Sai Maxims

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SATHYA SAI BABA'S 46 MAXIMS

 

1. Prema, Love, should be considered as the very breath of Life.

 

2. The Love that is manifest in all things equally believes that the

same Prema is Paramatma.

 

3. The one Paramatma is in every one, in the form of Prema.

 

4. More than all other forms of Prema, man's first effort should be

to fix his Love on the Lord.

 

5. Such Love directed towards God is Bhakthi; that is the

fundamental test, the acquisition of Bhakthi.

 

6. Those who seek the Bliss of the Atma should not run after the

joys of sense objects.

 

7. Sathya, Truth, must be treated as life-giving as breathing

itself.

 

8. Just as a body that has no breath is useless and begins to rot

and stink within a few minutes, similarly, life without Truth is

useless and becomes the stinking abode of strife and grief.

 

9. Believe that there is nothing greater than Truth, nothing more

precious, nothing sweeter and nothing more lasting.

 

10. Truth is the all-protecting God. There is no mightier Guardian

than Truth.

 

11. The Lord who is Sathyaswarupa grants His Darshan to those of

Truthful Speech and Loving Heart.

 

12. Have undiminished kindness towards all beings and also the

spirit of self-sacrifice.

 

13. You must also possess control of the senses, an unruffled

character and non-attachment.

 

14. Be always on the alert against the four sins which the tongue is

prone to commit: Speaking falsehood Speaking ill of others Back-

biting and Talking too much

 

It is best to attempt to control these tendencies.

 

15. Try to prevent the five sins that the body commits: Killing

Adultery Theft Drinking intoxicants Eating of flesh It is a great

help for the highest life if these also are kept as far away as

possible.

 

16. One must be always vigilant, without a moment's carelessness,

against the eight sins that the mind perpetrates: Kamam or craving

Krodham or anger Lobham or greed Moham or attachment Impatience

Hatred Egoism Pride Man's primary duty is to keep all these things at

a safe distance from himself.

 

17. Man's mind speeds fast, pursuing wrong actions. Without letting

it hurry like that remember the Name of the Lord at that time or

attempt to do some good deed or other. Those who do thus will

certainly become fit for the Lord's Grace.

 

18. First give up the evil tendency to feel impatient at the

prosperity of others and the desire to harm them. Be happy that

others are happy. Sympathise with those who are in adversity and wish

for their prosperity. That is the goal of cultivating the love for

God.

 

19. Patience is all the strength that man needs.

 

20. Those anxious to live in joy must always be doing good.

 

21. It is easy to conquer anger through love, attachment through

reasoning, falsehood through truth, bad through good and greed

through charity.

 

22. No reply should be given to the words of the wicked. Be at a

great distance from them; that is for your good. Break off all

relations with such people.

 

23. Seek the company of good men, even at the sacrifice of your

honor and life. But be praying to God to bless you with the

discrimination needed to distinguish between the good men and the

bad. You must also endeavor, with the intellect given to you.

 

24. Those who conquer states and earn fame in the world are hailed

as heroes, no doubt; but those who have conquered the senses are

heroes who must be acclaimed as the conquerors of the Universe.

 

25. Whatever acts a good or bad man may do, the fruits thereof

follow him and will never stop pursuing him.

 

26. Greed yields only sorrow; contentment is best. There is no

happiness greater than contentment.

 

27. The mischief-mongering tendency should be plucked out by the

roots and thrown off. If allowed to exist, it will undermine life

itself.

 

28. Bear with fortitude both loss and grief; try and search for

plans to achieve joy and gain.

 

29. Assume silence when you are invaded by anger or remember the

Name of the Lord. Instead, do not try to remind yourself of things,

which will inflame the anger more. That will do incalculable harm.

 

30. From this moment, avoid all bad habits. Do not delay or

postpone. They do not contribute the least joy.

 

31. Try as far as possible within your means to satisfy the needs of

the poor, who are really Daridranarayana. Share with them whatever

food you have and make them happy at least that once.

 

32. Whatever you feel should not be done to you by others, avoid

your doing such to others.

 

33. For faults and sins committed in ignorance, repent sincerely;

try not to repeat the faults and sins again; pray to God to bless you

with the strength and the courage needed to stick to the right path.

 

34. Do not allow anything to come near you, which will destroy your

eagerness and enthusiasm for God. Want of eagerness will cause the

decay of the strength of man.

 

35. Yield not to cowardice; do not give up Ananda.

 

36. Do not get swelled up when people praise you; do not feel

dejected when people blame you.

 

37. If among your friends any one hates another and starts a

quarrel, do not attempt to inflame them more and make them hate each

other more; try, on the other hand, with love and sympathy to restore

their former friendship.

 

38. Instead of searching for others' faults, search for your own

faults yourself; uproot them, throw them off. It is enough if you

search and discover one fault of yours; that is better than

discovering tens of hundreds of faults in others.

 

39. Even if you cannot or will not do any Punya or good deed, do not

conceive or carry out any Papa, or bad deed. This is far preferable.

 

40. Whatever people may say about the faults that you know are not

in you, do not feel for it; as for the faults that are in you, try to

correct them yourself, even before others point them out to you. Do

not harbor anger or vengeance against persons who point out your

faults; do not retort, pointing out the faults of those persons

themselves, but show your gratitude to them. Trying to discover their

faults is a greater mistake on your part. It is good for you to know

your faults; it is no good your knowing others' faults.

 

41. Whenever you get a little leisure, do not spend it in talking

about all and sundry, but utilise it in meditating on God or in doing

service to others.

 

42. Only the Bhaktha understands the Lord; only the Lord understands

the Bhaktha. Others cannot understand them. So, do not discuss

matters relating to the Lord with those who have no Bhakthi. On

account of such discussion, your devotion will diminish.

 

43. If anyone speaks to you on any subject, having understood it

wrongly, do not think of other wrong notions, which will support that

stand but grasp only the good and the sweet, in what he says. True

meaning is to be appreciated as desirable, not wrong meaning or many

meanings, which give no meaning at all and cause only the hampering

of Ananda.

 

44. If you desire to cultivate one-pointedness, do not, when in a

crowd or bazaar, scatter your vision to the four corners and on

everything, but see only the road in front of you, just enough to

avoid accidents to yourself. One-pointedness will become firmer if

one moves about without taking one's attention off the road, avoiding

dangers, and not casting eyes on others' forms.

 

45. Give up all doubts regarding the Guru and God. If your worldly

desires do not get fulfilled, do not blame it on your devotion; there

is no relationship between such desires and devotion to God. These

worldly desires have to be given up some day or other; Bhakthi

feelings have to be acquired some day or other. Be firmly convinced

of this.

 

46. If your Dhyanam or Japam do not progress properly or if the

desires you have entertained do not come to fruition, do not get

dispirited with God. It will dispirit you even more and you will lose

the peace, however small or big, that you might have earned. During

Dhyanam and Japam you should not be dispirited, desperate or

discouraged. When such feelings come, take it that it is the fault of

your Sadhana and endeavour to do them correctly.

 

From Sandeha Nivarini by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba