1008 Pearls of Sayings
of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Index
Introduction
Pearls 1- 100
Pearls 101 - 200
Pearls 201- 300
Pearls 301- 400
Pearls 401- 500
Pearls 501 - 600
Pearls 601 - 700
Pearls 701 - 800
Pearls 801 - 900
Pearls 901 - 1008
From 901 to 1008
901
ONCE Ramadas wailed, "Oh Lord! you
are Mighty, all powerful, all knowing; I am alone helpless, orphaned and
poor". Then the Lord interrupted the self condemnation and said, "No, how
can you call yourself poor, helpless and orphaned? I am with you and in you,
showering My Grace. The only orphan in the Universe is Myself, for I have no
guardian, no means of support, nobody to fall back upon. I am the A-natha;
all else are Sa-natha (with Lord), for I am their Natha (Lord)".
902
THE Universe is the Body of God; in
that Body, the Unity Consciousness is Bharath, the Ekabhava. "Ekam Sath" the
Vedas declared eons ago! That is the heartbeat of Bharath today. This is the
reason why Sages, Saints, Divine Personages and Incarnations of God appear
here and proclaim their message to mankind from this land. The precious
message is being exported but very little is used inside the country. That
is the tragedy. For the influence available from positions of authority and
for acquiring and accumulating power, individuals talk ill of others and
breed hate.
903
MAN strives to
provide himself with food clothing and housing for the sake of the body. He
must also provide himself with something to keep the mind healthy and happy.
It is the mind that conditions even the body. The mind is the instrument,
the flywheel, and the thickest comrade of man. Through it, one can ruin
oneself or save oneself. Regulated and controlled, channeled properly it can
liberate; wayward and let loose, it can entangle and bind fast.
904
TRAIN the mind to dwell on the inner equipment
rather than the outer attractions. Use the mind to cleanse the feelings,
impulses, attitudes, tendencies and levels of consciousness. Let it not
accumulate dirt from the outer world and deposit them within itself. If it
is attached to work (Pravriti Marga), the consequences of work get attached
to it. Unattached work is the purest; it does not encumber the mind with
elation or disappointment. "I did it", this is mine", these are the two
fangs that make the individual poisonous. Pull out the fangs, the snake can
be handled and played with as a pet.
905
THE Lord is closest to you. He is the Mother, Father,
Teacher, Friend, Guide and Guardian. Call on Him and He responds immediately.
From dawn to dusk, spend every minute in His company. That is the reason why
I have directed that every Sathya Sai Organisation must arrange for Nagar
Sankirtan in the pre-dawn Bhahmamuhurtham. It is a mission of Love and all
will welcome it. It is a great act of social service to wake up people with
the Name of God. It is a purifying pilgrimage, casting off anger and hate
that infest the atmosphere.
906
THE Gita speaks of "Yukthahara Viharasya", habits of feeding and recreation,
which are controlled and regulated. The gross part of food is discarded as
feces, the subtle part is transformed into muscle, blood etc., and the more
subtle of the subtle aspects are transmuted into the mind and its activities.
That is why the Sages have prescribed certain limits and levels of food, in
order to promote the spiritual urges and prevent contrary tendencies. But
nowadays, as a result of the downgraded time, spirits and food that damage
the spiritual urge, are being increasingly favoured.
907
THE Karma or activity is the indicator of inner
character. Observing one's actions, their motives, their consequences and
the extent of one's involvement, it is possible to declare one as a Pasu (beast)
or Pasupathi (The Lord of Individual Souls: that is to say, as Divine as God
Himself).
908
AT school, the first
lesson is "Baa Baa Black Sheep, Have you any Wool?", and the second is "Ding
Dong Bell, Pussy in the well". Gone are the days when the first lesson was
on Rama, Krishna or some great sage or saint? Getting to know about black
sheep will make children black sheep; getting to know about the great and
the good will make children great and good. Children of Baba Vihar are
therefore told stories of Rama, Krishna and other Divine Persons. Learn
those tales and decide to live like them. Learn Indian ways and Indian tales,
and be true Indians.
909
WHY say "Good
morning" or "Good night". "Namaskar" or "Namaste" is the Indian way, the
really humble way. You must have Bhaya Vinaya and Viswasa - Fear, Humility
and Faith. Fear of what? Fear of doing wrong and of falling into falsehood.
Humility before whom? Before elders, teachers and parents. Faith in what?
Faith in God, in your own strength and in your own victory.
910
"TAMASOMA Jyothigamaya" is the prayer. Egoism is
Thamas. There is an easy way to illumine the inner consciousness and the
outer behaviour with the light of God. Put the lamp of the Name of the Lord,
the illumining flame, on the tongue! That is the doorstep. That light will
drive out the darkness from both, inside and outside. Have it ever burning,
clear and bright. You will soon reach remarkable heights and enjoy happiness,
the like of which you cannot get by sticking to the senses.
911
KRISHNA took upon Himself three vows: (1) "Parithraanaya Sadhoonam Vinaasaayacha
Dushkrithaam, Dharma Samasthaapanaarthayya Sambhavaimi Yuge Yuge" - "For the
protection of the good and the punishment of the bad; for the establishment
of the Moral Order, I shall concretise Myself, age after age"; (2) "Anayaaschinthayathramanm
Yejanah Paryappasatha, Shaamnishya-Abhiyukthaanaam Yoga Shemam Vahamyaham" -
"Who ever is wholly immersed in my contemplation, with no other thought; I
shall be ever with him and I shall bear the burden of his welfare"; (3) "Sarvadharmaan
Parithojya Maamekam Saranam Vrajas Ahamthwaa Sarva Paapebhyo Mokshaysh Yaami
Maasuch" - "Surrender unto Me, giving up all other duties and obligations, I
shall liberate you from all sin; do not grieve".
912
WHEN Dharma (which means, that which is worn, the
apparel, clothes) was sought to be removed from the wearer, the Lord blessed
Draupadi with the grant of an unending series of saris. Today, the Sanathana
Dharma which is the robe of Bharathamatha is sought to be taken away by her
unworthy and deluded sons; and the Lord has come to grant solace and
strength. You will see splendid saris pouring into her lap from every door
of the Durabar Hall, where she is being insulted. You will witness this
great Miracle by the Avatar who has come to protect her honour and her
heritage.
913
YOU stay far and
complain that Grace has not come. You do not scrape off, by the process of
repentance, the mud and rust that prevent attachment. You come for needs
sometime and stray away into the distance. I do not mean physical distance
at all. You may be physically far but mentally by My side. I do not measure
distance in miles or meters. I am always with you, in you, beside you; only
you have to be aware of that and make use of My presence. You must become an
"Aartha", torn by intense suffering to sense the Lord.
914
THE Lord has to take the Form that is suitable for
the task He has to fulfill. To catch a gang of decadents, the Police Officer
has to move among them as a decadent. That is why the Human Form has been
taken. But who, challenged with impurity by their own wives, dare challenge
the Avatar and ask for proof! Of course, if you desire to understand, you
are welcome; be near, watch, learn and believe. Put on the role, if you have
the courage and the conviction that you can enact it well. Are you not tired
of playing the parts of beggar and clown, in scene after scene, birth after
birth? Aspire for the nobler role, at least now, in this birth.
915
IF you plan to give joy to others, you will be
joyful. Who are these others? Even when the Lord has come with a definite
Human body, all humans that you come across are but parts of His Glory and
Splendour. "Iswarasarvabhuthanaam, Hrdresse Arjuna Shrishtethi", "Oh! Arjuna,
the Lord, dwells in the regions of the heart in all beings", says the Lord
in the Gita.
916
HOW can we find
time for all this when we have to toil every moment for feeding and clothing
ourselves? But you forget, the Lord will grant you these material things and
even immortality, if only you place full reliance on Him. Whatever you do,
have the name, Rama or Krishna, or Siva or Hari on your tongue, no extra
time or energy is needed for that. When you rise in the morning, rise with
the Name on your tongue and slide into sleep with the Name on your tongue.
917
CONSIDER the condition of the field of your heart;
it is overgrown with thorns and bushes of lust, anger, greed and envy.
Remove them, root and all. Do not allow the land to turn fallow. By
continuous good work, plough the field and fill the field with the water of
Prema. Select the Nama-seed that appeals to you and sow it in the field.
Discipline is the force which will guard the growing crop against cattle.
Virtue is the pesticide. Fostering the field with great care, you can bring
home the precious harvest of Ananda.
918
ONE day, Krishna pretended to be fast asleep! With
the flute carelessly thrown aside by His side, when Radha approached the
fortunate flute and asked it in plaintive terms, "Oh lucky Murali! Tell me
how did you earn the great good fortune. What was the vow you observed, the
vigil you kept, the pilgrimage you accomplished"? The flute got a voice
through His Grace: "I rid myself of all sensual desire of envy, greed and
ego, that is all. I had no feeling of ego left to obstruct the flow of His
Prema through me to all creation".
919
REVERE Jnana as you revere your father; adore Love as you adore your
mother; move fondly with Dharma as if it is your own brother; confide in "Daya"
as if it is your dearest friend; have Shantams as if it is your better half;
treat Sahana (Fortitude) as if it is your own beloved son. These are your
genuine kith and kin. Move with them; live with them; and do not forsake or
neglect them.
920
THIS is a place
where you must try to help and not hinder; this is the atmosphere of peace
and Prasanthi. Do not behave here as you do when you gather elsewhere. There
is no scope here for envy or malice of hate or competition. When Kama and
Vrodha are rising in hot flames from the heart, how can the cool rays of
Shanti, Sathya, Ahimsa and Prema emanate therefrom? This human birth is a
rare chance! Use it for spreading joy, and not grief. Of course, it is
natural for man to resent and to grow angry. But you should not allow anger
a free and furious scope.
921
KRISHNA had undoubtedly the power to transform in a trice the wayward mind
of His kinsman into unillumined instrument for resolute action. But Krishna
did not use the power! He only prescribed the medicine and the regimen.
Arjuna had to swallow the drug and follow the regimen himself in order to be
saved. He said, "You are My friend; you are My kinsman; you are now so near
to Me that I am now your charioteer; you are also in great distress; I agree
that the delusion, which has overpowered you, must be removed quickly; but,
your Ajnana must fall off through your own efforts not through some Miracle
of My design".
922
ONE can claim
genuine victory only when one has reached not the dead satellite but the
living star; not the Chandra but the Ramachandra, the Lord who rules over
the inner satellites, the inner planets, the inner motives and agitations.
Then one's inner reaction and agitation will be transmuted into the Divine.
All that one experiences through the senses, the mind and the intellect will
take on the Divine lustre, reveal their Divine core, and man will be shaped
through the mould of Love.
923
ONE
can be in the World but yet unaffected. Activity will then be for the
Almighty by His Grace and through His will. Do not get work done by cooks,
servants, ayahs and others in the home, women must not depend on these for
the care of their children or attendance on their husbands. Earning leisure
for Dhyana through these servants is not a spiritual gain.
924
I ALWAYS encourage Samathanam, Sanghikam and Saam
Krishikam activities: the three S's. If it is for reviving the values
recognised as great by time or recreating the damaged structure of the good
of Society or restoring vigour to some fine art that is declining, you can
count on My Blessings. I always exhort people to win, not the titles that
come to those who canvas support but the title that the Upanishads proclaim
as the highest decoration for spiritual aspirants: "Amirthaaya-Pathrash", "Children
of immortality".
925
EVERYONE'S heart is Dharmakshetra
where the battle between the forces of Good and Evil is fought. The whole
country is Dharmakshetra. So, the mothers and children of this land must be
devoted to Dharma, above all. The Gita begins with the words, Dharmakshetra,
and ends with the words: "Sarva Dharmaan Parithajiya"; "Through Dharma, you
have to transcend Dharma". That is why Kausalya exhorted Rama when He went
into the forest: "May the Dharma, which you are upholding by this act, be
your guardian when you are in the forest as an exile". And Rama upheld
Dharma even under the most trying circumstances.
926
THIS World is His play; it is not an empty dream; it
has purpose and use; it is the means by which one can discover God; see Him
in the beauty, grandeur, the order and the majesty of Nature. These are
shadows of His Glory and His splendour; that is why the Vedas have three
Sections or Kandas; Karma, Upasana and Jnana. Karma leads to the
consciousness of the ever-present, immanent, all powerful God. Upasana or
adoration of that God lends to the knowledge that He is in all. When you
experience that, there is no second, that is Jnana.
927
MY place is among you, with you and wherever work
lies. That is why I moved among you and stood at your back. This is just to
show you that, even in your own places, when you do Bhajan or some other
type of adoration like serving children, the sick or the poor, I do not sit
on a special seat, apart and distant. Do not believe I am on the pedestal
that you offer Me. I am part of you, a partner and partaker in all your
efforts, inspiring and instructing when you ask or need inspiration and
instruction.
928
BY developing
spiritual qualities, you will be promoting the resuscitation of this country
and its culture. Look at the warning that the sacred texts offer! Somaka,
the Asura, stole the Vedas! Ravana kidnapped Sita, Duryodhana grasped an
empire; Kamsa slaughtered children; but not one of them realised their
heart's desire that their names be exalted by history. Sentence of death
awaits everyone, cutting off their pride and pomp. Some young persons feel
that the work they have on hand gives them great pleasure but they do not
pay heed to its future consequences. When you seek beneficial results, you
have to involve yourselves in beneficial activity.
929
THERE are some who are attracted by various systems
and methods like Hathayoga, Kriyayoga or Rajayoga, which claim to help
people to realise the self. But I must tell you that none of these can make
you realise God - I am saying this most emphatically. The Prema Yoga,
Discipline of Love, alone can lead you to God. Those Yogas may calm the
minds' agitation temporarily and may improve health and prolong life for a
few more years - but that is all that they can do. What is the good you hope
to achieve with that body in those extra years? If Love is absent, they
weigh you down as life's big burdens.
930
WHAT is the immortal part of man? Is it the wealth
he has accumulated? The residences he has built, the physique he has
developed, the health he has acquired, and the family he has reared? No, all
that he has done, developed or earned are destroyed; he has to leave them
all to the ravages of time. He cannot take with him even a handful of earth,
the earth he loved so much. If only the dead could take with them a handful
each, the Earth would have become scarce; it should have been rationed by
now! Discover the Immortal "I"; and know that it is the spark of God in you!
Live in the companionship of that vast measureless Supreme and you will be
rendered vast and measureless. Consider all objects that you collect here as
given on trust to be used in this caravansari, during your pilgrimage, in
this Karmashetra.
931
THE law of
Karma is not an iron law. By dedication, by purification which invites
benediction, its effects can be modified and its rigour mitigated. Do not
despair; do not lose heart. When vices hold sway over your heart, it becomes
foul and sooty. The flames of Kama, Krodha and Lobha char the heart. Grace
is provided by the quenching of these flames. Grace confers Ananda, which
Kama, Krodha and Lobha can never confer.
932
WHY is it that the World reveres Rama and revolts at
Ravana? Rama is not its uncle's son or Ravana its step mother's child. It is
the kinship of the spirit, your innate goodness, responding lovingly and
adoringly to the goodness in Rama and reacting revoltingly to the wickedness
of Ravana. It is not enough nor is it essential that you should utter the
name of Rama loudly, respect it in the fullness of love and admiration. If
you have no spirit of love in you, dig into your heart with external
instruments like Raga, Stotra etc., and it will start to flow.
933
WE are today celebrating the Advent of Krishna. The
Avatar (incarnation) in the Krishna. Form has a vast mystery enshrined in
it. Brindavan (the forest of Brinda) is the tangled jungle of life. The cows
tended by Lord Krishna in Brindavan are none other than the humans that are
helpless without His care and guidance. Gokula (the herds of cows) is the
name given in the Bhagavatham (book on the Glory of the Lord) to the region
where Krishna tended the cows. "Go" means also the individual who is
enclosed in the body. So, Gokula, is the region inhabited by man.
934
ONE poet has sung, "Oh, Krishna, Oh, Gopala, do not
count on your being kind to me, being moved by my appeals for mercy. Don't I
know that you killed with your own hands your maternal uncle? You killed the
very nurse who came endearingly to you in order to feed you at her breast!
With no iota of compassion towards the father of your dearest devotees, you
tortured him and killed him while the son, Prahlada was looking on! You
approached Bali as if for alms, and when he gladly placed all he had at your
feet, you trampled on his head and pressed him into the nether regions! How
can a heart that has no tenderness melt at my misery"? Yes, the Lord is
above all attachments, He has no favorites or foes.
935
BY THE example of your lives, you have to restore
confidence among the people in the higher values of life. Do not neglect the
great lessons embedded in Sanathana Dharma, which have sustained countless
generations in this land for many centuries. "May all the Worlds be happy",
this is the goal towards which Sanathana Dharma is leading us. Welcome
within the fold of your Love, all men without distinction or race or
religion, colour or class. Have the picture of the Happy, Love filled human
community in your heart. That will give you enough encouragement in your
mission.
936
ISSA Vassyam Idam
Sarvam; "All this is enveloped by God". All this is soaked in God; saturated
with God. Everything is the substance of God. We are on the Earth; around it
revolves the moon. Both, the Earth and the Moon are illumined by the Sun.
Dependent on the Sun, planets like Mercury, Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus,
Neptune, Pluto, and Saturn dutifully move along the orbits at different
speeds. Their Satellites also belong to the Solar family. Whenever we lift
our eyes up to the sky at night, we notice Stars beyond numbers. And in the
Milky Way, we see thick masses of Star Clusters. In space, there are more
than ten thousand crores of Stars, and regarding the Galaxies in the Milky
Way and elsewhere, we have more than ten crores. Without being lost in
numbers, we must ponder over the mystery of the Unity and Harmony of this
Cosmic projection.
937
IT IS not
possible to consider Creation and the Creator, Nature and God as different
or separate. Can we see that waves are separate from the sea? They are of
the sea, with the sea, and from the sea. Man too is of God, with and from
God. The bubble is born in water, stays in water and is lost in water. The
Cosmos too is a bubble born in the Absolute, exists as the Absolute and
merges in the Absolute or Paramatma. Nara (the human) is the bubble. God (Narayana)
is the sea. Recognise this truth, as the bubble cannot be conceived without
positing water. The Cosmos, this World, cannot be conceived without God.
938
GOOD men are the targets for maligning by the small.
Have your own errors and evils hidden so that you can tackle them in
solitude; do not inflict them on others. Wrestle with them and overwhelm
them in the silence of Sadhana. Deal with others only beneficially and in
joyful cooperation. Look at Lord Siva. The poison, which will ruin the World
ruthlessly, has been contained in His throat! The Moon that can shower cool,
calm comfort is worn by Him on His head for all the Worlds to benefit from!
That is a lesson for you. Why render others miserable, because you are too
weak to suppress the bandits your heart has welcomed?
939
I KNOW there are many of you who argue and discuss
how and in what manner these structures came to be built so grandly. If you
have known Me through and through there will be no such argument at all. You
will know that this is but an insignificant product of My power. I have done
this only as an example; unless those who lead are themselves active and
earnest to bend and bear the burden, all those who are encouraged to follow
will lose heart and miss the way. Religious leaders have a great
responsibility in this respect. People fly high, only to cast their eyes on
a wider circle, searching for sustenance as vultures do! The eye belies what
the wings proclaim.
940
WHEN you
have filled your heart with sympathy for the distressed, the Lord will
shower His Grace. Draupadi had earned the Grace through her devotion and
virtues. Sita, too, had stuck to the highest ideals of life in spite of her
severe sufferings. She was kept as a prisoner by her abductor. When Hanuman
offered to cross the ocean with her on his shoulders and take her safe to
her Lord Rama, she replied that she would not allow herself to be abducted
back from the custody of Ravana since that would deprive Rama of the chance
to punish him for his crime and retrieve her. Quite in consonance with
Dharma.
941
THE Gita is His
Command; how can you earn the Master's Grace if you do not carry out the
Master's commands. If the son says, "Leave me to myself, I need no
instructions from you"; how can he expect the father to give him a share of
the property? The Gita also helps you to recognise the incarnations of God.
Usually, when the Lord appears with Form, man is pestered by doubts and he
actually loses the precious chance. He asks himself and all those whom he
meets "Is it true?"; "Can it be true?"; and before his doubts are removed,
he deserts the quest and wanders into the wilderness. Of course, steady
enquiry is essential! Do not be led by others; awaken your own reason; amass
your own experience; and decide for yourself your own path.
942
NOTHING that is experienced will go to waste. It
will shape the course of events. It will change attitudes and habits. It
will purify and clarify situations and outlooks. That is why I want you to
read the Gita; it is like learning Eatha (Swimming) - this learning of the
Gita. Eatha saves you from drowning. Gita saves you from drowning in the
treacherous flood of worldly desires. The Gita is the real purpose for which
the Avatar of Krishna was undertaken.
943
TO condemn all is unjust, untrue, and unkind. Take
My own instance. I never exult when I am extolled, nor shrink when I am
reviled. Few have realised My purpose and significance: but I am not worried
when things that are not in Me are attributed to Me. Why should I worry?
When things that are in Me are mentioned, why should I exult? "Sayiki Sarvam
Yes, Yes, Yes". For Sai, it is always S.S.S. If you say "Yes, you are the
Lord", I am the Lord to you. If you say "No", I am "No" to you. I am "Ananda,
Shantham, Dhanam", Bliss, Equanimity, and Courage. Take them as your "Atonathathwam"
and you will not be wrong.
944
THE influence of the Divine is such that while you are contemplating it, all
traces of envy and greed will disappear from the mind. The boy Krishna had
entered a Gopi's house and was just standing beneath the pot of curds when
she discovered Him. Krishna ran out into the street and the Gopi pursued Him
and wanted to catch Him quickly, for she was so distressed that the boy was
running in the hot sun. She never worried about the loss of curds or milk or
butter, but the very thought of Krishna's tender feet walking over the hard
stones in the sun was something she could not bear. The Prema that Krishna
showered made everyone forget everything else. He too gave such disarming
replies to the queries of the mother and the Gopis that no one could have
anything but Prema towards Him. That is the characteristic of Avatars at all
times.
945
DHARMA is the very
habiliment of India, the dress that Bharathamatha wears to protect her,
honour to reclaim her status to shelter herself against heat and cold and to
set a standard to her sisters. When the wicked Kaurava princes seized hold
of the sari that Draupadi wore and tried to inflict insult on her honour,
Krishna rescued her and foiled the foul design. Dharmaraja sat as if he was
unaware of his rights and duties. Bhima was involved in doubt concerning his
obligations to his elder brother and his consort. Arjuna cared more for his
own interests. Nakula and Sahadeva waited and weighed the pros and cons. But
the Lord did not wait! His Grace knew no delay or doubt.
946
DHARMA, the very clothes that Bharathamatha has worn
since centuries, which is the expression of her natural style, is now seized
by wicked irreverent hands. They wish to dress her in unbecoming styles on
their own initiative or frenzied dictates. So Krishna has to come again for
resuming the eviction of the wicked. Krishna revealed the hollowness of the
people who were confident of their capacity to dishonour Draupadi and the
weakness of those entrusted with the task of protecting her. Now too, the
Lord has to foil the attempts to undermine Dharma and to stand in support of
those who are the traditional protectors and protagonists of Dharma.
947
YASODA one day was searching for Krishna who had
strayed away. She thought He went to the house of Radha. Radha just closed
her eyes and meditated on Krishna for a while and when she called "Krishna",
Krishna was there. Then Yasoda shed tears of joy. She said, "I love Krishna
as a mother. I have a sense of egoism in me that He is my son and that I
must save Him from harm and seek to give Him guidance and protection. Your
Prema is pure; it has no egoism promoting it".
948
REMEMBER always that it is easy to do what is
pleasant; but it is difficult to be engaged in what is beneficial. Not all
that is pleasant is profitable. Success comes to those who give up the path
strewn with roses and brave the hammer blows and the sword-thrusts of the
path fraught with danger. As a matter of fact, no road is strewn with rose
petals. Life is a battlefield, a Dharmakshetra, where duties and desires are
always in conflict. Smother the fiery fumes of Desire, Hatred and Anger that
rise up in your hearts. It is sheer cowardice to yield to these enemies that
turn you into beasts.
949
THE
vision of the Virat, the Cosmic Form, is given to those who surrender their
ego and take refuge in the Lord (as Arjuna did) and who imbibe with care the
Gita sung by the Lord in the silence. God is Omnipresent. He is the inner
Motivator of every particle in the Universe. To declare that He is amenable
only to your style of worship and that He will answer only the Name that you
have learnt to use, is to insult His Omniscience and His Glory. See Him in
all; serve Him in all; revere Him in all. Pray, "Let the Whole World prosper;
let all mankind be happy".
950
IMAGINE the Prema of the Gopis. One noon, Krishna stealthily entered the
house of a cowherd and drank all the milk in the pot. The Gopi discovered
Him and, when she admonished Him, Krishna took to His heels. When the Gopi
saw Him running over the hard cobblestones of the street, she shed tears of
contrition. "These Lotus feet must feel great pain", she wept. "Oh, what a
great sinner I am", she wailed. Krishna will make the most wicked heart melt
in repentance. He is Premaswarupa and Santhaswarupa and so He makes every
heart sprout up to Prema and Shanthi.
951
VASUDEVASSARVAMIDAM does not mean that all this is
just Krishna, the son of Vasudeva. It means that all this is God, by
whatever Name He is known. So if you decry anyone, you are decrying God,
which is His real core. If you become aware of the God in you and the God in
all else, there is nothing to equal the peace and joy that you get.
952
LET Me tell you, without reforming conduct in daily
behaviour and acts, "Ananda" will be beyond reach. I consider "Pravarthana",
Practice, as essential. A man or an institution is to be judged by his
integrity and whether acts are according to the principles proposed. The
mind, the body and the word; all three must work in unison. By such
disciplined Karma, the senses will be sublimated and Prasanthi won. Then out
of this Prasanthi will arise Prakanthi or the great light. From that will
emerge Paramjyothi, the Supra-splendour of illumination. That illumination
will reveal Param-Atma, the Over-Soul, the Universal.
953
PRASANTHI Nilayam is holding forth and exemplifying
the higher ideals in the material, ethical, economic, moral, spiritual,
worldly and even political fields. There is no place here for anything
contrary. This can be asserted without any possibility of contradiction. In
spite of this, some ignorant individuals rely more on their guesses than on
facts and indulge in spreading wrong conclusions. Let me tell them that if a
single person in the whole world points out a wrong step in Prasanthi
Nilayam, he shall be met with and be convinced that the Prasanthi Nilayam is
eagerly bent upon the task of upholding and demonstrating high and holy
ideals of achieving spiritual realisation. It does not seek those worldly
riches, nor does it yearn for earning favours and fame.
954
IN Prasanthi Nilayam, no misuse or extravagance can
ever happen. For any festival, either Sivarathri, Navarathri or the Birthday,
many people imagine that lakhs of Rupees are spent here. For the Dasara
celebration, all who have come served their best in the fullness of devotion
that dwells in their hearts and so, not a Naya paise is spent for any
purpose. The Rithuriks, who officiate at the Yagna and the lecturers who
deliver discourses, all come and share in the joy out of Love and Faith.
Their comforts are looked after by the members of the Seva Dal and the
Sevasamithis and by the Volunteers who dedicate their strength and skills to
make the Festivals a success. No paise is spent on any item.
955
TODAY, you find the Prasanthi Nilayam area clean and
pleasing. What is the reason? How many sweepers have we employed? How many
coolies are engaged, you may wonder? No, not one, Everyone cleans the place
where he is staying and the adjacent area. Thus, cleanliness is ensured
without any cost. It can be asserted that at no place in the World are
resources put to such good use, with the least expense, as at Prasanthi
Nilayam.
956
MAN has Truth as his
nature, that is to say, you can rely on man's behaviour being always true;
he will speak out only what he feels to be sincere; he will act according to
his words. His thought, word and action will be consistent and complementary.
If in any one case this concordance is absent, then the person is a man only
in outer form. He is worse than a beast, for beasts are free from the
burdens of thought and speech.
957
GOD gives an ear to the prayers that rise in all languages and even from the
silence of the dumb. He has no trace of anger or worry. You too have no
reason to develop anger and anxiety. When the teeth bite your tongue, do you
get angry at them for hurting? Do you break the teeth that hurt it so? No,
teeth and tongue are both yours. Similarly, he who hurts you and you are
both limbs of the same body - God. Feel that Oneness and avoid hate. God is
on the lookout for the inner vision. He blesses those whose hearts are so
vast that they can take in all His children. How can He be pleased when you
are so selfish and narrow minded that you send away His children from the
doorstep of your heart?
958
WHAT
has brought you all, in this vast number, from your homes and villages to
this place?. It is the Love you have for Me, and the Love I have for you.
The reason for your presence is not any force or authority or temptation to
earn material profit or gain. Ponder over the things I have told you out of
My Love. Try to cleanse your minds through repentance for the wrongs done or
contemplated and, through a firm resolve to shape your lives anew according
to the Divine Plan, by which each can stand revealed as fully Divine.
959
RAMA strove to uphold Sathya as the main plank of
Dharma. Whatever the trial and however hard the travail, He did not give up
Truth. Sathyam is Dharmam; Dharmam is Sathyam; the two are irrevocably
intertwined. "Sathyam Vada; Dharmam Chara", say the Upanishads. Rama will be
remembered as long as mountains raise their heads and the ocean exists
because of this strict adherence to Sathya and Dharma. If He had argued "Why
should I be bound by the word of my father?", He would not have earned this
immortality. The Immortal had come in the Form of Rama to show the way to
Immortality.
960
WHEN you travel
towards God, obstacles have to be bypassed. Prahlada went against his father;
Vibhishna went against his brother; Jamadagni had to harm his own mother;
Meera could not obey her husband; because they stuck to the path of God and
broke through all those who opposed them. Young men like you have the
problem, I know, of being forced to marry against your will by parents who
seek to hasten you into marital security. You have to win them over and get
their approval as Sankara did when he wanted to enter the monastic order.
961
BELIEVE that All are God through Jnana, even then
compassion compels you to love and serve. Believe that God is Master or
Father and that you are His children or servants through Bhakti. Even then,
His command is to wipe the tears, nourish the sick, and help the lame to
climb over the stile through pity and sympathy. Believe through faith in
Karma that God has to be adored through dedication. The highest form of
adoration is by means of Seva done in Love.
962
RAMA is the personification of Viveka, the
discriminating faculty of the intellect. Sita and Lakshmana are the higher
levels of consciousness - Sujana and Prajnana. Rama puts an end to evil
feelings and promotes good thoughts. Rama is the emperor of Ayodhya. That
name means impregnable will. No enemy, that is to say, no demeaning feeling
or thought can invade the heart when Rama is installed therein. Thyagaraja
sang "Telisi Rama Chinthana Cheyeve Manasa", (Oh Mind, Meditate on Rama with
the full knowledge of what He represents).
963
INDIA shone for centuries as the Karmabhoomi, where
each activity of man was ennobled by a high purpose and sense of dedication.
She was therefore acclaimed as Yogabhoomi, the land where the people yearned
for atonement with God. She was revered as the Thyagabhoomi, where the ideal
of the mendicant monk, the naked fakir and the simple monarch, counseled by
the sage, was placed before the people through precept and example. At the
present time, it is being forged into a Bhwyabhoomi, the land of skyscrapers,
air conditioning and tinned foods and an undisciplined mass of humanity
pulled from its roots and transplanted in other soils. This is an insult to
our past and a defiance of history.
964
SRI Sathya Sai College is not founded, as some of
you are guessing, to promote financial considerations, nor is it intended as
an instrument for publicity. It will be an example of an inspiration, a
beacon, a pioneer and a lesson for educators and for all those who have the
future of humanity in their hearts. The usual answer to the question, "Why
College education? Is it to help secure jobs? Why this college?" is, "It is
to sweeten the hearts of the future mothers of this land with humility,
faith and discrimination; and to light the path they tread towards truth and
virtue".
965
YOUR car is not meant
to be kept as a showpiece in a glass case. It is meant for the roads, for
taking you fast and safe to the place where you want to go. So too, your
body must serve the purpose of your journey. Journey to where? Not, as it
has been happening, to the cemetery. You have nobler things to do than
merely die! You must know your own Reality before you die and merge in that
supreme joy. Eat just enough to keep the body trim and use the body to
discover this Reality, namely, God. Sanctify every moment of your sojourn
here with pious deeds and sacred thoughts.
966
MAN has been enslaved by money. He lives a
superficial, hollow, artificial life. This is indeed a great pity. Man
should seek to possess only as much money as is most essential for his
living. The quantity of riches one must earn can be compared to the shoes
one wears; if too small, they cause pain; if too big, they are a hindrance
while walking. Money too has to be with us only just enough for a life of
physical and mental comfort. When we have more, it breeds pride, sloth and
contempt for others. In pursuit of money, Man descends to the level of the
beast. Money is of the nature of manure. Piled up in one place, it pollutes
the air. Spread it wide, scatter it over fields - it rewards you with a
bumper harvest. So too, when money is spent in all the four quarters for
promoting good work, it yields contentment and happiness in plenty.
967
MOVE forward towards the light and the shadow falls
behind; you move away from it and you have to follow your own shadow. Go
every moment one step nearer to the Lord and then Maya, the shadow will fall
back and will not delude you at all. Be steady; be resolved. Do not commit a
fault or take a false step and then repent! Have the "thaapam" (the
deliberation, the decision and the discipline) first, that is better than "Paschaath
Thaapam" (regret for the mistakes made).
968
THE Universe is seen; it can be learnt about, it can
be experienced and enjoyed. But God is unseen. He has to be inferred through
His handiwork. So too, society to which social service is rendered, cannot
be seen as such. We can contact only individuals. But through the individual
you infer the immanence of the Divine. All are actors on the world stage in
His play. Every atom is surcharged with His power, His might, His Glory.
Every being is surcharged with His Bliss, His Beauty, His Goodness.
969
DO not compare the various manifestations of the
Divine and pronounce judgment, declaring that Rama is greater than Krishna
or Siva superior to Vishnu. This line of thought is poisonous and harmful to
the devout aspirant. You do not know your own self, but yet, how dare you
pronounce judgment on personalities and powers you have never experienced or
understood. Rama is as unknown to you as Christ and so it is best to keep
silent, and revere both with equal ardour. For all are manifestations of the
same Divine Effulgence.
970
THE airplane runs on wheels for some length on the ground before it takes off
into the air. You may ask "Why wheels for the airplane?" so too, when you
reach a certain height in spiritual Sadhana, rules and regulations can be
folded up, as the pilot folds up the wheels when up in the air. While
serving others through the Samithi, do not forget to do some Sadhana for
your own advancement. Paraseva (service of others) is the negative Pole.
Atma - Seva (service to oneself) is the positive Pole, and when they meet,
the flash of Ananda (Bliss) emanates. Bliss obliterates all worries, all
fears, and all anxiety. March on to that Consummation, through Sadhana and
Seva. These are my Blessings to each of you.
971
THE Purusha Suktah of the Vedas says "Sahasra
Seersha Purushah, Sahaeraakshah, Sahasrapad", The supreme Sovereign Person
has a thousand heads, a thousand eyes and a thousand feet. The heads, eyes
and feet of the thousands who gather here, are my heads, My Eyes, and My
Feet. Nurse them respect them, attend to their needs - you have done your
japam dhyanam and puja! The mantra says "Sarva Deva Namaskaraha Kesavam
Prathi, Gachachathi"; the homage that you pay all to the Gods flow towards
the one only, Kesava. I would elaborate it further and give you this new
mantra; "Sarva Jeeva Namaskaraha Kesavam Prathi Gachchathi"; The reverence,
the Service that you offer to every single being (Jeeva) flows automatically
to the One, namely Kesava.
972
GOD
is to be recognised in all that exists, all that is charming or suffering,
blooming or drooping. He is Intelligence in the insect, Faithfulness in the
dog, latent Energy in the rock! Vivekananda announced at Chicago that
Hinduism uncovered the upadhi (Scabbard) and sought the inner core of the
Divine in all things, animate and inanimate. A gentleman may wear morning
dress, evening dress, dinner coat or luncheon slacks; he is the same inside
all these dresses, isn't he?
973
THE Vedas are for the Glorification of the Gods, "Devaanam sthuthy antham",
in the Kaliyuga, one is asked to rely more on Namasmarana for Liberation.
Why is it considered enough for the people of this Age? For other sadhanas
are fraught with difficulties. They need rigorous discipline and much
preliminary effort. Again, there is another advantage in Namasmarana; as
soon as the Name is uttered, the owner of the Name comes into view. When you
think of the Form, the Name may not always accompany; you may not be able to
identify. There may be more than One Name and you may be confused, but take
the Name and the Form automatically appears before the mental eye.
974
THE true Guru is not a human Preceptor. It is the
Cosmos itself, Prakrithi, Creation, the World around us. Life must have an
ideal before it, it must proceed towards a goal, it must be a constant
march. Life has as its sole purpose: man becoming Divine, the transformation
of the man. We profess to be the God we really are. "Gu" in the word Guru
indicates the qualities of Gunatheetha, that is unaffected by attributes and
attitudes, not associated with any one particular characteristic, and "Ru"
means rupa-rahitha, that is not limited to any form but pervasive in all
forms. In this context, the Universe and all its components are to be looked
upon as one's Preceptors and lessons learnt from each.
975
IT is all God, an expression of His Majesty! Derive
joy from the springs of joy within you and without you; advance, do not
stand still or recede. Every minute must mark a step forward. Rejoice that
it is given to you to recognise God in all and welcome all chances to sing
His Glory, to hear His chronicle, to share His presence with others. God has
His Hands in all handiwork, His Feet on all altitudes His Eyes beyond all
horizons, His Face before every face. That is what the Bhagavad Githa
declares, you who read the Githa can vouch for the accuracy of that
statement, if only you have faith in it and live in its light.
976
THE sages have laid down three categories which
comprise the knowable world; God, Nature and the I (Iswara Prakrithi and
Jiva). God, when seen through the mirror of Nature, appears as I. Remove the
mirror, there is only God, the image merges in the Original. Man is but the
Image of God. Even Nature is but an appearance of God; the reality is He
alone. The Principle of Appearance that deludes as multiple manifestation is
Maya. It is not external to God; it is inherent in God, just as all Powers
are inherent in Him.
977
GOD, the
Eternal Absolute is pictured, praised and adored as temporarily apparent and
is adored in limited regions as Rama, Krishna, Vishnu, Eswara, etc. These
are not basic fundamental expressions of His Nature. These are only Forms
assumed for certain purposes, like conferring peace on earth,
re-establishing the norms of justice and strengthening the ideal of faith in
the Supreme. The fixed and fundamental Attributes are Sathyam, Jnanam,
Anantham. This is the swarupa of Brahmam.
978
THE Lord is now worshipped by offering Him all
things that you crave for; by treating Him with all the honour you like to
have yourself. The idol is bathed and washed, bedecked with jewels, fed and
fanned, surrounded with fragrance, etc. since these are things you desire.
But the Lord is pleased only when you do things the Lord desires! How else
can you win the Grace? How else than by nursing and nourishing, scouring and
saving His Children? How else than by helping them to realise Him as their
Lord and guarding and cultivating Faith in Him, through your own straight
and sincere living?
979
CLEANSE
the heart by listening to spiritual discourses seeking the Company and
comradeship of the righteous, the simple, the sincere, the seekers and by
cultivating goodness of character and sweetness of disposition. Fill your
hearts with the sweet, fragrant waters of Prema (Love). Then every act of
yours, every word of yours (which are like the water drawn from the tank
through the taps - tongue, hand, brain etc.) will be sweet and fragrant. If
the tank is filled with pollution, how can the word be helpful, the thought
beneficial, or the deed commendable?
980
SOME people are afraid of cynical criticism by
unbelievers and therefore reluctant to move out in groups along the streets
in the early morning hours singing the Glory of God. When you have the
embodiment of fearlessness installed in your heart, why should the slightest
tremor of fear affect you? If others do not join for fear of derision or
ridicule, move out alone singing the Name. You came into this world alone
with no companion, didn't you! During the years of life you collected all
this kith and kin, you gathered wife and children, friends and acquaintances,
which attached themselves to you. When you return to the Realm from which
you came, you enter the portals alone, with no one to keep you company. So
too, let it be with the journey called Nagarsankirtan. Come into street
alone, collect kith and kin, if they come to you, move with them unconcerned
and unaffected; revel in your own sweet solitude and finally enter your home
in the satisfaction that your job is well done.
981
GOD likes such pure souls who come gladly to merge
in Him. Some people say, "Oh, it is the Dasara Festival and lakhs and lakhs
of people throng there. And they pour lakhs and lakhs of rupees there". Well,
what they give is Alakshyam, not Lakshyam! My hand stretches out for
receiving only when a pure heart full of Prema is offered; on all other
occasions, He gives, never takes. Let the People with poison in their hearts,
barren of Love and Service, feel shame, and resolve to cleanse themselves
from now on.
982
IT was announced
that I was born like Janaka, as the result of some Karmasesha! I have no
sesha or Karma as already mentioned in the Githa. The Mahasakthi puts on the
cloak of Mayasakthi in order to fulfill the purpose of contacting and
protecting mankind. I have no desire and so, no binding Karma. It is only
you have the desire, aim and wish that drag you along various paths. For Me,
your Ananda is My Food, your elation is the swing on which I sit, your
activity is My Playground.
983
WE
have hospitals and dispensaries and clinics in every street now because
disease has its hold in every family, in every home. Even little children
wear glasses, young people dye their hair, many wear dentures. The reason is,
the atmosphere in the modern home is filled with artificiality, anxiety,
envy, discontent, empty boasting, vain pomp, extravagance, falsehood, and
hypocrisy. How can anyone, growing up in this corrosive atmosphere, be free
from illness? If the home is filled with the clean fragrance of contentment
and peace, all its occupants will be happy and healthy.
984
THE Patient must drink the drug himself. There is no
vicarious cure. The balm must he applied where the pain is. The cause of the
illness and the misery is in your mental vision, for you are many when there
is only one. You say "My God", "Their God", "Your God Baba", as if there are
many Gods existing to help you quarrel and fight among yourselves. Ask the
Lord for the removal of your earthly troubles. There is no mistake in that.
It is much better than asking other men and losing self-respect and honour.
985
ATMA is the Ocean, Prakriti is just a wave of that
vast ageless, boundless Ocean, and the Jivi is just a drop of that wave. You
cannot give up the wave or the sea, you can only merge the Name and Form of
the drop, Once you enter the depths of the Sea, it is all calm, it is all
peace, agitation, noise confusion - all are only on the outer layers. So
also in the innermost recesses of the heart, there is a reservoir of Santhi
where you must take refuge.
986
THE doctors can serve the poor by treating them without insisting on payment:
give the poor all the attention and care that you lavish on the rich paying
patients. Do it for the sake of God; feel that it is the Puja you are
offering Him. The lawyers can help those, who for want of a skilled advocate
have to go undefended or have to suffer at the hands of unscrupulous men. Do
not publish these acts of sympathy, do them spontaneously without fanfare.
That is more precious than demonstrating your service with the help of
headlines and photographs. These reduce the worth of the deeds of compassion.
You must be uncomfortable when those around you are unhappy; when you ease
their discomfort, you are making them happy and making yourself happy, isn't
it?
987
TAMASO maa Jyothirgamaya,
is the Prayer, Egoism is thamas; sharanagathi is Jyothi. There is an easy
way to illumine the inner Consciousness and the outer behaviour with the
Light of God. Put the Lamp of the Name of the Lord, the illumining flame, on
the tongue! That is the doorstep, that Light will drive out the darkness
from both, inside and outside. Have it ever burning clear and bright. You
will soon reach remarkable height and enjoy happiness; the like of which you
cannot get by sticking to the senses.
988
SIVARATHRI is a very auspicious day for all. It is
the fourteenth day of the Lunar fortnight, when the moon is waning and the
sun is in the sign of Aquarius. The festival is however related to the moon,
rather than the sun. That is the reason why it is called "Sivarathri", the
night of Siva, unlike other nights, this particular night is the night of
consecration or dedication of illumination. On this night, there is just a
minute part more to be conquered and that can be done by keeping vigil and
dwelling on the Glory of God. The Vigil that is prescribed is symbolic of
the eternal vigil one has to observe, while the rite of fasting is symbolic
of diverting the senses of the pleasures they crave for. The night-long
bhajan is significant of the lifelong consciousness of the Divine Presence
that every one should cultivate.
989
THE Lord is closest to you. He is the mother, father, teacher, friend,
guide and guardian. Call on Him and He responds immediately. From dawn to
dusk spend every minute in His company. That is the reason why I have
directed that every Sathya Sai organisation must arrange for
Nagarasankirthanam in the pre-dawn Brahma-muhurtam. It is a mission of Love
and all will welcome it. It is a great act of social service to waken people
with the Name of God. It is purifying Pilgrimage, casting off the foul fumes
of anger and hate that infest the atmosphere.
990
THERE was once a wicked commentator who said that
this direction removes the need to discriminate between the right and wrong!
He must have been the same person who said, "The Lord says in the Githa that
He will be pleased if even a leaf, a flower, a fruit or a little water is
offered to Him". Well, this hookah contains all four, the tobacco leaf, the
red flower, denoted by the cinders, the shell of the coconut, fruit, and
water through which the smoke bubble bubbles! Impertinence and irrelevance
cannot hide irreverence from the eyes of God.
991
THE Anandam that will well up within you and the
contemplation of Anandaswarupa will drive out all grief, all worry. Siva it
seems laughed when He took a good look at the chariot that was provided for
Him when He started out to slay the Thripura - Asuras, the Asuras of the
three bodies; Sthula, Sukshma and Karana (the Gross, the Subtle and the
Causal). Vishnu, the Charioteer, was mostly in yoganidra, the Stable Earth
was the Chariot and the two wheels were the Sun and the Moon, two spheres
which never revolved in Unison! That slaughter laid the Asuras low. There
was no more need to proceed against the Asuras. How did the evil forces that
dwelt in the three bodies die? They could not exist where there is Ananda;
for they are products of grief. Develop Ananda; then evil impulses and
tendencies will vanish, for they will not get any foothold in the heart.
992
THE human body has been secured as a reward of many
lives of meritorious activity. Being valued as a boat which can help us
cross the ocean of change, Samsara, it has to be tended with grateful
reverence. The Bhaghavad Githa calls the body "Kshetra" which means a field.
One can sow holiness or sin and gather a harvest commensurate with the
particular quality. Choose the crop you need before you sow the seeds.
993
KSHETRA also means the entire earth. Another
significant meaning of the word is "a holy place". We say "Kasi - Kshetra",
"Prayaga - Kshetra", etc. to indicate those places are sacred. The body is
also a kshetra since it is a temple where God is installed and worshipped
through thoughts, words and deeds. The temple has to be cleaned and kept
healthy and pure. Purity is to be preserved and promoted not by multiple
baths or by avoiding contact with others "condemned as untouchable". You
cannot be pure by the observance of the superficial taboo, "Don't touch".
994
THE body can be cleaned if washed with water. Speech
can be cleaned if it is saturated in truth. Life can be purified if it is
sanctified by Tapas, and the intellect can be cleared of blemish through
Jnana. Above all, the conviction that you are not the body but only a
resident of the body has to grow in you. If you identify yourself with the
body you carry about with you, you are inviting sorrow and suffering to
overwhelm you, instead of the joy and peace which are awaiting to bless you.
995
AVATARS manifested in the Krithika Yuga for
preservation of Vedic tradition, in the Tretha Yuga for the protection of
Dharma, and in the Dwvapara Yuga for the promulgation of the right of
Property. In the Kritha Yuga the Avatar saved the Vedas from neglect, in the
Tretha Yuga, He saved women from dishonour, and in the Dwapara Yuga He saved
property from injustice. Now, in the fourth Age, the Kali Yuga, all three
are in dire peril. The Vedas are ridiculed, women are tempted into unworthy
lives, and property is condemned as theft! So, the Avatar has a threefold
Task. Man has no purity in the heart, no sanctity in his emotions, no love
in his deeds, no God in his prayers.
996
THE Earth is a caravanserai where men come and stay
for the night and when dawn breaks, one by one they tramp their different
ways. Kith Kin are the words we use for the attachment to the travelers
cultivated in the caravanserai during the short term of acquaintance.
Husband and wife are like two pieces of wood drifting down a flooded river;
they float near each other for some time and when a current comes between
them, they are parted. Each must move on to the sea at its own rate and in
its own time. There is no need to grieve over their parting of the two, it
is in the very nature of Nature that it should be so.
997
MAN must be Yoked to Samsara and broken; that is the
training which will teach that the world is unreal; no amount of lectures
will make you believe it is a snake unless you actually experience it. Touch
fire and get the sensation of burning; there is nothing like it to teach you
that fire is to be avoided. Unless you touch it, you will be aware only of
its light. It is both light and heat; just as this world is both true and
false; that is to say unreal.
998
COURAGE comes out of the grace of the Lord, it needs generations of learning
and struggle. Meanwhile you must start with the first step, the cleansing of
the mind and the cultivation of virtue. Even if you do not start with that
step, at least do not laugh at those who do and discourage them. Do at least
this much! Then, do not depend upon others for doing your work like
attending to your personal wants. Do it yourself; that is real freedom.
Again, never accept anything "free" from others; Pay it back in service or
work. That will make you a self-respecting individual! Receiving a favour
means getting bound to the giver. Grow with self-respect and dignity. That
is the best service you can do to yourself.
999
THAT which is born has also to die; coming implies
going; that which has no birth has no death either. The Atma has no birth,
no death, nor can you say it spreads or grows or weakens. It has no history,
that is all that can be said about it. It is ever Intelligence, ever Bliss.
There is the urge to desire a thing that is named Ichcha Sakthi - but it too
is a derivative of the Atma Sakthi, the Divine that is your core. Realise it
as such and do not demean it by desiring deleterious objects. Desire, so
sublimated, is the basis of Love, "Prema". It is the fruit of the tree of
God-ward directed Ichcha Sakthi.
1000
WHY attached false values to exterior symbols? Why develop prejudice
for the reason that a man was born on the other side of a political boundary
or calls on God in another language? God is the origin of all languages.
Boundaries shift and are subject to revision, resettlement and change. These
are man-made differences and should not interfere with God-ward activities.
God has made the Universe as one single Home for one Single family. Each
state is but an apartment in that mansion.
1001
BAKTHI is defined as the means of discovering the
Divine Reality within each being. Four steps are laid down in the scriptures
to help man succeed in this effort; Discrimination between the Permanent and
the Impermanent; withdrawal from the process of catering to the senses;
Positive control of the feelings, thoughts, and pursuits; and incessant
yearning for Liberation from all bonds. Bakthi is the urge which manifests
as all four endeavours. Bhakthi is derived from "Bha" or Bhaghavan or God.
It directs man to have God ever in mind and to cultivate love for God within
him.
1002
DEVOTION fosters the
highest virtue; it is the most precious treasure, it is the truest path, the
only way to God. Man must live in Bakthi; for Bakthi; through Bakthi. For
Bakthi is Love of the purest and the noblest variety. Such love is the
breath that sustains life that supports the Soul in the effort to merge in
the super-soul. The years of life spent without the Light of Love are years
of ruin, of dust and disease. One could as well be dead and decay forever.
1003
THE Jivi has come to this birth in order to reveal
the splendour of the spark of Godhead which it is. The body is the wick of
the lamp, yearning for God is the ghee which feeds the flame. But like the
rat which, attracted by the strong smelling cheap stuff inside the trap,
neglects all other articles of food in the granary and falls prey to its
foolishness. Man too neglects his real sustenance and wastes his life in
pursuit of mortal riches.
1004
YOU
must dive deep into the sea to get the pearls. If you must realise the full
fruit of this Avatar, dive deep and get immersed in Sai Baba.
Halfheartedness, hesitation, doubt, cynicism, listening to tales, all are of
no avail. Concentrated complete faith, that alone can bring victory. This is
true of any worldly activity, is it not? Therefore, how much more true must
it be in the spiritual field? But if you have already attached yourselves to
some Name and Form, do not change it, do not choose another in place of the
Prema Swarupam.
1005
HAVE your
mind fixed on one. Do not, now and then, allow clouds of doubt like "Is He
Great?", "Is He God?" to dim your faith. Behold and Acknowledge the Glory
that you have witnessed; proclaim the joy that you have experienced; confer
the Grace that you have earned. For example, when people ask you whether you
are going to Puttaparthi and whether you too are singing Bhajans, say, "yes"
proudly, for there is no shame in walking on the right path.
1006
THE only
new thing is man's perverse behaviour, the directions in which he has been
wasting his talents, misusing his capacity of playing false to his own
nature. He has been forgetting the path prescribed in the Scriptures for the
cultivation of his nature, therefore all this suffering and hence My advent.
1007
YOU might have heard people talk about the miracles;
My "making" this and "giving" that, My fulfilling all your wants, My curing
your illnesses. But they are not so important as the Sathwa guna I
appreciate, promote and instill. Of course, I confer on you these boons of
health and prosperity but only so that you might, with greater enthusiasm
and with less interruption, proceed with spiritual Sadhana. Bakthi leads to
Sakthi and Sakthi will grant Yukthi. The Yukthi will help you to fix your
Rakthi or attachment on the proper objects and your Bakthi thus promoted,
finally results in Mukthi.
1008
CRITICISING others and finding fault with them are both results of egoism.
Search your own faults instead. The faults you see in others are your own
faults instead. The faults you see in others are but reflections of your own
personality traits. Pay no heed to little worries; attach your mind to the
Lord and then you will be led to the Company of good men and your talents
will be transmuted.
Index
Introduction
Pearls 1- 100
Pearls 101 - 200
Pearls 201- 300
Pearls 301- 400
Pearls 401- 500
Pearls 501 - 600
Pearls 601 - 700
Pearls 701 - 800
Pearls 801 - 900
Pearls 901 - 1008