1008 PEARLS OF SAYINGS OF BHAGAWAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA - Part IX [201 to 225]

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Om Sri Sai Ram

1008 PEARLS OF SAYINGS OF BHAGAWAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

Part IX [201 to 225]

[A compilation of THOUGHT FOR THE DAY displayed in Prashanthi Nilayam over years prior to1992]

201.  MAN alone can rise through effort to higher stages of spiritual evolution.

No other animal can do so. Animal trainers of the Circus can train a tiger to

perform various tricks, but they cannot change his nature. They cannot make it

live on grass and completely deprive it of meat. But man is different. His

nature can be changed by means of his own disciplined effort. He can control,

by his will, the evil thoughts and ideas that arise in his mind. This is why

birth as a human being is considered a rare gift.

202.  FAITH in God will instill faith in themselves and in others and the World

will be happier thereby. The Americans might walk on the moon, or the Russians

picnic on the planet Mars, but they have both to return to Earth, which is

their common home. One can claim genuine victory only when one has reached not

the dead satellite, but the living star, not the Chandra, but Ramachandra, the

Lord who rules over the inner satellites, the inner planets, the inner motives

and aspirations.

203.  LIFE is a jungle, where there is a great deal of dry wood, which harbors

worms and insects. No one cleans the floor of the forest or cuts away the

undergrowth of bush and bramble. To wade through the thorns and the

leech-ridden floor of the jungle, one has to wear boots. So too, one has to

wear the boots of sense-regulation, if one has to pass through the jungle of

life without harming oneself.

204.  THERE are three desires which every "I" cannot escape from. "I must live"

is the first. The will to live is overpowering and paramount. This is the urge

for immortality. "The desire to know" is the second. This too is unquenchable

thirst and is an indication of the position of which the "I" is the inheritor.

"The desire for joy" is the third, prompting man behind the senses into the

outer World for pleasures. This evidence shows that deep in the core of the "I"

there is a spring of "Ananda" which seeks its mate and its fulfillment.

205.  THERE is no Vidya, which our students are not proficient in. They develop

all the virtues and they saturate every act of theirs, including their skills

and studies, with those high and pure qualities. To demonstrate that this

process will yield joy, peace and prosperity, I have these students as My

instruments. They would themselves act as ideals. They are the source of My

delight and they sustain My hopes. (They are My "Aasaya", My "Ananda" and my

"Ahaara") These students, and those of the same stamp are the pioneers in My

task of mending the present World and ushering in a new World.

206.  PARENTS set bad examples uttering falsehood, scandalizing others,

gambling, drinking, behaving violently, inflicting injury, becoming addicted to

nightclubs, pictures and drinking parties and quarreling after arriving home

past midnight. How can children, used to such low sights and sounds, learn to

become bright fresh fragrant flowers of the Sanathana Garden of India?

207. THE student of today is not able to realise what he should primarily be

concerned with. It is only in name that he is a "Vidyarthi", the seeker of

knowledge. In practice he is only a "Vishayarthi", a seeker of worldly

pleasures. It is the duty of every human being to understand and respect his

parents. Similarly, in a nation, it is the duty of every national to assimilate

and appreciate the historical and cultural background of his nation and consider

these two factors as his father and mother. In fact, one who is ignorant of the

historical and cultural heritage of his country is like a stupid person who has

no knowledge of his parents.

208.  TODAY the student-world is tossed in confusion; not only in confusion but

in downright insanity. They wear white clothing; but the hearts are still

dark.        

                    Heads are full of evil thoughts

                    Ears are open for scandal-tales,

                    Eyes delight in peeping unseen;

                    Minds crave for wicked plots;

                    Reason pursues plan to cheat.

                    When Vidya perceives these in man,

                    It will not stay a moment there.

When this is the condition, how can one earn Vidya? Of course, man's present

situation and status are determined by his acts and thoughts in the past.

209.  SAMSKRITI the word for culture and civilization is derived from the word

Samskara, which means the dual process of removing the dust and dirt of vice,

and planting the virtues of Sathya, Dharma, Shanti and Prema. Samskara is also

the name for certain obligatory rites of initiation and purification prescribed

by the Vedas for the spiritual upliftment of man. Their number is forty-eight in

all, but they could be reduced to ten and if needed, even to one; the final

fulfilling one, of recognising one's identity with Madhava, Siva, or Brahman.

Nara is but Narayana seen through the limitations of primal ignorance.

210.  AN Iron box is essential to keep safe precious stones; so too, the body is

essential to keep safe the precious gift of virtue, faith, love and

discrimination. The parents gave it and so they have to be respected by speech,

action and behaviour. How can you expect the Heavenly Father to respond to your

prayers if you do not respond to the demands of the earthly Father? The first

step in Dharma is gratitude; the first duty of the child is reverence to the

parents. When the first step is absent, ascent is impossible.

211.  IF a school has poor discipline and if its students are led away by

self-seekers into the wilderness, the fault lies on the parents, elders and the

Committee of management. The Committee often is only a "Come-for-Tea" affair.

212.  HOWEVER superfine the paper, however artistic the envelope and however

poetic the composition of the letter, it will not reach the addressee by post

when it lacks the 50 paise stamp! So too the trappings, vestures, shawls, moles

and rosaries are ineffective; they cannot reach the addressee - God. What will

take their prayers to the addressee is the 50 paise stamp: dedication or

Bhakti.

213.  I WANT each one of you to grow into a strong, steady and straight person.

Your eyes should not seek evil sights; your ears should not seek evil tales;

your tongue should not seek evil speech; your hands should not seek evil acts;

your minds should not seek evil thoughts. Be pure and be full of Love. Help

those who are in a worse condition and serve those who need your help.

214.  GOD appears in human form; He promotes pasture of cattle and agriculture

in order that the food must sustain the Head and render it intelligent and

clear enough to realise God. The body has to be nourished for the sake of the

Head, so that "Jnana” can be attained and Liberation gained. Food-Head-God:

this is the chain of events.

215.  MOST of the names of the Divine have but two letters or syllables; the

significance of the number two, Rama, Krishna, Hara, Hari, Datta, Shakti, Kali

etc., is that the first syllable represents Agni (Fire principle), which burns

up accumulated demerit or sin; and the second represents the Amrita principle,

the restorative, refreshing and the reformation force. The two processes are

necessary for the removal of obstructions and the construction of the

structure.

216. WHEN you live in the World of desire, you must be prepared for both Joy and

Grief. Invite the Minister Boga, and along with him you must be prepared for the

visit of his Private Secretary Roga! On the other hand, invite the Minister

Thyaga or his colleague Yoga, and you will be happy to receive their Private

Secretary Boga who plays a minor role in the presence of his Master.

217.  MAAM anusmara - with Me in memory ever! Do not distinguish this task as

Bhajan, or Bhojan (eating) or Pujan (adoration of God). All acts are Pujan, for

he, eaten by Him, for His sake to yield strength for His work, gives food. Each

moment is worthwhile, for He gives it; He uses it; He fills it; He fashions it;

and He fulfills it. When He is fused with every breath, you can achieve the

sovereign task of merging in Him.

218.  BHAKTI is not to be calculated on the basis of the institutions one has

started or helped, the temples that one has built or renovated, the donations

one has given away; nor does it depend on the number of times one has written

the Name of the Lord or on the time and energy one has spent in the worship of

the Lord. These are not vital at all; no, not even secondary. Bhakti is Prema,

unsullied by any tinge of desire for the benefit that flows from it or the

fruit of consequence of that Love.

219.  GOD is as eager to save you, as you are eager to be saved; He is Prema, He

is Karuna, for all who flounder on the road. He is called "Bhakta - Abhista -

Prada" (He who grants the desires of the Devotees). You say that I laugh within

Myself, that I roll my hair on My fingers and draw them right over My face, but

let me say why? A sign of My "Ananda" is the success of the Bhaktas in

capturing My heart.

220.  THE human body has been secured as a reward for many lives of meritorious

activity. Being valued as a boat, which can help us cross the ocean of change

"Samsara", it has to be tended with grateful reverence. The Bhagavad Gita calls

the body "Kshetra", which means "a field"; one can sow holiness or sin and

gather a harvest commensurate with the particular quality. Choose the crop that

you need before you sow the seeds.

221.  THE bird, in the physical cage wherein man is imprisoned, is always, from

the moment of birth to the moment of death, chirping "Soham” declaring "Jiva

and Deva are One". It is this affirmation that is the justification for the

gift of life. When that chirp does not emanate from the breath, the body is a

corpse: Savam! When it manifests, illumines and fills the cage with the "Divine

Fragrance", it is a Tabernacle: Sivam! Identify yourselves with the Mantra, the

bird chirps and the breath repeats.

222.  THE Vedavids marked three stages in the Life of man and assigned one

aspect of God to preside over each stage. The first, where man is deep in

activity of some sort or other in Karma, is presided over by Vasu. The second,

under the protection of Rudra, is filled with reverential worship of the God in

all, discovered through the impact of Love. The third is the stage of Jnana, the

supreme Wisdom, presided over by the Source of illumination, Adithya or the Sun.

223.  THE World is a furnace and a factory where man has to shape his destiny by

his honest, untiring effort. He, who takes up this challenge and spends his

allotted years and the skills and intelligence with which he is endowed, in

purposeful activity, is really entitled to the status of a KARMA YOGI.

224.  DUTY is God; Work is Worship; and there is a dictum: "Heads in the Forest;

Hands in Society"; Do deeds that are holy and beneficial, untarnished by ego and

the greed to benefit. Start on the sacred pilgrimage to the Divine Goal and make

every minute of your life holy and purposeful. Then surely, this Earth, your

field of work, will be transformed into a Karmakshetra and a Dharmakshetra.

225.  A DEVOTEE once lamented, saying, "Oh God! You have forgotten me"! This is

never possible; it is the devotee who forgets that he is the child of God, that

God is his never failing friend and guide. God is all knowledge, all power, and

all mercy. Faith in God has to be constant and firm in the face of every

challenge by fate or fortune.

Sent with Sai love,

Sai brothers – ‘’

TO BE CONTINUED…