Bhagwan's Divine Discourse

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Om Sri Sai Ram

Om Sai Jai Sai Jai Jai Sai

 

 

Divine Discourse

 

 

"Man accumulates all types of desires in his mind which, when not

fulfilled, make him desperate and he ends his life in unspeakable

distress. He forgets that his innermost desire – the one he should

cherish – is the desire for good and for God. All other desires are

mean and meaningless. Man has been endowed with the power to

discriminate between the essentially good and the superficially

pleasant, but he does not cultivate that faculty and benefit from

it."

 

- Divine Discourse, 25th Jan 1979

 

The wise will not give room in their hearts for covetousness and

possessiveness. How can you proclaim that God is the Indweller and

Motivator of all beings, while all the while planning and scheming

for profit! Stop a while and examine your habits and activities;

analyze them; evaluate them on the touchstone of morality, truth and

fortitude. Give up all that drags you into evil; strengthen all that

lifts you nearer to God. Do not be disheartened that you have to

suffer the consequences of what you have done.

 

- Divine Discourse, 24th September, 1968

 

Three things are needed for you to progress in spirituality: a heart

free from attachment and hatred, a tongue that is not tainted by

untruth, and a body that is not polluted by violence. Without these

three, all penances and religious practices are of no use. You must

pray incessantly for these qualities. Realize that the divine is

within you. Life is given to you for you to realize lasting bliss by

the right use of the body, the mind, the intellect, and the inner

motivator (Ahamkara). You have to acquire the wisdom to lead such a

life based on the love of God.

 

- Divine Discourse, 13th February, 1997

 

Help rendered however small, if it comes from the deeper urges of

service welling in the heart, is as good as offering one's life

itself. Half-hearted and hesitating help, however great is deplorable.

 

- Rama Katha Rasa Vahini, P. 54.

 

Like the monkey which could not pull its hand out of the narrow-

necked pot, because it held in its grasp a handful of groundnuts,

which the pot contained, man too is suffering today, since he is

unwilling to release his hold on the handful of pleasurable things he

has grasped from the world. Man is led into the wrong belief that the

accumulation of material possessions will endow him with joy and

calm. But Divine Love alone can give him that everlasting joy.

 

- Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol IV, P 74

 

You use a mosquito net to avoid being bitten. As long as you have the

net, no matter how many mosquitoes there are outside, you don't have

to worry. However, if mosquitoes are inside the net, nobody can save

you from them. If you put up a net to protect yourself, but foolishly

allow mosquitoes in, it is like visiting holy places, keeping holy

company, doing holy deeds, but not clearing out the defects within.

 

- Divine Discourse, 20th June, 1989

 

The saplings of devotion can only grow in minds that are soaked in

compassion. How can even the best of seeds sprout in salty soil?

Compassion means reflecting in our minds the joys and sorrows of

others, and responding with exhilaration and sympathy. For this to

happen the mind has to be cleansed and transformed into a fine

mirror. God will respond to your prayers for relief only when you

too, respond to the needs of others. Life should not be wasted in

selfish activities, blind to the distress and groans of others.

 

- Divine Discourse, 14th Aug 1979

 

Self-imposed discipline is conducive to real Shanti – peace of mind,

poise, equanimity and the stable equilibrium of the mind. Peace of

mind is the most desirable thing in the whole world. It gives us

physical and psychical euphoria. In order to achieve this peace, an

aspirant must develop a thirst for spiritual wisdom. He must acquire

the qualities of love, sympathy and compassion, and do selfless

service to others. Shanti (peace) should not be regarded as a part-

time virtue to be cultivated only during meditation. It is a

constant state of inner tranquillity. It should become habitual and

instinctive.

 

- Summer Showers, 1979, Ch. 17

 

Love and sacrifice (Prema and Thyaga) are the two most important

ideals in life. Love all, even those who hate you. That is the index

of your devotion.

 

- Summer Showers, 1997, P. 62

 

Your heart should be like glass, with the spiritual light

illuminating the world outside, and the world outside reacting to the

inner urges, making people lean towards service, sympathy and help.

What one learns should be put into practice. It is chiefly a matter

of well-timed and regulated discipline. It is not done by spurts and

skips; it has to be climbed step by step, each step being used as a

foothold for the next. Nowadays, there is no systematic living

according to any known principle, either in the case of the student,

the householder, or the master or mistress of the house. Virtues

should be cultivated at home, each member sharing joy with the rest.

This attitude should be firmly adhered to, so that it may stay as

part of one’s character.

 

- Divine Discourse, 27th Sep 1960

 

With faith in the omnipresence of the Divine, man should engage

himself in good deeds, cherish good thoughts and dedicate his life to

good practices. His words should be words of truth. The ornaments he

should cherish are truthfulness in speech, charity for the hands and

listening to sacred lore for the ears. Develop faith in your

divinity. Then you will redeem your life. Follow your conscience.

Make your heart pure. You cannot realise the Divine by immersing

yourself in worldly concerns.

 

- Divine Discourse, 1st Jan 1996

 

Winning the Love of God is the most valuable thing in life. This

Love of God will endow one with that wisdom which is the basis for

inner peace. Everyone should endeavour to have an understanding of

the true nature of Divinity. Of course, in the beginning, it will

not be possible to grasp the phenomenon of the unmanifest Absolute.

Initially, it will be best to picture God with form, then step by

step, try to enshrine the divine energy within oneself. Even so,

success in this effort will only be attained through diligently

cleansing one’s Chitta (intellect) through service to humanity.

 

 

- Vidya Vahini, Chapter 11

 

You have to exercise a ceiling on your desires. There are rules for

the ceiling with regard to land and property, but you have no ceiling

on your desires. Ceiling on desires means exercising control over

them. You can be happy only when the desires are controlled. Your

life is a long journey. You should have less luggage (desires).

Therefore, it is said, 'less luggage more comfort makes travel a

pleasure'... What do you get out of desires? You are bound to face

the consequences when you claim something as yours. When you claim a

piece of land as yours, then you will have to reap the harvest... The

instinct of ego and attachment will put you to suffering. You will

be blissful the moment you give up ego and attachment.

 

 

- Divine Discourse, 14th March, 1999.

 

When you go to the market you cannot get even a small handkerchief if

you don’t pay a certain amount of money. Likewise you cannot attain

Divine Grace unless you offer your love to God. God is also like a

businessman. What sort of business is He engaged in? Not worldly

business, purely spiritual. He receives your love and showers Grace

on you. Surrender all your thoughts and worries to God and receive

Bliss in return.

 

- Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. XXXII, Part I, P. 68.

 

When a sharp axe is used to cut a sandalwood tree, the sandalwood

tree does not feel hurt by the axe, nor does it get angry with it. On

the contrary, the sandalwood tree hands its fragrance to the axe.

This is the quality of good people.

 

- Summer Showers, 1973, P. 53

 

Everything should be within limits. Talking, eating, enjoyment, even

love - should be limited. Then you experience true happiness. If

things go beyond limits, you face danger. For example, the body

temperature is 98.4 degrees fahrenheit. When that is your

temperature, you are perfectly normal. But when the temperature goes

to 99 degrees, fever has set in.... Your blood pressure should be

120/80. If the lower number goes up to 90, you may have heart

trouble. The eyeball can visualize certain light intensity. But if

you look at light beyond that limit, the retina will burn. So, life

is a limited company. Lead your life within limits.

 

- Summer Showers, 1990, Pg. 27

 

Elation over profit, joy and cheer, dejection over loss and misery –

these are the characteristics common to all mortals. What, then is

the excellence of the true spiritual aspirant? You should always be

vigilant and suffer the inevitable gladly. When difficulties and

losses overwhelm you, do not lose heart and precipitate some action,

but consider calmly how they came to be. Then try to discover some

simple means of overcoming them, in an atmosphere of Peace (Shanti).

Haste and worry will confuse the intelligence. Peace develops all

the beneficial characteristics in you. Even farsightedness grows

through inner peace, allowing one to avert obstacles and dangers.

 

- Prasanthi Vahini, P. 11-1