, seeds from the Divine tree.

For now, Sai Baba’s own words best answer these questions...

I have come to light the Lamp of Love in your hearts, to see that it shines day

by day with added luster. I have not come on any mission of publicity for any

sect or creed, nor to collect followers for any doctrine. I have come to tell

you of this Universal unitary faith, this Spirit Principle, this Path of Love,

this Dharma of Love, this Duty of Love, this Obligation of Love. (Discourse,

Nairobi, July 4, 1968)

Love all religions. When one practices his religion with faith, there can be no

hatred in the world for all religions are built on Universal Love. (Sathya Sai

Speaks, IX: 88ff)

There is only one religion, the Religion of Love. There is only one language,

the Language of the Heart. There is only one God, Who is Omnipresent. (Sathya

Sai Speaks, VIII: 173)

Understand that the purpose of life is to know the Embodiment of Love, namely

God, through Love, and to demonstrate through your own Love that you have known

God. (Sathya Sai Speaks, IX: 216)

Start the day with Love. Spend the day with Love. Fill the day with Love. End

the day with Love. This is the way to God. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VIII: 195ff)

Love alone can reveal the Divinity latent in all. Love is God. Live in Love.

Love! Love! Become what you truly are — the embodiment of Love. (Sathya Sai

Speaks, XI: 14ff)

Love, because it is your nature to Love, because you know nothing else, because

you cannot act otherwise than Love. Expand yourself, take in all! (Sathya Sai

Speaks, VII: 510ff)

Scatter the seeds of Love in dreary, desert hearts. Then, sprouts of Love will

make wastes green with joy, blossoms of Love will make the air fragrant, rivers

of Love will murmur along the valleys, and every bird, beast, and child will

sing the song of Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VII: 300)

What is Divine Love?

#1 What is true Love? Pure, unselfish Love towards all living beings, considered

as embodiments of the Divine, with no expectation of reward, is true Love.

(Sanathana Sarathi, June 1985:117ff)

#2 Love does not seek anything in return. Love knows only to give, not to

receive. Such Love is free from fear. These are the basic features of true

Love. (Sanathana Sarathi, August 1988:212)

#3 That which does not change is only one -- it is Love. All relationships come

and go - all are passing clouds. Only one thing is permanent, and this is

Divine Love. (Discourse, December 25, 1995)

#4 Love is of two kinds: natural love is one, which expects something in return.

Divine Love expresses itself in loving service without expectation of any

return. (Sanathana Sarathi, January 1986:44ff)

#5 Love alone equals Love. Love is the result of Love. Love is the taste of

Love. Love makes no differences or distinctions between 'mine' and 'thine.' It

is extremely selfless. (Sathya Sai Newsletter Vol. 15, No.2: 22ff)

#6 Life itself is Love. They are not two, but one. Love is the very nature of

life, as burning is the nature of fire, or wetness of water, or sweetness of

sugar. Love is the fruit of life. (Sathya Sai Speaks, XI: 222ff)

#7 Only the Love that is unchanging and shines brightly always in the heart is

true Love. It is unaffected by joy or sorrow, praise or blame. (Sanathana

Sarathi, December 1988:313)

#8 Love as thought is Truth. Love, as action is Righteousness. Love, as feeling

is Peace. Love, as understanding is Non-violence. Love is the common

denominator. (Sanathana Sarathi, Feb 1985:37ff)

#9 Expansion is Life. Expansion is the essence of Love. Love is every urging and

surging for expression and enlargement. Love is God. Live in Love. (Sathya Sai

Speaks, VII: 324ff)

God is Love, Man is Love

#10 God is Love -- Full of Love, the Embodiment of Love, the Splendor of Love.

God is where Love is -- Love expressed as sympathy, charity, reverence,

affection, and sacrifice. (Sathya Sai Speaks, V: 310)

#11 Prema (Divine Love) is God, God is Prema. Prema has no trace of selfishness;

it is not bound by motives. Prema is the crucial support, for it is the very

breath, the sole purpose of life. (Sanathana Sarathi, Feb 1985: 37ff)

#12 Where exactly does God reside? God is everywhere in all beings. Really

speaking, God is Love, and Love pervades everywhere. There is no being without

a trace of Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks, X: 297ff)

#13 Like the glow of the flame in a fire, like the rays of the sun, like waves

in the ocean, Divine Love is the basic quality of a true human being.

(Sanathana Sarathi, June 1985:117ff)

#14 Love is present equally in all human beings as the one effulgent Divine

quality. This Love may be expressed in different ways, but its nature is the

same. (Sanathana Sarathi, April 1989:85ff)

#15 God is Love dwelling in your hearts; so the Kingdom of heaven is within you.

When you realize this truth, your life will sing the music of Love. (Prema

Dhaara, 17)

#16 God is bound to you by the closest bonds of Love. God is the nearest, the

dearest, the most loving, the most eager companion and kinsman for man. (Sathya

Sai Speaks IX: 15ff)

#17 Love towards God must be witnessed by Love towards man, for man is the

visible manifestation of God. Love is in all. Love is of all. Love is all.

(Sathya Sai Speaks, VI: 90, 134)

#18 Love alone can reveal the Divinity latent in all. Love is God. Live in Love.

Love! Love! Become what you truly are -- the embodiment of Love. (Sathya Sai

Speaks, XI: 14ff)

Love is the Basis of All Spiritual Paths

#19 Love all religions. Forms of worshipping God differ, for they are shaped by

time and place, but Love is the basic content of all the forms. (Sathya Sai

Speaks, IX: 88f)

#20 What is religion? It is Love. When one practices his religion with faith,

there can be no hatred in the world, for all religions are built on Universal

Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks, IX: 88f)

#21 Be like Jesus. Jesus was a person whose only joy was in spreading Divine

Love, offering Divine Love, receiving Divine Love, and living on Divine Love.

(Sathya Sai Speaks, XI: 13)

#22 Spiritual discipline is the cultivation of Love. Be full of Love; taste the

exhilaration that Love can confer. Let everyone see you exuberant with light

and joy. (Sathya Sai Speaks, X: 93)

#23 In the Divine Path, there is no chance of failure; it is the Path of Love.

When you give expression to your innate Divinity, it takes the form of Love.

(Sathya Sai Speaks, VIII: 114, 138)

#24 Love can be experienced only in a mind flowing with Love and a heart filled

with Love. The essence of all spiritual disciplines is contained in Love.

(Sanathana Sarathi, October 1991:253ff)

#25 There is no use in acquiring all kinds of knowledge and performing prayers

and meditation if there is no Love in the heart. It is Love alone that can save

the world. (Sanathana Sarathi, November-December 1985:330)

#26 You do not need any special type of penance or meditation. Meditate on Love.

Fill your mind with Love. Let such steadfast Love be enshrined in your heart.

(Discourse, November 23, 1996)

#27 Live in Love, live with Love, move with Love, speak with Love, think with

Love, and act with Love. This is the best and most fruitful spiritual endeavor.

(Sathya Sai Speaks, XI: 118ff)

Love Leads to Union with God

#28 God is Love; so, you must become Love in order to merge with Him. God is

beauty, so be beauty. God is compassion, so be compassionate. (Sathya Sai

Speaks, VIII: 55)

#29 By means of Love, one can approach God and stay in His Presence, for God is

Love. When one lives in Love, he is living in God. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VII:

422)

#30 When you become transmuted into Love, the Lord, who is the embodiment of

Love, will reveal Himself to you, awakening your higher consciousness in the

flood of Universal Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks, IV: 121)

#31 The relationship between you and God is Love alone. Nothing else can be

called Love. All other things that come in between are passing clouds; they are

just attachments. (Discourse, December 25, 1995)

#32 Above all, be conscious of the truth that you and God are bound by Supreme

Love. If you feel this acutely, then the journey will be quick and the goal can

be won. (Sathya Sai Speaks, IX: 113 Indian edition)

#33 You must fill yourself with the feeling that God is in you, beside you,

around you, and with you. When you love God with this consciousness, the Love

results in Self-realization. (Sanathana Sarathi, January 1986:3)

#34 Liberation happens when you love every being so intensely that you are aware

of only One. Soak your heart in Love. Then you attain God soonest. (Sathya Sai

Speaks, VIII: 64)

#35 Be born in Love, die in Love, live in Love. This means, emerge from God and

merge in God; be the wave on the Ocean of Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VIII: 37ff)

#36 Grow in Love, expand that Love, practice Love, strengthen Love, and finally,

become Love and merge in the Illimitable Love, which is God. (Sathya Sai Speaks,

VIII: 1ff)

Love is the Ultimate Power

#37 Love sustains. Love strengthens. Love is the urge behind all adventures, all

sacrifices, all success. When Love is the lever that operates the mind, only

good can result. (Sanathana Sarathi, October 1988:254ff)

#38 Divine Love is strong and steady enough to leap over all obstacles confront

with equanimity all changes of fortune, and defeat all attempts to delay or

deviate. (Sathya Sai Speaks, XII: 227)

#39 Fill your heart with Love; then, the words coming out of your heart will be

full of vitality and power. There is no power more effective than Love. (Sathya

Sai Speaks, IX: 68)

#40 Love begets Love. Love will have only Love as reaction. Shout 'Love' and the

echo from the other person's heart will be 'Love.' (Sathya Sai Speaks, VIII:

37ff)

#41 When you love even the one who has harmed you, his heart is bound to change.

Do not allow your love to be affected in any way. (Discourse, November 23, 1996)

#42 Love, at its highest and sincerest. This Love, when you cultivate it, will

remove the weeds of anger and of malice. It will blossom into peace and calm.

(Sathya Sai Speaks, VII: 274)

#43 If there is any defect in your Love, it should be removed only through Love.

Love begets Love. Love can be understood only through Love. (Sanathana Sarathi,

October 1991:253ff)

#44 Live with Love, in Love, for Love. Then, the Lord who is the embodiment of

Love will grant you all that you need in spite of your not asking for anything.

(Sathya Sai Speaks, V: 25)

#45 There is no strength superior to Love. Where Love is, there everything is.

You must live in God, and live in Love. Then everything will be right. (Sathya

Sai Speaks, XI: 290)

Love God with Devotion

#46 Love of God is the means and the goal. The Divine is in everyone, but to

realize it, there is only one way. It is to cultivate intense Love for God.

(Sathya Sai Speaks, XVI: 115ff)

#47 Can there be anything more lovable than God, who is Beauty, Strength, Glory,

Fame, Splendor, Wisdom, in their fullest bloom? (Sathya Sai Speaks, V: 310)

#48 Happiness will come in the same measure as your love for God. Immeasurable

happiness can be obtained through loving God without limit. (Discourse,

December 25, 1995)

#49 The love you have towards material objects, name, fame, wife and children,

etc., should be sanctified by being subsumed by the more overpowering Love for

God. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VI: 4ff)

#50 Devotion is Love, unsullied by any tinge of desire for the benefit that

flows from it, or for the fruit or consequence of that Love. (Sathya Sai

Speaks, III: 199)

#51 Devotion is Love of the purest and noblest variety. Such Love is the breath

that sustains Life that supports the soul in the effort to merge in the Super

Soul. (Sathya Sai Speaks, IX: 15ff)

#52 What matters is the intensity of feelings. God submits only to the power of

the devotees' Love. Without Love, all forms of worship are of no use.

(Sanathana Sarathi, September 1997:229)

#53 True devotion really means installing the Divine in the heart and enjoying

the bliss of that experience. Winning Love through Love is the vital aspect of

devotion. (Sanathana Sarathi,, November 1986:226ff)

#54 Your devotion has to be expressed as worship of every one, as a living

embodiment of Divinity. See God in every one. Practice that broad, inclusive

type of Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VIII: 18)

Love God in All

#55 To see God in everything, to love everything as manifestations of God, and

to offer everything to God as an offering of Love -- this is the way of Love.

(Sanathana Sarathi, Feb.1986: 31ff)

#56 If you view things with Love, with a loving heart, the whole world, the

whole creation, will appear to you as a reflection of Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks,

XI: 99)

#57 Love helps you to see God in everyone, everyone as Divine. The universe is

not false; it is not a trap. It is the splendor of God, His reflection. (Sathya

Sai Speaks, VIII: 66)

#58 Wherever Love is evident, take it that it is God's own Love. When the human

heart melts at the suffering of others... believe that God is present there.

(Sanathana Sarathi, May 1992:94)

#59 Love probes silently into the innermost recesses of all personalities around

it to discover the seat of God that Love may blossom therein. (Sathya Sai

Speaks, VII: 488ff)

#60 Love yourself for the God that is embodied in you. Love others for the God

that is enshrined in them, that speaks and acts through them. (Sathya Sai

Speaks, VII: 488ff)

#61 When you love God, you will have Love towards all because the Divine is in

everyone. Pour out Love, whether it is returned or not, whether it results in

success or not. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VIII: 1ff)

#62 The spark of Love in you has to be cherished and fed so that it may reach

God. Then, you love the God in all beings, and the God in all beings responds

with Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VII: 272)

#63 God is the source of all Love. Love God. Love the world as the vesture of

God, no more, no less. Through Love, you can merge in the Ocean of Love.

(Sathya Sai Speaks, VI: 230ff)

Love with Your Whole Heart

#64 Your heart is inherently filled with Love. Every cell in the human body is

filled with Love. It is this micro-cosmic Love that fills the entire Cosmos.

(Discourse, November 23, 1996)

#65 The body has been described as the temple of God. In this temple, Love is

enshrined as the Spirit. Such sacred and pure Love can dwell only in a pure

heart. (Sanathana Sarathi, September 1989:226)

#66 Really, God is delighted to reside in your heart. Keep the heart pure,

unsullied by vice. Let the rays of Love illumine it. (Sathya Sai Speaks, IX:

60)

#67 Love can grow only in a well-ploughed heart; it has to be prepared by means

of constant repetition of the Name of God. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VII: 13)

#68 The trials and turmoil, the search and sorrow -- these are the same in

quality for all. The responsive heart listens to these with sympathy and

answers with Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VII: 45)

#69 When you fill your hearts with Love, you will have no ill-will towards any

one. Cultivate the faith that the Divine is in everyone. (Sathya Sai Speaks,

XVI: 115ff)

#70 There is a language of the heart that all can understand, and would like to

hear. When heart speaks to heart, it is Love that is transmitted, without any

reservation. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VII: 45)

#71 Love sees with the heart and not with the eye. It listens, not through the

ears, but by the tranquility of the heart. It speaks, not with the tongue, but

out of compassion. (Sanathana Sarathi,, April 1993:104)

#72 Love grows with every gift of Love. The heart that pours out Love is ever

full. God is there as Love; you are only drawing on God when you are sharing

Love with others. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VII: 460)

Develop Love Daily

#73 Start the day with Love. Spend the day with Love. Fill the day with Love.

End the day with Love. That is the Way of Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VIII: 88)

#74 Love has to begin with a great yearning for the Light. The yearning will

draw down the Light. The Love will grow of itself, and by inevitable alchemy

turn you into Gold. (Sathya Sai Speaks II: 6)

#75 Meditation means offering the flower of Love to the Divine. In the rose

plant of our body, there is the rose of sacred Love emitting the fragrance of

good qualities. (Sathya Sai Speaks, XVII: 35)

#76 Change your vision and the world will appear accordingly. Shape yourself as

the embodiment of Peace, Love, and Reverence. Then you will see all as Love.

(Sathya Sai Speaks, VII: 252ff)

#77 Emerge from meditation as a person charged with Love! Emerge from devotional

singing with a greater measure of Love! (Sathya Sai Speaks, VIII: 58)

#78 Saturate the breath -- as you inhale and exhale -- with Love. Saturate each

moment with Love. Fill every word of yours with Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks, IX:

84ff revised Indian edition)

#79 Fill every act of yours with Love. Let no one suffer the slightest pain as a

result of your thought, word, or deed. Let this be your spiritual practice.

(Sathya Sai Speaks, VI: 65)

#80 By saturating with Love, work can be transformed into worship. When the work

is offered to God, it gets sanctified into sacramental worship. (Sathya Sai

Speaks, VIII: 1ff)

#81 Let all the days of living be a continuous offering of Love, as an oil lamp

uses all of itself in illumining its surroundings. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VII: 69)

Love Through Selfless Service

#82 Love others and serve them. Love expresses itself as Service, Love grows

through Service, Love is born in the womb of Service. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VIII:

1ff)

#83 Love is the fruit, which is born from the flower of your good deeds. Only

when we engage ourselves is selfless service can we experience the essence of

this pure Love. (Sanathana Sarathi, January 1986:11)

#84 Love alone is the fruit of Love. Love is its own witness. There is no trace

of self-interest in it. Because Love exists for its own sake, it has no fear.

(Sanathana Sarathi, October 1988:254ff)

#85 Love with no expectation of return. Love for the sake of Love. Love because

your very nature is Love. Love because that is the form of Worship you know and

like. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VIII: 188)

#86 Serve because you are urged by Love. When you succeed, ascribe the success

to the Grace of God, who urged you on as Love within. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VIII:

1ff)

#87 Wherever you see a disconsolate, diseased person, there is your field of

service. Every nerve must tingle with Love, with eagerness to share that Love

with the forlorn. (Sathya Sai Speaks VIII:1ff)

#88 All your life, you must be Love, with Love, for Love. That means, Love

expressed through service to those who draw that love from you, and by drawing

help to increase it and deepen it in you. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VIII: 1ff)

#89 Work in the spirit of Love; it leads you on to Worship. Work without any

regard to the proportion of benefits you derive from it. Work since you love to

work. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VII: 424)

#90 Love means Service, which means Spiritual Effort, which means

self-enlargement, which means reaching out to the very horizon of being and

becoming -- until all is I! (Sathya Sai Speaks, VIII: 58)

Uplift Humanity with Love

#91 For individuals who have liberated themselves from the narrowness of

individuality, their only task is the upliftment of humanity and the showering

of Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VI: 134)

#92 You have no need to go in search of Love elsewhere. It is all within you. It

is this Love that is all pervasive. It is this Love that unifies mankind.

(Discourse, November 23, 1996)

#93 Foster the tiny seed of Love that clings to "me" and "mine." Let it sprout

into Love for the group around you and grow into Love for all mankind. (Sathya

Sai Speaks, IX: 254)

#94 Plant the seeds of Love and reap the harvest of Wisdom for the sake of

social harmony, national prosperity, and the upliftment of humanity. (Sathya

Sai Speaks, IX: 181)

#95 Only a thick shower of Love can smother and destroy the flames of anger,

fear, and anxiety that envelop the world. This, therefore, is the fundamental

spiritual discipline: give Love and receive Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VIII: 7)

#96 It is not even devotion that is essential. It is Love, Truth, Virtue, the

eagerness to progress, to serve, to expand one's heart, to take in the whole of

humanity in one's Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks- I:55)

#97 Truth, Right Conduct, Peace, Love, and Non-violence... Render service to

society with these principles in your mind, and with broad-minded dedication to

the well being of all. (Sanathana Sarathi, Feb 1985:37ff)

#98 Divinity is the magnet; humanity is the iron filings. Love is the Force that

brings them together. We can have peace and prosperity in the land if all units

work in Love. (Sathya Sai Speaks, VI: 36ff, VII 174ff, IX: 14ff, XI: 55ff, XII:

193)

#99 Through Love, you must seek to serve all, and enjoy Divine bliss. When you

embark on service with this spirit, the whole world becomes your home. (Sathya

Sai Newsletter Vol. 15, No.2: 22ff)

Live in Love

#100 Understand that the purpose of life is to know the Embodiment of Love,

namely God, through Love, and demonstrate through your own Love that you have

known God. (Sathya Sai Speaks, IX: 216)

#101 Love does not watch through the eyes; it knows the heart. Love does not

hear through the ears; it listens with peace. Love does not talk with words; it

talks with compassion. (Discourse, December 25, 1995)

#102 Love is God. Live in Love. Love lives by giving and forgiving; self lives

by getting and forgetting. Love is selfless-ness; selfishness is loveless-ness.

(Sathya Sai Speaks, SIV: 258ff)

#103 All thoughts must be full of Love. Each syllable must be soaked in Love.

The vision must be of Love. This is Divine Love. (Discourse, December 25, 1995)

#104 Seen through the eyes of Love, all beings are beautiful, all deeds are

dedicated, all thoughts are innocent. The world is one vast kin. (Sathya Sai

Speaks, VI: 230ff)

#105 Love, because it is your nature to Love, because you know nothing else,

because you cannot act otherwise than Love. Expand yourself, take in all!

(Sathya Sai Speaks, VII: 510ff)

#106 Let the seeds of Love grow, watered by faith, and yields the blossoms of

fortitude. Later, you are assured of the fruit -- Peace. This is the task.

(Sathya Sai Speaks, VI: 230ff)

#107 Put Love into practice through service. When the loveliness of the seed

blooms, you have the flower. And God is the loveliness that blooms as man!

(Sathya Sai Speaks, VIII: 241ff)

#108 The Universe around you is a pleasant garden. God dances in that garden, as

His own handiwork, gladdening the flowers. Be full of Joy and Love. (Sathya Sai

Speaks, VIII: 241ff)

*****

Courtesy: "Deepak Arjandas Bharwani"

http://web1.mtnl.net.in/~sairam

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