There are four types of persons:
the ‘dead’, who deny the Lord and declare that they alone exist,
independent and self-directed: the ‘sick’, who call upon the Lord
when some calamity befalls them or when they feel temporarily
deserted by the unusual source of succor: the ‘dull’, who know
that God is the eternal companion and watchman, but who remember
it only off and on when the idea is potent and powerful: and
lastly the ‘healthy’, who have steady belief in the Lord and who
live in His Comforting Creative Presence always”.
(Prashanthi Nilayam,
Vijayadashami, 1953)
“Note this also. In this Avatar, the wicked
will not be destroyed, they will be corrected, reformed and
educated and led back to the path from which they have strayed.
The white ant infested tree will not be cut: it will be saved.
Again this Avathar will not select some place other than the place
where the nativity took place for the centre of Its Leelas,
Mahimas, and Upadesh. This tree shall not be transplanted: it will
grow where it rose from the Earth. Another specialty is this: the
Avatar has no affinity or attachments in Its Career to members of
the family wherein It appeared. Unlike the appearance as Rama,
Krishna etc., where the life was played out mostly among and for
the family members, this Avatar is for the Bhaktas, the Aspirants,
the Sadhus and Sadhakas only. It has no Japa, Dhyana or Yoga: It
knows no worship: It will not pray to anything, for It is the
Highest. It only teaches you to worship and pray.
To a worldly
man, a God-intoxicated person will appear mad and he will laugh at
him, But to the God-intoxicated man, the worldly appear insane,
foolish, misled, blind. Of all the insanities that harass man,
God-madness is the least harmful, the most beneficial. The world
has suffered untold damage due to its “mad” guides: but nothing
but harmony, peace, brotherliness and love has come out of the
‘God-madness’ of man.”
(Prashanthi Nilayam, Maha
Shivaratri, 1955).
“The Lord too has to come in human form and
moves about among men, so that He could be listened to, contacted,
loved, revered and obeyed. He has to speak the language of men and
behave like human beings, as the member of the species. Otherwise,
He would be either negated and neglected or feared and avoided”.
(Peddapuram, 03/09/1958).
“Until about an hour ago, the organisers of
this function were nervous that I might not come. They had
reconciled themselves to the disappointment in store and they were
feverishly engaged in making alternative arrangements, for they
had heard that the Godavari was in high floods and that I was at
Rajahmundry. So they feared that I might not be able to cross the
floods and come south in time for this engagement. From the fact
that I had permitted them to announce My arrival for the function,
they could well have inferred that the floods would subside and
that I would be in their midst, for, once My word goes forth, it
must happen accordingly. Do not doubt it. The furious waves calmed
before Rama, the floods went down in time for Me.
Nothing
can hold Me up or agitate Me or cast a shadow on Me, come in this
Human form : be certain of that. Forces of calumny or distrust or
ignorance can touch not even a hair, My sankalpa must prevail. My
task must be accomplished. My mission will succeed. I have come to
illumine the human heart with the Light of Divine and to rid man
of the delusion that drags him away from the path of Shanti, the
perfect equanimity born of realisation”.
(Venkatagiri Town 09/09/1958)
“That is My path, the path of Prema, along
which I shall take you. This I offer as my visiting card to every
one of you when you come to Me. I know your name, your degrees,
your profession, your status and your history. But you do not know
Mine. I have no need to know all about you from perusal of your
cards: but I want you to know something of My glory: and so I give
you a glimpse of it, as a Mahima. But I also give you enough of My
Prema so that you can mix a little of it with whatever you do or
feel or think and make it sweet and palatable”.
(Venkatagiri, Adyantic
conference, 12/04/1959).
“The Lord had announced that He would come
down for the restoration of Dharma and that He would assume human
form so that all might gather around Him and feel the thrill of
his companionship and conversation. And the Lord has come as
announced”
(Markandeya Sanskrit College,
Aukiri Palli, 22/01/1960).
“I must tell you that you are luckier than
men of previous generations. The accumulated merits of many
previous births must have granted you this luck. You have got Me
and it is your duty to develop this relationship that you have
achieved by sheer good fortune. In four or five years time, you
will see Yogis and Maharishis and Munis crowding here and you may
not have such chances of asking Me questions and getting the
answers, or approaching Me and directly speaking to Me”.
(Prashanthi Nilayam,
27/09/1960).
“As a matter of fact, Puttaparthi is a name
revered and remembered with gratitude by millions today and it
will be treasured in history as an immortal name. There have been
many occasions on which Bhaktas have pleaded with Me to move out
of this miasma and settle down in Bangalore or Madras or some such
town, or if I preferred, some other quiet rural spot. But let Me
tell you here and now: this tree has to grow at the very spot
where it sprouted: it will not be transplanted: I shall not give
up this place, no, not I. This place will be transformed into
Tirupathi and those who are little boys and girls today will
surely see it in all its magnificence”.
(Puttaparthi, 23/11/1960)
“Can Paramatma assume human form? Well, man
can derive Ananda only through the human form: we can receive
instruction, inspiration, illumination only through human language
and human communication”.
(Prashanthi Nilayam, Birthday
Festival, 23/11/1960).
“You all are waiting to hear from Me about
the journey to Badri and what happened there. These people went to
Badri and returned Bhadram (safe). That is the story in a
nutshell.
For danger lurked all the time from fire,
water, wind, sky and Earth - all the five elements in fact. Every
moment these people felt the Lord’s grace: 150 persons, mostly old
men with indifferent health, to accomplish this Yatra without a
single moment of even headache was due to Swami. Swami also went
to Badri because the Netralingam, which is the central source of
Holiness there, had to be revived with spiritual efficiency.
Shankaracharya brought five lingams from Kailas and installed one
each at Dwaraka, Sringeri, Badri and Puri and the fifth he placed
at Chidambaram. Of these, the one at Badri has the Narayan-amsam
and that had to be consecrated afresh. That was My task and these
people who came with Me saw Me doing it.
The Netralingam laid by Shankaracharya
underneath the idol there, was “taken” out by Me and Abhishekam
was done with Gangotri water which I fetched by the wave of My
hand. It was worshipped with golden Bilva leaves and Thumbe
flowers, both created by Me on the spot, and sent back to its
original place.”
(Prashanthi Nilayam,
04/07/1961).
“Rama,
Krishna and Sai Baba appear different because of the dress each
has donned. But it is the Self-same Entity, believe Me. Do not be
misled into error and loss. The time will soon come when this huge
building or even vaster ones will be too small for the gathering
of those who are called to this place. The sky itself will have to
be the roof of the auditorium of the future: I will have to forego
the car and even the airplane when I move from place to place, for
the crowds pressing around them will be too huge: I will have to
move across the sky: yes, that too will happen, believe Me.
You will
witness this Puttaparthi becoming Mathura Nagar. No one can stop
this development or delay it. I will not give you up, nor can
anyone of you give Me up. Even if you loose faith, you will repent
and come to this refuge very soon, clamoring for admission. I
shall be in this body for 58 more years: I have assured of this
already. Your lives are intertwined with My Earthly Career. Act
always in accordance with that great privilege”.
(Prashanthi Nilayam, 21/10/61).
Let me tell you one more thing: Nothing can
impede or halt the work of this Avatar. When I was upstairs all
these days, some people foolishly went out saying, “It is all over
about Sai Baba” and they turned back many who were coming to
Puttaparthi: Some said I was in Samadhi, as if I am a Sadhaka:
Some feared I was the victim of black magic, as if anything can
affect Me: The splendour of this Avatar will go on increasing, day
by day. Formerly when the little boy raised aloft the
Govardhanagiri, the Gopis and Gopakas realised that Krishna was
the Lord. Now it is not one Govardhanagiri, a whole range will be
lifted, you will see: Have patience, have faith”.
(Guru Poornima day,
06/07/1963).
“You might ask Me to speak about My own
mystery. It is not easy to understand it. When you have the
chance, gather all the joy that you can. There is no use bolting
the door when the thieves have robbed and fled. Seize the chance
and do not repent later that you have missed the opportunity.
Remember, you have to come to Me, if not in this birth, at least
within ten more births: strive to acquire Grace: Grace is the
reward for Sadhana: the highest Sadhana is to follow the
instructions of the Master”.
(Prashanthi Nilayam,
12/02/1964).
“The Lord comes as Avatar when He is
anxiously awaited by saints and sages. Sadhus prayed - and I have
come. My tasks are three, or rather two, Dharmarakshana and
Vedarakshana both practically the same. The two are therefore:
Vedarakshana and Bhakta rakshana: fostering of the Vedas and
fostering of Bhaktas. Now what is Bhakti? Who are Bhaktas? It is
faith, steadiness, virtue, fearlessness, surrender, absence of
egoism. Puja done however elaborately and pompously is sheer waste
of time and energy. Why pluck flowers and hasten their death? Some
of you go round this Nilayam and satisfy yourselves that you have
done so many pradakshinas, but they can be called so only when
your mind circles this place along with your feet. I notice that
while your feet are taking you round by force of habit, your
tongue blabbers about the faults of others, or the price of the
vegetables, or the dish you propose to cook for lunch. Before you
start on your rounds, which you call Pradakshina, give your mind a
Dakshina (thanksgiving offering) to the Resident of the Temple,
the Lord. That is the first thing to do, and perhaps, the only
thing to do. Pradakshina is not to be taken for loosening the
limbs or giving them some exercise.
Be confident that you will be liberated. Know
that you are saved. Go and tell all that you had gone to
Puttaparthi and got there the secret of liberation”.
(Prashanthi Nilayam,
25/01/1963).
“It was declared that Rama was born of the
payasam which was brought by the Deity from out of the sacrificial
fire. No Avathar is born flesh and blood, including this Avatar.
The body of the Avatar is chit substance: it is not Jada like
other materials. The embryo of ordinary mortals is encased in
‘Jalodakasayi’ enveloped in watery stuff; the embryo of the Avatar
is encased in ‘Kshirodakasayi’, the pure white milk of holiness.
That is why in the make up of the Avatar, there is no blemish,
there is no trace of Guna. Dasaratha wept, for he had no sons to
offer ritual food when he moved out into the next world. When all
are of the form of God and of the substance of God, who is son and
who is father, who is to offer food to whom, when that high stage
of wisdom is reached? Kshama is the father, Santham is the mother,
renunciation is the wife, and the Lord is the son, the male issue
to save him from perdition. This desire brought his spirit before
Rama, when Sita was about to enter the fire in Lanka.
Ravana was killed and Rama asked Sugriva and
Lakshmana to crown Vibhishana as Emperor of Lanka; he pleaded that
Rama Himself should bless him on that auspicious occasion, but
Rama insisted that His vow of hermithood prevented Him from
entering an inhabited city. Rama sent Hanuman and requested him to
bring Sita to the camp in a palanquin. Vibhishana had not thought
of that; he was too immersed in other affairs. Hanuman bowed
before Sita and got a vision of Lakshmi rising out of the waves of
the ocean of milk. He felt that that vision was enough
compensation for all the births he had to undergo. While the
palanquin neared the camp, there spread everywhere a sublime
splendour from it, which astonished the varana hordes. Rama sent
word that Sita may alight and walk the remaining distance, so that
they may fill their eyes with her glory. This is not mentioned
in the books.
When Sita was about ten yards away, Rama, who
is butter when He melts and steel when He hardens, said, “Stop, I
can accept you only after you pass through Fire”. Lakshmana
swooned at this thunderbolt; the monkeys who had to bring the fuel
for the Fire bent under the weight of seven twigs. The Fire ordeal
served two purposes: to scorch the slanderous tongues, which haunt
the tracks of Avatars at all times: and, to retrieve from the Fire
the real Sita who had entered into it, prior to abduction by
Ravana”.
(Prashanthi Nilayam,
04/02/1963).
“The airplane has to land at certain places
in order to take in those who have won the right to fly, by the
tickets they have purchased. So too, the Lord has to come down so
that those who have won the right to be liberated may be saved;
incidentally, others too will know of the Lord, of His grace and
ways of winning it, the joy of liberation. There are some who deny
even today the possibility of air travel; they curse the
contrivance; they cavil it. Similarly, there are many who cavil at
the Avatar that has come to save”.
(Prashanthi Nilayam,
05/02/1963).
“You can call me on the phone, but I will not
be available for all those who do not have the sincere and steady
yearning for the Lord. For those who say, “No, you are not my
Lord,” I say ‘No’ for those who say ‘yes’. I too echo ‘Yes’. If I
am available in your heart, I will be available over the phone,
but remember, I have my own special postal and telephone systems.
They operate from the heart straight to the heart. There are rules
and regulations for the operations of that system, which the
Sastras declare. You can find them there”.
(Prashanthi Nilayam,
29/07/1964).
“Krishna-Avatar is a Sampoorna Avatar, the
Lord appearing with all the 16 Kalas; Rama shared the Kalas with
other brothers. Rama appeared as if He was associated with gunas
or qualities, or as having qualitative behaviour, whereas Krishna
was above and beyond such. Krishna never prayed, not even in the
direst crisis: But Rama does so, to Adithya, for instance; the
intent of that Avatar was different. Krishna was unaffected by
gunas, His relationship with the Gopis was pure. A person like
Dharmaraja selected Him above all the sages and saints of the day
for special worship at the Rajasuya sacrifice”.
(Prashanthi Nilayam,
26/11/1964).
“Some of you may imagine that it is source of
joy for the Lord to take a human form. If you are in this state,
you will not feel so. I am always aware of the future, the past as
well as the present of every one of you. So, I am not moved so
much by pity. Not that I am hard-hearted, or that I have no pity
or Daya. If you bolt the door fast, how can the rays of My grace
be available to you? “Swami”, you cry, I have no eyes, I am
yearning to see you. Won’t your heart melt at your plight? Of
course, his pitiable condition melts your heart; will it not melt
Mine? But since I know the past, the background, My reaction is
different. If only you knew, you too will react differently. It is
the consequences of the evil, deliberately done in the previous
births, and so I have to allow the suffering to continue, modified
often by some little compensation. I do not cause either joy or
grief; you are the designer of both the chains”.
(Prashanthi Nilayam,
26/11/1964).
“When people forget the One and run after the
many, Dharma declines; for, there can be no love, no sacrifice, no
detachment in human affairs then. So, the Lord takes the human
form and comes amongst men to restore his sense of values. You may
ask, why should the Lord Himself incarnate? Why can he not set
about the task of restoring Dharma through the many minor Gods He
has at His command? Akbar himself posed this question before the
courtiers, for, he laughed at the Hindu idea of the Formless
adopting Form, the descending into the world as an Avatar to save
Dharma. Birbal asked for a week’s time to furnish the answer and
got it granted by his Imperial Majesty. A few days later, when he
was in the pleasure boat of the Emperor sailing across the lake
with his family, Birbal cleverly threw overboard a doll made to
look like the Emperor’s little son, crying at the same time. “O,
the prince has fallen into the water:” Hearing this, the Emperor
jumped into the lake to rescue his son:
Birbal then disclosed that it was only a doll
and that the son was safe. He allayed the anger of Akbar by
explaining that he had perforce to enact this drama in order to
demonstrate the truth of the Hindu belief why God takes human form
Himself, to save Dharma, without commissioning some other entity
to carry out the task. Dharma is as the son, God loves it so
dearly. Akbar could have ordered one among the many personnel he
had on board to jump in and rescue his son; but his affection was
so great and the urgency so acute that the Emperor himself plunged
into the lake to pull out the “son”. The decline of Dharma is so
acute a tragedy; the intensity of affection that the Lord has for
good men is so great that He Himself comes. The Lord is love
itself. He comes in human form so that you can talk to Him, adore
Him, move with Him, serve Him and achieve Him, so that you can
recognise your kinship with Him.”
(Venkatagiri Prashanthi
Vidwanmahasabha, 13/12/1964).
“The newspapers have a great role to play;
but they are content to cater to the vulgar tastes and become
waste papers soon. I was, during the last month, in Maharashtra
state, in Bombay, where lakhs and lakhs of people satisfied their
thirst for Darshan and while I was discoursing to the several
thousands on the fundamentals of the Vedas and Sastras and
directing the members of the Prashanthi Vidwanmahasabha
(Maharashtra Branch) to resuscitate the glorious value culture of
our land. I was discussing with ministers, judges, business
magnates, doctors, lawyers, editors and others belonging to
Maharashtra, Sourashtra and Delhi about the programme of
Dharmasthapana. And here, in this part of India, certain
newspapers were wallowing in the lies that they invented and
circulated about what had happened to Me. They print without any
shame their despicable inventions displaying malice and envy of
the lowest order. Of course, such calumny is quite an ancient
experience for the eminent; this is My experience in previous
Yugas also. The successors of Sisupala cannot remain idle;
consider to what low level human weakness has descended. I do not
care either for praise or blame; I only pity these people who, in
order to scrap together a few paise from the poor, resort to such
venial tricks. For all who are pained by these subhuman antics I
declare, “Even if all the fourteen worlds unite together, the work
for which I have come will not suffer a bit; even if Earth and
Heaven combine. My truth can never be fully grasped”.
(Anantapur High School for
Girls, School day., S.S.S,Vol.V)
“It is only in Sanathana Dharma that the
importance of Karma in shaping the destiny of man, the fact of the
individual undergoing many births in his progress towards
birthlessness and mighty grace of God’s coming as man among men to
gather them around Him in Holy companionship for saving them and
saving the world through them, is so strongly and clearly laid
down. If you doubt any of these great truths, you are to suffer
and grieve. Every one of you must be saved, sooner or later, by
the grace of the All Merciful. Make it sooner than later. Keep the
goal clear before the eye and march on”.
(Dasara, 1966. 17/10/1966).
“I am also the target of such comments:
people do not understand the way of God. How can they know why
particular event takes place at a particular time in a particular
manner? He alone can know. But people try to sit in judgment and
talk ill, when for example one dies of illness at this place: how
can anyone escape death? Even Avatars cast off the physical form
when the task for which they have come is over. It is the height
of foolishness to loose faith in God when someone you care for
dies. The sentence that he earned is over and he is released. No
one is born and allowed to live for the sake of another. Each has
his own burden to carry and lay down. Do not therefore allow any
circumstances to affect your faith in God, who is your strength
and solace.”
(Mahashivarathri, Prashanthi
Nilayam, 09/03/1967).
“You must have noticed that I do not speak
about Sai in My Discourses, nor do I sing of Sai during the Bhajan
with which I usually conclude My discourses. And you must have
wondered why. Let me tell you the reason. I do not want the
impression to gain ground that I desire this name and this Form to
be publicised. I have not come to set a new cult. I do not want
the people to be misled on this point. I affirm that this Sai form
is the Form of all the Various Names that man uses for the
adoration of the Divine. So, I am teaching that no distinction
should be made between the names Rama, Krishna, Iswara, and Sai,
for they are all My Names”.
(World conference of Bhagawan
Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation, Bombay, 17/05/1968) .
“Since at this place, those who have devotion
have gathered and people of all nations have come, I cannot but
tell you one fact. World conferences dedicated to religion or
spiritual problems have, no doubt, been held before; also,
Conference of Followers of Spiritual Faiths. But these have been
held only after the demise of the founders and divine inspirers.
This is the very first time that a world conference is held of the
persons devoted, while the Incarnation is present before every
one, with the Body assumed for the purpose, bearing the Name that
is chosen for it by itself. I must tell you this fact, because
ninety nine persons out of hundred among you do not know my
Reality. You have come here drawn by various needs, a taste for
spiritual matters, eagerness to develop the institution to which
you are attached, admiration or affection, love or reverence or
spurt of enthusiasm to join others and share with others your own
exultations.
In truth, you cannot understand the nature
of My Reality either today, or even a thousand years of steady
austerity or ardent enquiry even if all the mankind joins in that
effort. But, in a short time, you will become cognizant of the
Bliss showered by the Divine Principle, which has taken upon
Himself its Sacred Body and this sacred Name. Your good fortune,
which will provide you this chance, is greater than what was
available for Anchorites, monks, sages, saints and even
personalities embodying facets of Divine Glory.
Since I move about with you, eat like you,
and talk with you, you are deluded in the belief that this is but
an instance of common humanity. Be warned against this mistake. I
am also deluding you by My singing with you, talking with you, and
engaging Myself in activities with you. But, any movement, My
Divinity may be revealed to you; you have to be ready, prepared
for that moment. Since Divinity is enveloped by humanness you must
endeavor to overcome the Maya (delusion) that hides it from your
eyes.
This is a human form in which every Divine
Entity, every Divine Principle, that is to say, all the names and
forms ascribed by man to God, are manifest. (Sarvadaivathwa
Sarvaroopaalanu dharinchina maanavaakaarame ee aakaaram). Do not
allow doubt to distract you; if you only install, in the altar of
your heart, steady Faith in My Divinity, you can win My vision of
My Reality. Instead, if you swing like a pendulum of a clock, one
moment devotion, other moment disbelief, you can never succeed in
comprehending the Truth and win the Bliss. You are very fortunate
that you have a chance to experience the Bliss of the Vision of
the Sarvadaivathwa swaroopam (The Form which is the all Forms of
all God) now in this life itself.
Let me draw
your attention to another fact. On previous occasion when God
incarnated on Earth the Bliss of recognising Him in the
incarnation was vouchsafed only after the physical Embodiment had
left the world, despite plenty of patent evidences of His Grace.
And the loyalty and devotion they commanded from men arose through
fear and awe, at the superhuman powers and skills, or at the
imperial and panel authority. But, ponder a moment on this Sathya
Sai Manifestation; in this age of rampant materialism, aggressive
disbelief and irreverence, what is it that brings to it the
adoration of millions from all over the world? You will be
convinced that the basic reason for this is the fact that this is
the supra-worldly Divinity in Human Form.
Again, how fortunate you are that you can
witness all the countries of the world paying homage to Bharat;
you can hear adoration to Sathya Sai’s Name reverberating
throughout the world, even while this body is existing - not at
some future date, but when it is with you, before you. And again,
you can witness very soon the restoration of Sanathana Dharma to
its genuine and natural status, the Dharma laid down in Vedas for
the good of all the people of the world. The revival of Vedic
Dharma is the Sai Sankalpa (the resolve that Sai has) not only
drawing people towards Me, attracting them by the manifestation of
My Shakti (Power) and Samartya (capability). This is not a
Bhramatatwam (phenomenon of delusion). This phenomenon (Tattwam)
will sustain truth, it will uproot untruth, and in that victory
may all of you exult in ecstasy. This is the Sai Sankalpa”.
(World Conference of Bhagawan
Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisation, Bombay, 17/05/1968).
“Then we have this programme of
Nagarsankirtan. It is nothing new, for Jayadeva, Gouranga, Tukaram
and Kabir used this type of Naamasmarana as a means of self-
improvement and mass spiritual awakening. Gather in the early
hours before dawn, say about 4.30 A.M or 5.00 A.M., and proceed
slowly along the streets, singing Bhajan songs glorifying God.
Carry the name of God to every door: wake the sleeping with it,
purify the atmosphere of the streets, rendered unclean by angry
shouts of hate or greed, faction or fight. Let the day dawn for
you and others with thought of the Almighty, the Compassionate,
and the Omnipresent self-knowing God. What greater service can you
do to yourself and others? This will give you health and
happiness. Your egoism will be shattered when you sing in the
streets in full view of your neighbours. You will forget in your
enthusiasm all pride and self-esteem. Thus, this Nagarsankirtan is
a great Sadhana, a great piece of social service.
Another point too was raised yesterday, a
small one about Prasadam (the edible that is usually offered to
the Lord after Bhajan and distributed as consecrated food for the
participants). Well, the edible offering is to be avoided; the
Name itself is the best consecrated offering to be shared. You can
give Vibuthi as Prasadam; that is enough. That is the most
precious and effective Prasad.)”.
(World conference of Bhagawan
Sri Sathya Sai Organisation, Bombay evening of 18/05/1968).
“Another point; you desire that I should come
to your houses: you pray to Me to do so, you grieve when I do not
come, you start reviling yourself that you are poorer than others,
that you are spiritually underdeveloped perhaps, and so on. Now,
all this is irrelevant. I have no place in My heart for such
distinctions and differences. You may believe this or disbelieve.
But, I must reveal the real response of My heart. I have no
enthusiasm to visit the houses of the people; nor have I any
disinclination to do the same. I do not care for the brick and
mortar structures in which you live; I care to visit and reside in
your hearts. This Prashanthi Nilayam is not My residence. When
your hearts are transformed as Prashanthi Nilayam, they are My
residence. When you pray that I should visit your village, I think
of the facilities it has - not for Me. I need only standing space
- for the sake of thousand, the tens of thousands, the hundreds of
thousands that gather to have My Darshan. How can I tolerate the
slightest inconvenience to them, the women, the children, the
sick, the aged, the blind, the decrepit, that come for counsel,
consolation, courage and cure?
Let me tell you another point also. Do not
delay any more; take hold of this unique chance, even while you
can. Ask me about the Sadhana you should adopt about your
liberation; begin practicing from this day. Later it may be
difficult to approach Me and ask Me. For, people are coming
towards Me in full unending streams, and you may have to take
Darshan of Me from miles away: This is bound to grow into a
Viswa-vriksha, a World-tree that sheds shade and shelter on all.
This has come down in this Form with that very purpose. It knows
no halting, no hesitation. My name is Sathya (Truth). My teaching
is Truth; My path is Truth; I am Truth.
In each Yuga, the Divine has incorporated
itself as an Avatar for some particular task. This Incarnation is
different in that it had to deal with the crisis, which is
worldwide and World-shaking. Intellectual conceit has grown so
wild that men have become foolish enough to ask, “What and where
is God?” Immortality has put of the garb of mortality and is
enticing man into the morass of sin. Truth is condemned as a trap;
justice is jeered at; saints are harassed as social enemies. Hence
this Incarnation has come to uphold the Truth and suppress the
False. I behave like you, moving, singing, laughing, journeying,
but watch out for the blow I inflict all of a sudden, to chastise
and to warn. I shall scorch the wrong doer for his wrong and
soothe the virtuous for his righteousness. Justice shall be meted
out to all”.
(Prashanthi Nilayam,
18/08/1968)
“I shall not change my course even by a
hair’s breadth, as a result of what people may say about Me. I am
not afraid of any one or thing. Truth has no fear; untruth shivers
at every shadow. This body of Mine is named Truth (Sathya); the
principle that is in this body is also Truth. Truth enclosed in
Truth has been rendered the Truth of Truths (Sathyasaya Sathyam).
This form has been assumed, in order to lead mankind from untruth
to truth.
I eat as you do, move about as you do, talk
in your language, and behave as you can recognise and understand,
for YOUR sake - not for My sake:. I turn you towards Divine,
winning your confidence, your love, your submission, by being
among you, as one of yourselves, one whom you can see, listen to,
speak to, touch and treat with reverence and devotion. My plan is
to transmute you into seekers of Truth (Sathya-anveshakas). I am
present everywhere at all times; My will must prevail over every
obstacle; I am aware of the past, present and future, of your
innermost thoughts and carefully guarded secrets. I am
Sarvaantharyami, Sarva Saktha and Sarvajna. Nevertheless I do not
manifest these powers in any capricious manner or merely for
display. For, I am an example and as inspiration, whatever I do or
omit to do. My life is a commentary on my message.
For example, you must have noticed that I
never call a woman alone for interview. I call women only into
group of ten or fifteen. I want that you should note this and
infer that one has to be extremely cautious in dealing with the
other sex, for, though I am above and beyond, the Gunas, since
this body is obviously masculine, I want to teach both men and
women how they have to regulate their social behavior and be above
the slightest tinge of suspicion, or of small talk.
Again, I am active and busy all the
twenty-four hours of the day. Everyday, the mail brings the
thousands of letters, and you hand over to Me personally hundreds
more. Yet, I do not take the help of anyone else, even to open the
envelopes. For, you write to me intimate details of your personal
problems, believing that I alone will read them and having
implicit confidence in Me. You write, each one only a single
letter, that makes for Me a huge bundle a day; and I have to go
through all of them. You may ask how I manage it? Well I do not
waste a single moment.
And, all this I do, not for personal gain,
but only because I have come for your sake. I never seek another’s
help, never receive it. My hand always gives; it never takes.
Conclude from this that this must be Divine, not human power.
Some of you may be wondering, ‘How does Swami
arrange these elaborate festivals and functions? Who does He
charge with the various items of work?’ I do not allot work to
this person or that, or consult anyone for ideas and suggestions.
The Divine Will, operating through the force of love, does all
this. For example, though there are thousands gathered here,
absolute silence prevails. Under what compulsion? Only the
compulsion of love. In other places, where a hundred people
collect, a hundred and fifty constables are present to keep them
quiet: Here there is no need for any one to see that silence is
maintained. For, here God is the Master, and Creation dances in
joy. There is no third entity here. Only Purusha and Prakriti are
here. A glance from the corner of the eye is enough to get things
done towards successful conclusion. Love activates, love fulfils.
When the Giver of Grace is here, you run
after persons who claim that they got this or the other article
from Me or were blessed with this gift from Me: When you have
Kamadhenu here, why seek to know and secure a cow? Kamadhenu can
give you all that you need. When you have Kalpataru here, why
bother about fruits on a tree? Kalpataru can give you all that you
ask. When you have the mountain of gold and silver, Meru, why
cringe for silver and gold from persons who are themselves
beggars? When you have God come amongst you to support and sustain
you, why grovel through crude vulgar entities? Avoid places where
they bargain in terms of gifts, donations, for Spiritual guidance
and Transmission”.
(Dasara, Prashanthi Nilayam,
11/10/1970).
“Once Hislop asked me a question whether
inanimate things too had emotions and feelings of disappointment
and despair? The occasion was at Dharmakshetra: I asked that about
a hundred sarees he bought, so that I could select some, for
distribution to the women workers at Anantapur who are helping to
build a Sathya Sai College there: I selected 96 and asked them to
return 4 to the shop. I kept the 4 aside and the 96 were placed in
my room. Later, when I passed the table on which the four
discarded sarees were kept (Hislop was standing by the side of the
table), it was noticed that the card board box which contained the
four was dripping tears: The sarees were weeping; that they could
not get appreciation from Me and were declared unfit. Yes: They
had shed tears. You may ask whether this is ever possible. I
answer, there is nothing in this world which has no heart, which
is incapable of feeling joy or grief: Only you must have the eye
to see, the ear to listen, the heart to respond”.
(Prashanthi Nilayam,
14/01/1971).
“But those who profess to have understood me,
the Scholars, the Yogis, the Pundits, the Jnanis, all of them are
aware only of the least important the casual external
manifestation part of that power, namely the “Miracles” : they
have not desired to contact the source of all Power and all
Wisdom, that is available here at Brindavan. They are satisfied
when they secure a chance to exhibit their book learning and
parade their scholarship in Vedic lore, not realising that the
person from whom the Vedas emanated is in the midst, for their
sake. They even ask, in their pride, for a few more chances.
This has been the case, in all ages. People
may be very near (physically) to the Avatar, but, they live out
their lives unaware of their fortune: they exaggerate the role of
miracles, which are trivial, when compared to My Glory and
Majesty, as a mosquito is in size and strength to the elephant
upon whom it squats. Therefore, when you speak about these
miracles, I laugh within Myself out of pity, that you allow
yourself so easily to loose the precious awareness of My Reality.
My power is immeasurable; My Truth is
inexplicable, unfathomable. I am announcing this about Me, for,
the need has arisen. But, what I am doing now is only a gift of a
visiting card: Let Me tell you that emphatic declarations of the
truth by Avatars were made so clearly and so unmistakably only by
Krishna. In spite of the declarations, you will notice in the
career of the same Krishna that He underwent defeat in His efforts
or endeavors, on a few occasions you must have also noted that
those defeats too, were part of the drama, which He had planned,
and He Himself directed. For example, when many kings pleaded with
Him to avert the war with the Kauravas, He confessed that His
mission to the Kauravas court for ensuring peace had failed: But
He had willed that it should not succeed: He had decided that the
war would be waged: His mission was intended to publicise the
greed and envy of the Kauravas and to condemn them before the
whole world.
Now, I must tell you that during this Sai
Avatar, there is no place for even such ‘drama’ with scenes of
failure and defeats: What I Will must take place; what I plan must
succeed. I am Truth; and Truth has no need to hesitate, or fear or
bend.
‘Willing’ is superfluous for Me. For grace is
ever available to devotees who have steady love and faith. Since I
move freely with them, talking and singing, even intellectuals are
unable to grasp My Truth, My power, My glory or My real task as
Avatar. I can solve any problem however knotty; I am beyond the
reach of the most intensive enquiry and the most meticulous
measurement. Only those who have recognised My love and
experienced My love can assert that they have glimpsed My reality.
For, the path of love is the royal road that leads mankind to Me.
Do not attempt to know Me through the
external eyes. When you go to a temple and stand before the image
of the God, you pray with closed eyes, don’t you? Why? Because you
feel that the inner eye of wisdom can alone reveal Him to you.
Therefore, do not crave for from Me trivial material objects; but,
crave for Me. And you will be rewarded. Not that you should not
receive whatever object I give as sign of grace out of fulness of
love.
I shall tell you why I give these things,
talismans, rosaries etc., it is to signalise the bond between Me
and to those whom they are given. When calamity befalls them, that
articles come to Me in a flash and return in flash taking from Me
the remedial Grace of protection. The Grace is available to all
who call on Me in any name or form, not merely to those who wear
these gifts. Love is the bond that wins that Grace.
Consider the meaning of my name, Sai Baba. Sa
means ‘Divine’; aye means ‘mother’ and Baba means ‘father’, just
as Saambasiva, which also means the divine mother and father. Your
physical parents exhibit love with a dose of selfishness; but this
Sai ‘ Mother and Father’ showers affection or reprimands only for
leading you towards victory in the struggle for self-realisation.
For, this Sai has come in order to achieve
the supreme task of uniting the entire mankind as one family,
through the bond of brotherhood, of affirming and illumining the
Atmic Reality of each being in order to reveal the Divine, which
is the basis on which the entire cosmos rests, and of instructing
all to recognise the common Divine Heritage that binds man to man,
so that man can rid himself of the animal, and rise into the
Divine which is his goal.
I am the embodiment of Love; Love is my
instrument. There is no creature without Love; the lowest loves
itself, at least. And its self is God. So, there are no atheists,
though some might dislike Him or refuse Him, as malaria patients
dislike sweets or diabetic patients refuse to have anything to do
with sweets: those who present themselves as atheists will one
day, when their illness is gone, relish God and revere Him.
I had to tell you so much about my truth,
for, I desire that you should contemplate on this and derive joy
and reform so that you may be inspired to observe the disciplines
laid down by Me and progress towards the Goal of Self-realisation,
the Realisation of the Sai that shines in your heart”.
(Brindavan, 19/06/1974).
Swami declared, “Why is it that so many lakhs
of people have gathered here today? There must be some compelling
reason for it. You must be seeking something, which you have not
found in your native place. Here there is Divine Love; It is this
powerful magnet of Divine Love that has been attracting all the
iron filings in the form of human beings. Not a single invitation
was sent to anyone. No one was asked to come. What has drawn all
the people here is power of Divine Love, the bond uniting hearts.
At the root of all this is purity. Where there is purity there
love grows. When purity and love come together, there is bliss
(Ananda). Whatever work we do, whatever sacrifices we perform,
they are not of much use in the absence of love.
NEW HOSPITAL PROJECT: With this object in
view (Providing free medical facilities), we decided to establish
a big hospital here. Many persons appealed to Me to set up the
hospital in an urban centre. There are many medical institutions
run as business in several cities. When any educational or medical
institution is established, the sole aim is to make a business out
of it. There are only a few who are ready to set up such
institutions to provide free facilities for the poor. Therefore
from the start we decided to set up a hundred crore hospital near
Prashanthi Nilayam itself. Even as higher education is free here
‘higher medicine’ also is free. People spend some lakhs to get
heart surgery done in the U.S. What is the plight of the poor? Who
looks after them? If they go to the cities, they will not get even
coloured water (Mixture). Recognising this fact, we have launched
this big hospital project, whether it is heart by-pass operation,
or a kidney transplant, or a lung operation or brain surgery,
everything will be free here. THE HOSPITAL WILL BE OPENED ON
NOVEMBER 22,1991. No one can understand Sai Sankalpa (working of
the mind) Thought and action are simultaneous, like the light and
sound that come out when a gun is fired. Hence it is not easy for
every one to understand Sai’s resolve.
In the case of earlier Avatars their fame
grew only after their passing. In the case of the present Avatar,
in His own life time a UNIVERSITY, BIG HOSPITAL, AN AERODROME, AND
MANY OTHER THINGS, have been established, for the benefit of the
villagers, and many more will follow in the years ahead. Many
persons have doubts as to how all these things are being
accomplished. The ADVENT (OF THIS AVATAR) took place 64 years ago.
All these years this hand has not been stretched, at any time, to
seek anything from anyone. I will never ask anyone and there will
never be an occasion for it. How then are these things happening?
For any good work, there is not any impediment in Bharat. When you
want to do any good work whole-heartedly, money flows in torrents.
The narrow-minded who undertake any work
will never be satisfied. They cannot understand the actions of
those who are large hearted and broad-minded.”
(65th Birthday
Celebrations, Hill View Stadium, 23/11/1990)
“Today I have just made a beginning with the
exposition of Vedanta. Every Mantra in the Vedanta is pregnant
with meaning. I shall take up every day one Mantra and explain its
meaning in simple and easily intelligible terms. The essence of
the Vedanta can be compressed in a small message, but that small
message is composed of 15000 Mantras. I shall reveal to you the
meaning of these Mantras. This cannot be done by anyone except the
Divine.
You have not known even a fragment of My
reality. The full nature of this reality can never be understood
by anyone. I am a man amongst men, when they see Me, I appear as a
man. Amongst woman, I am a woman. Amongst children I am a child.
When alone, I am God. This is the truth about Me. The reason is I
have to act towards each section at their level.
You must realise that all this is coming to
you because of your extreme good fortune. Any previous Avatar has
not given this kind of blessing to anyone.
Your good fortune will fructify immensely if
you make good use of this opportunity to learn and benefit from
Swami’s teachings.
You will see in the due course that even the
blind declare, “Swami is God”.
In the human condition, occasionally Maya
enters and subjects people to various tests. Do not submit to Maya
in any way.
Succeed in all tests. Then you will become
tasty for Bhagawan. Immerse yourself in the love principle. Its
true nature is beyond description.
Give up all bad qualities in you, banish the
ego and develop the spirit of surrender. You will then experience
Bliss.
(Sai Kulwant Hall, 31/07/1996)