1008 PEARLS OF SAYINGS OF BHAGAWAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA-Part XVI [801 to 900]

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Om Sri Sai Ram

1008 PEARLS OF SAYINGS OF BHAGAWAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA

Part XVI [801 to 900]

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

801

YEARN to fill your heart with Him, not with you. Your yearning must be warm, so

warm that it can be called "Thapas" (Heat). Become hot (earnest). Now it is

only a lukewarm longing, a surface activity. Examine yourselves how far you

have filled your heart within. Measure the heights you have reached with the

yardstick of virtue, serenity, fortitude and equanimity. You now become easy

victims of lust, anger, malice, envy and the rest of that evil brood; the

atmosphere of the heart is polluted by the ego-fumes.

802

MAN has all the resources he needs himself. He can tap them by identifying them

and manifesting them and by sharing them with others. He is Sath-Chith-Ananda;

he is Siva-Shakti Swarup, Matter-Energy. When man extols himself, he is

extolling God. Do not cultivate the conviction that you are mere men; be

assured that you are destined for Divinity. When Divinity takes on the human

form, as described in the Ramayana, the Mahabharatha and the Bhagavatha, one

has to interpret the actions as providing examples and lessons and not as human

stories enacted for entertainment.

803

THE five Pandava brothers are five qualities in human character, all observing

the norms set by the eldest, which is the noblest and the most righteous. Rama

is the example of uncompromising adherence to the principle of Righteousness,

regardless of the temptation to bypass it. Rama was charged with a Love that

transcended all considerations of advantage, Caste or Creed and extended it to

animals and birds, human and subhuman beings. Love is the key to open the doors

locked by egoism and greed.

804

WE have at present persons who pride themselves on their encyclopedic

scholarship and technical skills; they claim to know the innermost secrets of

Nature; they fly into outer space and even land on the moon. But ask them if

they have "Ananda" and can stay in "Ananda". They will reply that they have not

yet experienced it. If they know everything worth knowing, why have they missed

this? It is clear that they are suffering from some delusion.

805

BE eager to confer consolation and courage; be anxious to be of help. Watch for

the chance. Snatch each opportunity to expand yourself by sympathy, to enlarge

the horizon of Love by understanding and prayer. Do not keep another at arm's

length, saying "My God is different from yours or my God is opposite to yours".

It can never be so. Paramatma, the Name for God, does not mean a strange God but

the Supreme God. Who can vouchsafe for the correctness of the picture, which you

now worship as the picture of Rama or Krishna? The poet described and the

painter delineated, but both rely on their imagination rather than on actual

authentic vision.

806

CYNICS question the validity of the type of adoration and say that it will only

confirm faith in a superstition. "Can God be a stone, or a piece of paper?",

they ask. This attitude is not correct. By adhering to the traditionally laid

down ritual worship many aspirants have attained the vision of the Omnipresent

and stayed in that Incommunicable Bliss.

807

IN fact, Puja (formal worship at regular hours), with the recitation of hymns

and songs, is the very first step in the spiritual pilgrimage. Many seekers

have undoubtedly achieved an awareness of God by years of asceticism among

jungle caves. But starting early with puja and continuing with scrupulous care,

the rites of Archana, Bhajana and Aradhana (offering of flowers with the

repetition of God's Name, singing His Glory and adoring Him as a living

presence), are more fruitful and satisfying.

808

PUJA, Japa, Archana and Aradhana are the letters of the Spiritual Alphabet. The

collection of the various items (lamps, camphor, flowers, plates, caps, a bell

and the book) is necessary for precious hours-long concentration on the Divine.

The Puja itself may take another hour or two of concentrated and devout

attention, and the performer rises up after the recitations and meditations as

a stronger and steadier pilgrim on the path.

809

THE sixteen modes of worship, laid down in the Shastras to make the aspirant

aware that he is the very presence, and that every gesture and movement of his

has to be motivated by devotion and dedication, ensure the purification of the

mind of men from ego and all its brood of blemishes. This is "Chittha Suddhi",

the cleansing of all levels of one's consciousness.

810

PUJA or Archana offered without a purified heart is a sheer waste of time. But

even a short sincere session of Puja, spent in Divine Awareness, yields much

fruit. Thiru Thondar, a Tamil Saint, confessed that he had engaged himself in

worship of the Lord's idol in order to cleanse his mind. The material and the

Form are inseparable, but the seeker must dwell on the Form, which he desires

to be manifested in all its Glory, rather than on the material.

811

WHAT exactly does “Adhyatmic” imply? Is Bhajan or congregational prayer

"Adhyatmic"? Or does it involve "Japa" or "Dhyana"? Or does it denote religious

rituals and ceremonies? Or does it extend to pilgrimages and holy places? No.

These are only beneficial acts. "Adhyatmic", in its real sense, relates to two

progressive achievements or at least to sincere attempts towards those two

achievements: elimination of the animal traits still clinging to man and

unification with the Divine.

812

DHYANA is interrupted in most cases by worry and anxiety regarding one's kith

and kin, and one's earnings and riches. Since all are manifestations of Maya,

which is natural to Brahmam or Paramathmam, the Paramathmam or Lord, in whom

you take refuge, will certainly free you from fear. Why? You are, each one, the

Atman and nothing else. This is the reason why I begin the Discourse, addressing

you as "Divyatmaswarupas"!

813

THE mind is the altar. Place the animal, which is to be offered as oblation (the

evil aspects of your character, behaviour, attitude etc.) and sacrifice it to

the deity involved. Though born as a human, man is burdened by animal instincts

and impulses that have attached themselves to him during his previous lives as

an animal. He has passed through many an animal existence and each has left its

mark on his mental makeup like a scar on the skin when a wound has healed.

814

BUDDHI is the only instrument for realisation. Jnana alone can grant the Vision,

the ultimate Truth. That is why the Gayatri, a Vedic prayer to the Light that

fills the Universe to illuminate the intelligence, is a prayer for prompting

the spirit of inquiry and for illuminating the path by the inner light of the

Spirit.

815

YOUR devotion to God is best expressed by achieving the control of the senses.

For the senses rush towards the temporary and the tawdry; and they foul the

heart. I require from each of you no other gift, no more valuable offering than

the heart I have endowed you with. Give Me that heart, as pure as when I gave it

to you, full of the nectar of Love I filled it with.

816

IT is certainly wasteful to spend precious time in mere study without any

attempt to translate it into action. You need not give your word to Me now, but

try to put into practice at least a few of the good things that appeal to you

and that are helpful in giving you peace and contentment. To evoke the Divine

in you, there is no better method than Naamasmarana.

817

YOU must take every step in Sadhana or in Samsara, only after deep deliberation

and satisfying yourself that it will be for your good. Otherwise, it will be

like the story of the weeping city. One day, a close female attendant of the

Queen came to the palace weeping in great sorrow, and so the Queen began to

shed tears. Seeing the Queen in tears, the entire Zannan wept and the weeping

spread to the male attendants also. The King, finding the queen inconsolably

sad, also wept profusely in sympathy, and the sight made the entire city weep

loudly without end. At last, one sensible person set in motion an inquiry,

which passed through person after person until the Queen herself was accosted.

She said that her attendant was in sore grief, and when she, a washerwoman by

caste, was interrogated, she confessed that it

was all due to the sudden demise of her favorite ass. Reason out; discriminate;

and do not rush to conclusion or be led away by mere hear-say.

818

WHEN you scatter seeds on the surface of the soil, they do not germinate; you

have to keep them inside the soil. So too, Bodha, if scattered on the surface,

will not germinate, grow into the tree of knowledge and yield the fruit of

wisdom. Plant it in the heart; water the plant with Prema; and measure it with

Faith and Courage. Keep off pests with the insecticides of Bhajan and Satsang,

so that you may benefit in the end.

819

KARMA must not be felt as a burden, for that feeling is a sure sign, indicating

that it is against the grain. No Karma, which helps your progress, will weigh

heavily on you. It is only when you go counter to your innermost nature that

you feel it as a burden. A time comes when you look back on your achievement

and sigh at the futility of it all. Entrust your mind to the Lord before it is

too late, and let Him shape it as He wills.

820

WHOM the Muslims adore as Allah, the Christians as Jehovah, the Vaishnavas as

Phullajaakshe and the Saivites as Sambhu, who grants in answer to their several

prayers, health, prosperity, and happiness to all wherever they may be, He is

the One God of all mankind.

821

FOOD and recreational habits are the two main causes for ill health. Great care

has to be bestowed to ensure that injurious tendencies do not affect these two.

At present, drugs have multiplied and hospitals have been established in every

nook and corner, ill health is also widespread. This situation is attributable

to the spread of deleterious food habits and pastimes.

822

TO remove the evils of Egoism, Service is the most efficient instrument. Service

will also impress on the person doing the Service, the Unity of all mankind. He

who dedicates his time, skill and strength to Service will never meet with

defeat, distress or disappointment, for Service is its own reward. His word

will be ever sweet and soft and his gestures ever revered and humble. He will

have no foe, no fatigue and no fear.

823

THE Scriptures proclaim that health is the very root of all endeavors in the

four fields of human achievement: Dharma, Artha, Kama, and Moksha. Without

health, man cannot brave temptations, earn a decent living, fulfill his basic

needs or succeed in spiritual Sadhana. Man can engage himself in obligatory and

optional functions only if he is healthy.

824

THE same Divine Compassion that blessed Dhruva, saved Gajendra, restored Kuchela

and stood by Prahlada, has come to the Earth as the Refuge of the refuge-less,

as the Lord of Peace, Harmony and Righteousness, as the Lord of all the Worlds,

as the Sath Chith-Anandamurthi, as the Puttaparthi Sathya Sai Sath-Chakravarthi,

the king of kings.

825

INDIA is the land where the ideals of service, renunciation and spiritual

endeavor were born and have flourished. It is only recently that India fell

under the impact of alien cultures, which highlighted material comfort,

physical luxury, sensual liberty, and exterior display; and that Indians have

trodden the wrong path of exploitation and violence, idleness and pompousness.

With the spread of alien cultures and alien ways of thought and life, diseases

too have multiplied and mental imbalances have increased.

826

DO not try to delve into Me; develop Faith and Shraddha and derive Ananda

through Prema. That is the utmost you can do; do that and benefit. Do not run

after all and sundry who blabber textbook stuff and wear the cloak of fakir

hood. Examine, judge and admire. Examine the daily conduct, the motive, the

outlook, the trend of the advice and the coordination between what is said and

what is done.

827

WITHOUT surrender there can be no liberation. So long as you cling to the narrow

"I", the four prison walls will close in on you. Cross out the "I" and you are

free. How to kill the "I"? Place it at the feet of the Lord and say "You", not

"I" - and you are free of the burden that is cursing you. Associate always with

the Niranjana, the vast, the unlimited, the Divine; dream and plan to merge with

the Absolute; fill your ears with the call from the Beyond and the Boundless.

Transcend the walls, the bars and bolts, the locks and chains. You can do so

easily by fixing your mind on your own Infinity.

828

I HAD to do My Dharma; and every act of Mine has its significance, which you

cannot understand. You are in the dark and you fear more. You cannot notice the

heaps of earth and the pits on the road. You cannot even know that the road is

smooth and fine. There is no fault or partiality in creation; be confirmed in

that. Then you will no more waver in your faith. If God's creation was faulty,

all would have suffered equally.

829

LAKSHMI or wealth accrues by fair means as well as foul; money is earned by

gambling, by various forms of deceit; by highway robbery; by high and low; by

all and sundry. Worship Lakshya. I shall appreciate you! Keep the Lakshya, the

Goal of expanding your Love till it embraces all beings, until it sees every

being as your mind's eye; then, Lakshmi will, of her own accord, favour you to

the extent necessary for realising the Goal. Never doubt that. Never falter.

830

YOU do not know the Gem shining inside you, the Divinity whose effulgence is

your intellect and whose reflection is the Prema you evince. You know many

things other than this, but not this essential thing; you do not know where

such and such a scholar lives in Venkatagiri, but you know where such and such

a film star lives in Madras: This is something to be ashamed of, this loss of

the sense of values. You must recognise the Higher, the Highest.

831

YOU believe that those who have no faith in the Vedas and the Shastras and those

who do not aver that there is some Omnipresent, Omniscient Being, are Nasthikas.

But let me tell you, those who revere their Parents and foster them, and those

who love and protect with care their brothers and sisters, are Theists.

Asthikas believe in Gratitude, Love, Affection, Duty, and Dharma and these

qualities are enough to save them from perdition.

832

THE Truth can flash only in a mind clear of all blemishes. The first blemish

that I would like to warn you against is: "inability to bear the success of

others". Envy is the greatest of the sins. Vanity, envy and egoism are kin.

They cut at the root of man's real nature. To feel proud that you are a Bhakta

is also a blot. Though you may be a mountain, you must feel you are a mound;

and you should not pretend to be a mountain.

833

ALL men are kin, they are of the same likeness, the same build; moulded out of

the same material, with the same Divine essence in each. Service to man will

help your Divinity to blossom, for it will gladden your heart and make you feel

that life has been worthwhile. Service to man is service to God, for He is in

every man and every living being and in every stone and stump. Offer your

talents at the feet of God; let every act be a flower, free from creeping worms

of envy and egoism and full of the fragrance of love and sacrifice.

834

WHAT exactly is a dream? It is a dream within a dream. It is a dream, which

unfolds before you even while you are "awake" in another dream. It tries to

shed some light, some joy, some courage, some faith, some hope, and some

meaning on the dream called Life. Naturally, man has to seek all means of

discovering the meaning of Life, for without knowing it, he is lost; he wanders

from birth to birth, receiving knock after knock and is seldom the better for

all the experience.

835

WHERE you go to a temple, you see the idol within but your thoughts are with

your footwear that you had to keep outside the gate. These are matters that

reveal the concentration that you are capable of. Every little point has to be

taken care of, lest the benefit of the Sadhana will be lost. You cannot get

liberation by merely coming here; you cannot get it even by Darshan, Sparshan,

and Sambashan. You will have to follow the instructions, the Ajna, the Order

and the Directions.

836

MOKSHA or Liberation results from the breaking of the Mind with all its vagaries

and wishes. You have to break your Mind but how can you do it, when the fibrous

armour of sensual desires encompasses it? Remove it and dedicate the Mind to

God and smash it in His presence. That moment you are free.

837

ONE should accept the body as the "Tantra", one's own breath as the "Mantra",

and one's heart as the "Yantra". There is no need to seek them outside oneself.

When all words emanating from you are sweet, your breath becomes Rig Veda. When

you restrict what you listen to and prefer only sweet speech, all that you hear

becomes Sama Gana. When you do only sweet deeds, all that you do is Yajur Homa.

Then, you will be performing every day the Vedapurusha Yajna, the Yajna, which

propitiates the Veda.

838

Two wheels by the senses, which are driven by Buddhi, with Viveka and Vairagya

as the reins, the two wheels being the Kala Chakra and the Karma Chakra, draw

THE vehicle of human life. The spokes of the wheel are the rules of Dharma,

bound by the rim of Prema. The self is the Rider and he will not come to harm

if the axle is Sathya and the goal is Shanti.

839

THE Gita is for saving all and granting them liberation. Gita, in Telugu, means

a line; it draws a line across and cancels the series of births and deaths; it

teaches you to stand erect, unafraid, along the straight path of Dharma, along

the line laid down.

840

HAVING been born, man earns and acquires land, riches, materials, grains and

articles of comforts and luxury, which he feels will give him happiness and

which, therefore, become the object of his struggle. But the object of

realising God is forgotten. You may ask: why should anyone seek good company,

do good deeds, and direct his mind towards good thoughts? You are listening to

Me and what do you get when you so listen? You agree that I am giving you

Anandam. What do you give Me in return? Give Me the Aacharana of what I am

telling you, practice what I teach, that is enough. That is all I ask for.

841

IN every country today, men have become power-mad and they resort, without any

compunction, to self praise and dry declamation. They develop hatred against

others, foster envy and feed their fatal egos. They plunge the Society to which

they belong into fear, anxiety and disorder. They do not know, that if elevating

ideals are adhered to and practiced, they could gain eternal fame; instead they

are content with cheap applause and short-lived publicity.

842

THE mansion called life must be built on a strong foundation and the pursuit of

Artha and Kama, of Wealth and Welfare, and all desirable objects must be

regulated by the standard of Dharma. Dharma fosters those who foster it.

"Dharma Rakshithi Rakshithah". The strongest foundation is ever-present Faith

in the Almighty. Some may ask, "If He is Almighty, why then is He not patent"?

He reveals Himself only to the person who yearns for the answer, not to the one

who questions out of impudence or ignorance.

843

HE will be patent only in the transparent heart, the heart that is not clouded

by egoism or attachment. The string of the Rosary is patent only in the Spatika

Heads, the crystal beads, not in the coral or Rudraksha beads. Though the string

runs through these latter also, only splitting those beads can see it. This is

the meaning of the story of Hiranyakasipu who split the pillar. When he did

that, he could see for himself the Lord, who is the core of every object and

being.

844

YOUR Reality is the Atma, a wave of the Paramatma. The one object of this human

existence is to visualise this Reality, this Atma, this relationship between

the wave and the sea. All other activities are trivial; you share them with

birds and beasts; but this is the unique privilege of man. He has clambered

through all the levels of animal, all the steps in the ladder of evolution in

order to inherit this high destiny. If all the years between birth and death

are frittered away in seeking food and shelter, comfort and pleasure, as

animals do, man is condemning himself to a further life sentence.

845

THERE are only three ways of saving oneself: Prakriti, Nivritti and Prapti.

Prakriti (action, external activity) is a method of sublimating the instincts

and impulses. Nivritti (detachment; internal quiet) is a method of subduing the

thirst of the senses and of the ego. Prapti (surrender) is a method of utilising

the senses, the instincts and impulses, the intelligence and the emotions for

the glorification of the all-knowing, all-directing Divine. Do and dedicate,

work and worship, plant and protect; but do not worry about the fruit; that is

the secret of spiritual success.

846

THE boulder on the hill, from which a portion has been blasted away to carve an

idol for the temple, tells the idol, "Thath Thawam Asi" (You and I are the

same), That and this are one substance. Yes, of one substance, but what a

difference? The hammer and chisel have made one, a thing of beauty and a joy

forever, an inspiration to make life beautiful and holy. You too must subject

yourself to the hammer of discipline and the chisel of pain-pleasure, so that

you become Divine.

847

WHEN you reach the bank of a river in a strange land, you do not take advice

from a lame person or a blind person on where you can best wade across. You

follow a person who has waded often and who is neither lame nor blind. The man

who can see is a scholar; the man who can walk is a person with experience. The

man with both capacities is a good guide, not those who prattle things learnt

from the books or dole out set formulae irrespective of the stage the recipient

has reached, or roamed about in search of people whom they can squeeze for

money.

848

MAN imagines that he has achieved much as a result of his search for material

pleasures. He has discovered electricity and is using it for giving light. But

what poor glory is this? When the sun rises even the brightest bulb pales into

insignificance. Man has invented the fan and, by means of electricity, he is

able to create a breeze. But, when a storm arises in Nature, the toughest tree

is uprooted and man's handiwork of brick and mortar is laid in ruins, with the

roofs flying in the air. On what basis can he erect his pride?

849

ALL who come embodied are Avatars, that is to say, advents of the Divine,

Manifestations of God. What then is the special feature of Rama, Krishna,

Buddha and Christ? Why do you celebrate their Birthdays with much reverential

enthusiasm? The specialty is this: they are Aware; you are unaware of the Atma,

which is the Truth. Awareness confers Liberation from bonds, from time, space

and causation and from sleep, dream and wakefulness. Avatars are ever alert,

aware, and alight.

850

THERE was a huge halo of splendour illuminating the sky over the village when

Christ was born. This meant that He who was to overcome the darkness of evil

and ignorance had taken birth; that He will spread the Light of Love in the

heart of man and the councils of humanity. Appearances of splendour and other

signs to herald the era that have dawned are natural when Incarnations happen

on Earth. Jesus was to shatter the darkness that had enveloped the World and

the Aura of Light was a sign that announced the event. The Masters arrive in

answer to man's prayer, "Thamasomaa Jyothirgamaya"; "Lead us from darkness unto

Light".

851

Scholars in various ways have interpreted THE word “Hindu”, but the real meaning

is "Hin" (Hinsa or Violence), "Dur" (far from): people who keep away from

violence. The Hindus have been praying since the ages for the peace and

prosperity of all the Worlds. "Loka Samastha Sukino Bhavanthu". Their

conception of the immanence of God is strong and unshakable. The rituals,

ceremonies, vows and rites prescribed in Hinduism are all directed to the

promotion and well being of "all the Worlds". This is the reason why Hinduism

is still alive and active.

852

VISHNU is described as "Buyagasayamam" sleeping on the snake and also as

"Samthaakaaram". The "Bujaga" or snake, which has visha or poison, represents

the World or "Vishaya" and, when you rest upon it, instead of allowing it to

envelop you, you can afford to have "Santham". Let your boat be on the waters;

but do not allow the waters to enter the boat. Be in the World, but not of it.

That is the secret of a successful life.

853

SARANAGATHI, or unconditional surrender, is the main gate to enter the mansion

of Mukthi. It has four floors: Dhyanam, Karma, Bhakti and Jnaanam. Each floor

rests upon the one beneath and the uppermost cannot be reached without

ascending the first three. Remember this, when you hear people arguing about

the relative superiority of the Yogas or labeling themselves as "this" or

"that" in the Adhyatmic field.

854

PLEASE do not be under the delusion that God needs light and that He requires

illumination. He is "Jyothi Swarupa" with the splendour of a thousand suns. He

is the force which makes Light shine, and He is above and beyond the Tejas that

Nature can supply. It is not so much this stone structure that needs

illumination. When you come to think of it, it is the temple that you are

carrying about with you in body that must be fitted with lights. "Dehodevalaya

Proktham". The body is said to be the temple. "Jivodevah Sanathana". And in

that temple is installed the Jivi who is the "timeless" God.

855

YOU try to avoid grief; you try to taste joy instead. It is the nature of man to

do so. For he is essentially "Anandaswarupa". When we seek "Ananda", it is like

the call of the deep for the deep. When someone asks you, "How do you do?" and

you answer, "Quite well, thank you", he does not stop to enquire why you are

well. It is only when you answer that you are ill, that he stops and expresses

concern and probes into the causes, symptoms and care of the illness. "Wellness

is natural"; illness is unnatural. Anxiety is caused by the unnatural only. So

you are "Suka-Swarupa" also.

856

CLARIFY the Buddhi by Sadhana so that you get a vision of the Lord who dwells

within, that is the Sudarshan, which saved Gajendra, the wild elephant (man)

that was caught by the alligator (egoism) while rollicking in the lake. The

objective World (Samsara) looks upon joy and grief as teachers of hardihood and

balance. Grief is a friendly reminder, a good taskmaster; even a better teacher

than joy. The Lord grants both, protection and punishment; for how can he be

the Lord if he does not insist on strict accounting and strict obedience?

857

TAKE everything as it comes. Cultivate contentment; do not multiply your wants

and foster greed and despair. You take off your warm clothing when you start

feeling warm. The coat of desire has to be taken off when the warmth of Bhakthi

increases. Strive to secure Grace; do not strive to secure any lesser fruit.

858

THE youth today, in India as well as in other lands, are afflicted with deep

discontent, which manifests itself in revolt against rules, regulations,

curricula and social norms and an agitational approach to every little problem

that affects them. What is the basic cause of this phenomenon? The Reason lies

in the fact that they have started to neglect the ancient culture of India and

its ideals. They are imitating undesirable and fanatic norms of behaviour and

are addicted to a code of disbelief, having no roots anywhere.

859

WHEN God has come assuming a Form, take it from Me, it will not fill inferior

vessels or embellish tawdry stuff or enter impure bodies. So, do not extol

these falsities and ruin those unfortunates. Deal with them severely and they

will be cured. Glass trinkets will not mislead those who have seen the

brilliance of the diamond. The Lord is like the diamond, call it by any name.

But a trinket cannot be turned into a diamond, however loud the praise and

however adamant the claim.

860

WHO can give us the secret of transcending the barrier that divides the region

of death from the region of immortality? Of course, the Lord has often sent

Messengers to tell humanity about it, and He himself has come down in human

form to communicate it and save mankind from perdition. It is because the task

of guiding man has gone on so consistently that today, at least in India, there

is this quantum of earnestness to achieve it and to escape from the cycle of

birth and death.

861

THE Jnanendriyas are more important for Sadhana than the Karmendriyas; Buddhi is

more important than all the rest of the inner instruments given to man. Make

Buddhi the master of your Manas and you will not fail. You will fail only when

the senses establish mastery over the mind.

862

EASWARASSARVOTA Bhootaanaam Hrddese Arjuna Thishtath, "Oh Arjuna, the God

resides in the heart of all being,” says the Lord. He is not to be found

specially in Amarnath, Kasi, Tirupathi, Kedaram or Gokarna. Just as every drop

of the ocean has the taste, the composition and the name of the ocean, so too

every single being has the Divine taste and composition and the name of the

Lord. Only you do not realise it so clearly. The Godavari realizes itself by

reaching the sea; man realizes himself by merging in the Absolute. "Gamyam ithi

Lingam" (That which merges in the goal is Lingam).

863

YOU have to trace your ancestry and be proud of it. From Paramatma, Moola

Prakriti descended with the emergence of Maya, and from the stuff of that

illusion, Akasa; and from Akasa, Vayu; from Vayu, Agni; from Agni, Jala; from

Jala, Earth. By a combination of the five elements, this Tabernacle of

Paramatma, which is you, was produced. The entire ladder has now to be climbed

up in order to reach the Paramatma, the Origin of all. There is a regular

syllabus for the promotion of the spiritual aspirant, which is given in that

form in the Veda and in the form of an elaborate story in the Bhagavatha.

864

THE discovery of Truth is the unique mission of man. Man is a mixture of Maya

and Madhava; the Maya throws a mist, which hides the Madhava. But through the

action of the healthy impulses inherited from acts performed while in previous

bodies, or through the cleansing done by austerities in this body, or through

the Grace of the Lord Himself, Maya melts away; for it is just a mist which

flees before the Sun. Then Nara is transformed into Narayana and this Bhuloka

is elevated into a Prashanthi Nilayam.

865

EVERYONE has a mother as the source of his life and body. So, the mother has to

be strong in mind and body, ripe in culture and character, sanctified by holy

thoughts and steeped in love and dedication. Good mothers make a good nation.

Mothers have to be repositories of "Thyaga, Yoga and Bhakthi", Detachment,

Discipline and Devotion. Their Karma (Activity) must be based on these three

urges.

866

THE one Namaskaram you do, do with devotion. That is enough. You do not even do

that; you do it so callously, so indifferently and automatically. When you fold

your hands and bring them together, feel that you are offering at the Feet all

the actions of the Five Karmendriyas and the Five Jnanendriyas as indicated by

the ten fingers. Again, the purpose of Namaskaram is to touch the Feet, to have

Sparshan of the Lord. The Negative pole Mayasakthi, and the Positive pole,

Mahasakthi, has to meet in order to produce a spiritual current that will flow

through you.

867

COME, I am the repairer of broken hearts, of damaged Anthahkaranas. I am like

the smith who welds, mends and sets right. Ten years ago, a devotee prayed to

Me in song, "My heart has gone dry, my lamp has gone out, my path is dark, my

brain is confused. Lord make me fit again for life's arduous journey". The Lord

will be waiting outside the door of the Puja room of the Bhakta, anxious to

fulfill his wish. Verily he, who has the Lord as His Servant, is the real

Prabhu.

868

EVERY little movement or incident results in sound. Only, you may not be able to

hear, because the range of your ear is limited. The falling of an eyelid over

the eye makes a sound and the dropping of dew on a petal makes a sound. Any

little agitation disturbing the calm is bound to produce a sound. The sound

caused by the primal movement that resulted in the enveloping of Brahman by

self-evolved Maya is the Pranavashabda or OM. The Gayathri is the elaboration

of that Pranava and so, it is now held so venerable that initiation into

Adhyatmic life is achieved by its contemplation.

869

YOU may complain that God is hard and heartless since He does not respond to

prayer, give a signal from his pictures and speak from "nowhere" in clear

unambiguous terms, assuaging, assuring, advising - but let Me tell you: God is

Love. Love is God. His Akara (Form) is Prema (Love). His Swabhava (essential

Nature) is Ananda (Bliss); and His Raktha (Life-blood) is Sathya (Truth). Even

when the stony cliff echoes your voice and responds when you cry, will not the

Softest, Sweetest, Love-filled Heart of God respond? When there is no response,

infer that there is something wanting in the cry; perhaps, the cry is hollow,

insincere, mere play-acting set to a pattern, addressed to someone alien to

oneself, taken to be far away and distant as a tyrant or task master.

870

KNOW that God is the One that is dearest and nearest to you, as dear and as near

as your own heart and pray to him. Surely his answer will be vouchsafed

immediately. You may have huge hordes of men in the army; but they are useful

only when the few Generals who lead them know where they are and whether they

should proceed and how to overcome the enemy, whose strength and weakness they

have comprehended. Hordes of people sing, recite, adore, worship, praise and

prostrate, but these are the soldiers. Those who believe, those who have faith

and who practice the disciplines are the Generals in whom the Master confides.

871

TALKATIVE persons easily step into scandal mongering. Too much talk and a tongue

addicted to scandal are twins; they work together and in unison. A poet

addressed his tongue thus "Oh, Tongue, knower of taste, relisher of sweetness,

always prefer the Truth". One should not inflame passion, diminish enthusiasm

or inflict injury "Sathyam Brooyath, Priyam Rooyath" (Speak the Truth, Speak

pleasantly), "Nabrooyath Sathyam Apriyam" (If unpleasant, do not speak the

truth), "Priyam cha na anvartsham brooyth" (Though it may be pleasant, do not

speak falsehood).

872

THE Lord has said in the Gita: "Anudevega Karam Vakyam Sathyam Priya Hitam

Chayat". (Speech, that does not offend, that is truthful, pleasant and

beneficial, has to be praised). Such speech sanctifies the tongue. It knows and

respects the limits. The ear cannot tolerate a false or discordant note. Every

one of the senses responds within its own limits of tolerance and protests when

that limit is exceeded or disregarded. You must be vigilant that they are put to

use with proper attention to those limits. When they stray from the path or

overstep the boundaries, reason bites its head and makes you inhuman.

873

YOU can master all Knowledge and win loud applause. The crowds that gather may

praise and proclaim: "Ah, what a wonderful lecture he gave". You can be hailed

as a King and rule over the realm. You can pile up vast wealth and donate old

and land. But what is the benefit gained? Karna gave away the earrings he wore

and even sliced off his Divine suit of armour and gave it away in charity.

Wherein lies the key to greatness? Whereto does renunciation lead? The question

is, does it purify the heart? Does it help the Divinity within to manifest

itself?

874

BRAHMACHARYA does not mean merely desisting from marriage. It means becoming

soaked in Holy Love for the Divine through transparent sincerity, unselfish

will, pure consciousness and holy thoughts. You all know that Hanuman is

described as the Eternal Brahmachari. He was married to Srivatsala, yet he

earned that description. How? Brahmachari means, "He who is in Brahman".

Hanuman had no other thought than Rama (who is Brahman) and so, was ever moving

in Brahman and living in Brahman. Your thoughts, feelings, desires and

activities must all move in Brahman, the Universal Absolute. That is to say,

whatever is spoken and whatever is seen must be cognised as Brahman. That is

the real Brahmacharya stage.

875

LIFE can be sanctified and elevated to a worshipful pilgrimage if only every one

clings to his way and sees it in its proper perspective. Idle brains exaggerate

matters; and cynics cause great social damage. Gulfs are widened by thoughtless

criticism. If only all of you would remember the principle underlying the

brotherhood of man, mankind will become a mighty family full of peace and joy.

876

MOHAKARMA flows from delusion and leads to further delusion. Man must outgrow

this tendency and turn towards Dharma Karma, that is to say, moral activity,

idealistic activity, activity that sublimates lower instincts and impulses and

transform every deed into an act of dedication. When the attitude is confirmed

and consolidated, all Karma becomes Brahma karma. Man merges in the Universal

and loses the inhibiting individuality. That is the Karma, which the Atma

craves for and delights in.

877

PREMA or Love is a much-misused word. Any positive response to the attraction is

called Love. Any feeling of attachment, however trivial or transitory, is

characterised as Prema. We must certainly coin new words or set aside specific

words to indicate the forms of Love. The attachment of parents to their

children or of children to parents must be called affection. The response to

the attraction of sex can be best described as fancy, fascination or delusion,

Moha. The feeling of Kinship or comradeship evokes dearness. The pleasure one

gets through a sense of possession, especially of material objects, can be

known as satisfaction. Only the yearning to reach for the sublimity that lies

inherent in Truth is entitled to be called by that holy word "Prema".

878

IT is My general practice to induce people to learn the sweetness of the Name. I

begin My Discourses with the recitation of a spiritual poem and end them with

these Namavalis and in between I give the lesson I love to teach. It is like a

tasty health giving meal, which I serve, to you on a plate (the problem)

covering it with a lid (the Namavalis). That is how you may take it.

879

HOW can a person, who cannot swim, teach others the art? How can one whose

granary is empty, pour out charity? Acquire the wealth of devotion, fortitude

and peace, before venturing to advise others how to acquire them. Bharath

(India) has suffered slights and disregard as a result of a spate of teachers

who have not cared to practice what they teach. I know you have the enthusiasm

to carry My message among the people of this country and other countries. Let

Me remind you that the best and the only successful way in which you can do it

is to translate the Message into your own lives. Your thoughts, words and deeds

must be saturated with the message. They then will spread effortlessly and

efficiently, and the face of the World will be transformed.

880

THE Name undoubtedly brings in the Grace of God. Meerabai, the Queen of

Rajasthan, gave up status and riches, fortune and family and dedicated herself

to the adoration of the Lord, Giridhara Gopala. Her husband brought a chalice

of poison and she was ordered to drink it. She uttered the Name of Krishna

while she drank it. The Grace the Name evoked transformed it into nectar.

881

GOD is the harmony of all the Forms and Names that man gives Him. Only those who

are ignorant of the Glory of God will insist on one Name and one Form for His

adoration and, what is worse, condemn the use by others of other Names and

Forms. Since you are all associated with the Sathya Sai Organisation, I must

warn you against such silly obduracy. Do not go about proclaiming that you are

a sect, distinct and separate from those who adore God in other Forms and

Names; thereby, you are limiting the very God whom you are extolling.

882

PEOPLE pray to God to relieve them from pain, grief and loss, to confer on them

health, strength and wealth. But if you develop an intimate attachment to Him

and make Him yours, then He will manage to give you all that you need. Do not

demean the relationship into bargaining: give me this; then I shall give you

that in exchange. If you insist on wages you become a coolie. Become His own.

He is providing for the idler, the insane and the shirker; can He not provide

for you?

883

THE duration of life is under the control of Him who gave life, the Creator. It

does not depend on the calories of food consumed or the quality of drugs that

are injected, or the qualification of the physician who prescribes the

medicine. The chief causes of ill health and death are Fear and Loss of Faith.

If one concentrates on the Atma, which has no change in characteristics, no

subtraction or senility, and no decline or damage, man can conquer Death.

Therefore, the most effective prescription is the injection of Atma-Vidya

(Knowledge of the Atma, the Soul as one's Real Self).

884

THE future of India is in your hands. You are fully aware of the characteristics

of this Kaliyug we are passing through. You find around you injustice,

irregularities, immorality and untruth, with all their devilish attributes and

atrocities. But we have to march ahead in spite of all this with a quite

tolerant and benign attitude towards life. Almost all the fields and walks of

life are polluted with these poisonous feelings; but the field of education,

being the most prominent organ, needs our special attention.

885

EVERY Indian will have to recognise the culture based on Vedic philosophy. You

will know how restless and agitated the youth of India are today, trying to rob

everything of pride and without achievement and thus, getting involved in

meaningless pursuits. 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.

886

LOVE is the seed, courage is the blossom and peace is the fruit that the Sages

grow in the garden of their hearts. They toiled for identifying themselves with

the Truth, not for painting falsehood with the authenticity of Truth and

parading as if they had accomplished the mission on which they had come to

earth. They achieved such success that Bharath, for centuries, was the

Preceptor of Humanity; but now the Preceptor has started to take lessons from

the least intelligent of the pupils and is rearing its head in pride when the

pupil congratulates him.

887

IN the Gita, the Lord has declared "Beejaymmaam Sarva Bhootaanaam", "I am the

seed for all beings". The tree is a broad spread of leaves and flowers, fruit

and green. All have grown out of one single small seed, and every fruit of that

tree has seeds of the same nature inside it: contemplate for a while on the

magnificent multitude of life, all its rich variety of strong and weak, prey

and hunter, distressed and delighted, creeping, crawling, flying, floating,

walking, hanging, burrowing, living, and swarming. All this uncountable variety

of created beings has come out of the "Beejam" (Lord) and again, visualise the

immanent Divinity. You will become humble, wise, and full of Love.

888

DO NOT waver, hesitate or doubt your destiny. Yearn to realise your Reality;

that yearning itself will endow you with a steady endeavor and the Grace of

God, which will remove all obstacles. Be an example to others. Do not scatter

advice without the authority born of practical experience. Do not search for

the faults of others, seek your own. Love, Cooperate, Help, and Serve. This is

your prime duty.

889

THE six demons, Kama (Lust), Krodha (Anger), Lobha (Greed) Moha (Attachment),

Mada (Pride) and Matsara (Hate) pursue you and turn you on to wrong paths and

make you servile, stupid and sad. Fight against them resolutely. That is the

life-long war you have to wage. It is not a seven-year war or a thirty-year

war; it may be a hundred year war, if you live a hundred years. The struggle

knows no respite. This is a civil war, where vigilance alone can bring

dividends.

890

THERE are no characteristics in God, but in the characteristics of Sathya, Jnana

and Ananda there is God. God is everywhere and no spaceship can hit against Him;

no astronaut can espy Him. He is too subtle for all that type of contact,

subtler than ether or Akasa. So, do not lend your ears to people who swear

there is no God. God is too vast and too far above the reach of reason or

imagination. You can only get glimpses of the Bliss derived from the

contemplation of His Magnificence.

891

KRISHNA is hiding in the recesses of your hearts. You have to trace Him there

and hold fast. He runs away but leaves footprints marked by the spilled milk on

which he has trodden in His hurry to be beyond our reach. Yes, the lesson is:

recognise his Footprints in everything of beauty, every act of goodness, every

tear of gratitude and every sigh of compassion; and discover Him in the bower

of your own heart filled with the Fragrance of Love and Light of Virtue.

892

A HEART without Love is as dreary as a town without a temple. Spiritual pride is

the most poisonous of all varieties of Pride. It blends and leads the person

suffering from it into ruin. Beware of Pride; be always aware that you are but

an instrument in My Divine Mission of Dharmasthapana, Revival of righteousness.

Try to be more and more efficient as such instruments. The hand that wields the

instrument knows how and when it has to be applied.

893

AT THIS critical hour in the history of the World, when the demoniac forces of

fear and anxiety, injustice and inequity are raging in wild fury, it is the

duty of every human being to be equipped with spiritual strength so that he may

not be overwhelmed by the storm. This is an urgent and essential task and I must

say, that the women of India have a contribution to make, a service to render

and a role to play. They must bring God into the heart of the child and help it

to keep Him there. For Faith in God is the tonic that man needs to get back his

health and happiness.

894

SOCIAL service should not become show-cial, work carried out for publicity or

with the camera in view. Nor should it become slow-cial work. Why go slow, when

you are doing good to the deserving? Do as much as you can. If you cannot do any

good, at least desist from doing harm or from finding fault with those who serve

you.

895

YOU know that you can draw Cheques upon a bank whenever you need money, provided

you have enough current deposit therein. If the Bank goes bankrupt, it will be a

disaster. The educational system is the Bank on which the nation draws a Cheque

whenever it wants strong, reliable skilled workers. If it goes bankrupt, as it

nearly has today, it is a national disaster.

896

SERVICE: Let that be the slogan for this nation. Service not for those who have

many to serve them and the wherewithal to help themselves, but for the diseased

in the hospitals who have no one to nurse them, give them a smile or a flower or

write a letter home for them.

897

THE chief means by which you detach your mind from distractions and attach

yourselves to the search for God are: Yoga and Thyaga. Kama (desire) has to be

gotten rid of by Thyaga (Renunciation); and Rama (God) has to be secured by

Yoga (the conjunction of all your faculties for the common purpose). Desire

discolors the intelligence; it perverts judgment; it sharpens the appetites of

the senses; it lends a false lure to the objective world. When desire

disappears or is concentrated on God, intelligence is self-luminous and it

shines in the pristine splendour; and that splendour reveals the God within and

without. That is the real "Atmasakshatkara".

898

OF WHAT benefit is it to have a body if you do not seek to know how best to

utilise it? Learn from the Saints and Sages who have realised the Truth about

the path you shall tread and the goal you have to attain. That goal is God. He

is beyond all notions of good and bad, right and wrong. These are earthly

measures, by which the temporary is weighed and judged. He has no Form, no

Limbs, no duality, no preferences, no prejudices and no predilection. To say

that He is "Sathya swarup" (having the characteristic of Truth), and "Jnana

swarup" (having full wisdom), and "Ananda swarup" (full of Bliss) is also not

correct. For He has no "Swarup" or "Swabhav"; He is Sathya; He is Jnana; and He

is "Ananda". That is the experience of those who have tasted "Ananda".

899

YOU may boast that you have been visiting Puttaparthi since twenty years or that

you have made the place your permanent residence; but, unless you follow the

lessons I emphasise, that boast is mere empty vanity. If you develop love for

all beings, in the faith that God resides in all, you may be anywhere else, but

your prayers would reach Me and My Grace will reach you. While in My previous

body, I told Nanasaheb that I am in ants, insects and animals, besides all men.

When a dog ate all offerings intended for Baba, it was declared to have reached

Baba, for he had eaten it in that form. "Nana says, he is giving Me food, but

when I go in the form of a dog, he drives Me off".

900

INDIA has always laid down disciplines to cultivate Universal Love; the Yagnas

and Yaga, which are recommended in the Vedas, are for Loka Kalyana,

Lokasangraha, the welfare and security of all mankind. That is why India is

like the engine, which drags the wagons along, all the wagons that are coupled

with it. The wagons are the different nations. "Lokaasamathaah Sukhino

Bhavanthu" is the prayer that rises from the children of the land since

thousands of years. God is Omnipresent. He is immanent in every being and in

equal measure. So man must visualise Him equally in himself and in others.

To be continued

With Pranams at the Lotus Feet of Divine Lord Sai

Sai brothers

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