108 Quotations on Faith in God [34]

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108 Quotations on Faith in GodFrom Sri Sathya Sai Baba's Divine Discourses

– 34 –

Yajnas and yagas, acts of charity and virtue, penances and ceremonial rituals

are all designed to promote purity of heart. Purity of mind promotes purity of

heart. Purity of mind is achieved by association with noble personages and

studying the writings of saintly persons. "Chittasya suddhaye karmah"--the

purpose of doing karmas (the duly ordained duties) is to purify the

consciousness. Purity of consciousness leads to realisation of the Self. Atma

Jnana can be got only by faith. Develop faith in yourself and faith in God.

This is the secret of greatness.

Self-confidence today is manifest only in matters relating to worldly

achievements and selfcentered pursuits. Faith and confidence are not in

evidence in the spiritual field. Without unwavering faith, the Divine cannot be

experienced. Because of the absence of firm faith, the formal observance of

spiritual practices yields no results.

The primary requisite is unqualified and unshakable faith in God.

One-pointed devotion promotes spiritual Sraddha (earnestness). The earnest

seeker gets knowledge of the Self. The earnest devotee needs no other

qualification except deep faith. He needs no other knowledge, no title to

lineage or wealth. He may belong to any caste or community. He may be a child

or even an animal like Gajendra (the Lord of the elephants). Valimiki, Nanda,

Kuchela, Dhruva, Gajendra, Sabari, Vidura and Hanuman are examples of devotees

who got God's grace through their deep devotion, without any other special

qualification.

To realise God it is not necessary to have wealth, gold or other emblems of

affluence. Nor is great scholarship necessary. All that is needed is pure,

selfless devotion. Today men with selfish and impure minds attempt to worship

God. Without purity of thought, speech and action, it is impossible to

experience the Divine. God cannot be realised through ostentation and

self-conceit. The basic-requisite is the shedding of selfishness and

possessiveness so that one can engage oneself in actions in a disinterested

spirit. Any person is entitled to embark on this quest without regard to sex,

age, caste or community.

– Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Sri Sathya Sai Baba's Divine Discourse on 6.10.1986Sathya Sai Speaks,

Volume XIX, Chapter 20: Atma Jnana,Section: Atma Jnana can be got only by faith

and loveOnline: http://sathyasai.org/search/volume19/sss19-20.pdf

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