SATHYA SAI SPEAKS - Volume II [Ch.1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

[Guest guest]

In view of the ensuing glorious event of the 80th Birthday of the Divine Lord

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, we propose posting of all the Divine Messages

titled as ‘Sathya Sai Speaks’ for the benefit of our members and all the Sai

devotees the world over. We request you to pass on/forward/spread these Divine

messages to your Sai circle so that they also derive spiritual benefits and

bliss from them. These Divine Messages are not only for Sai devotees, they are

for the entire HUMANITY. Lord Krishna taught humanity the ways and means of

salvation for mankind in ‘Bhagavad Gita’ in Dwapara Yuga. ‘Sathya Sai speaks’

is the Bhagavad Gita of Kali Yuga. - With Sai love, Sai brothers -

’’

***

Om Sri Sai Ram

SATHYA SAI SPEAKS - Volume II [Ch.1, 2, 3, 4, 5]

Sathya Sai Speaks

"I've come", He says, "to wake you all

Who sleep the sleep of ages--

While one by one the pages

Of account book of paltry deeds and thoughts

Accumulate in defiling piles---and keep you from

The happy land

Above, beyond the sleep, the dream,

Above, beyond the waking stage--

The Realm of Restful Peace."

"I've come," He says, "to save you all

Who stray away in silly pride

Hunting fantasies in bush and briar

With bandaged eyes, in pitch-dark gloom

And fall into birth-and-death,

Failure, fracture, faction, fanatic fire."

"I 've come," He says, "to cure you all

>From petty selfish inanities!

Trivial tinsel temporalities!

Your tweedledums and tweedledees,

The little loves and hates,

Peevish Paisa rivalries,

Across dividing line of 'mine' and ‘thine’!

Brother gouging brother's eye,

Sister crushing sister's babe --

For the sin of wall between!"

"I've come," He says, "to show you all

The Path; a Form, a Name; a Way of life,

That cools and calms the fevered Mind

That stills the waves,

That fills, fulfils;

That leads you into He (whom you forgot),

That flows you into It, from which you came.

Here you find on every page

The Words He spoke for You

A few, which I dared, translate

Into uncouth English tongue...

The few I gathered from His Lips

As I sat at the Feet to catch His voice

So Sweet, so charged with Grace!

The solar rays, they open wide

The buds of Lotus, waiting for the Warmth!

May Baba's Words, their warming touch

Unfurl the petals of your Lotus heart!

1. MAHASHAKTHI

OUR Venkateshwarlu just now spoke of the Lord as the Suuthradhaara of a

Maayanaataka---the Director of a Drama of Delusion. But, the Delusion is in you

not in the Lord, who is possessed of only Mahaashakthi. Unable to grasp that

Mahaashakthi (Supreme Power), and to understand its manifestations, man

envelopes himself in doubt and delusion, that is all. He also said that I am by

birth an Andhra, etc., but the whole World is my birthplace. I am not to be

identified with this or that Province or State. Dakshinaamurthi does not belong

to Dakshinaapatha alone. Again, Venkateshwarlu mentioned the various points

spoken about Me, by those who have neither seen or experienced Me. These are

all unnecessary and useless diversions, which distract. The sculptor should see

before him only the Form of his Ishtadevatha

(personal deity) and he should strive to remove quickly with his chisel the

stone that envelopes that Form. So too all discussion whether this Sai is that

Sai or that Sai is this Sai, is irrelevant.

The same sugar is poured into different moulds to prepare, several types of

sweets. So also, Rama, Sai, Sathya Sai all are the same sugar; that is enough

for the aspirant; he will realise the truth in good time. Do not worry your

mind with such problems; do not mix with people who talk loosely of holy

subjects. One thing I may tell you now: There is no one in this world who does

not belong to Me; all are Mine. They may not call out My Name or any Name, but,

still they are Mine."

You are seeing for yourself how the thirsty souls are gathering in numbers every

day at Puttaparthi. I have told you often that in a matter of a year or two the

multitude will be so large that you may not get much chance to approach Me with

your spiritual problems and difficulties. So, hurry to Me with them, even now.

While in other places, I speak generally on the need for Bhakti (devotion)

etc., here at Puttaparthi, I emphasize the practical discipline of everyday

life, because this is the HQ of an army under training. So, you should

cultivate Truth and Love and make yourselves examples for all who might contact

you.

Prashanthi Nilayam, 14.2.1961

Make Soham the japam of the mind and you will be saved. "I" will merge in the

Universal Continuously recite Soham, Soham, Soham, with every breath, inhaling

and exhaling - Sathya Sai Baba

2. SAI AS HRUDHAYASTHAAYI

THE Chairman of your Mandir Committee said just now that I have come a great

distance, after an arduous journey, and so he thanked Me for what he called My

kindness. Let Me tell you that it is your thapas (penance) that has brought Me

here today. I have come and stayed in this town four or five times before, but

this is the first occasion on which I am directly conferring Anandam on so many

thousands of people. This is the consequence of the years of Bhajan (devotional

singing) done at this place by sincere devotees, the months of toil and

exertion undergone by Chaari and others to construct this Mandir (hall of

worship), get this idol ready and make all arrangements for this function.

He also said that the reign of Sai had been established and that this

unprecedented vast audience of persons from this City and the surrounding areas

is proof of that fact. Well, you are seeing signs of widespread Godliness, no

doubt. More and more lectures, more and more books, more and more spiritual

groups are evident; more people go on pilgrimage; more and more temples are

being renovated; all types of Yagnas (sacrificial rites) are arranged and gone

through; thousands gather and disperse. In all countries and in all languages,

men are praying more and more, turning towards the Lord for the blessing of

courage and equanimity.

These are days of doubt, anxiety, fear, division and distress; and so, people

need consolation and support. Even scientists who were all along proud that

they could explain the Universe and put it into a formula are getting humble on

seeing the vaster and vaster vistas spreading before them at every step.

Lesson that all thinking men are learning

Dr. Bhagavantham was telling Me how scientists are baffled; they open one door

after another with tremendous effort, only to enter a corridor which has a

dozen closed doors challenging them to further effort! It is a never-ending

process, this pursuit of Prakriti (objective world), this attempt to unravel

the mysteries of Maya (illusion). If you yearn for Joy and Peace, turn rather

to the Lord who lays down the Law; that is the lesson that all thinking men are

learning now. But attending such meetings sitting quietly like this and

listening to Me is not enough. When a person claims to have gone to the shore

of the sea and played with the waves, he must produce as evidence at least a

pair of wet feet, is it not? So too, when you come to this sea of Satsang

(company of the pious) and share the waves of bliss, the proof is in the eye

becoming wet when another, weeps; in the heart that exults when another is

happy. Even when you listen, gather the honey as the bee does when it visits

the flowers.

The Chairman said the world is becoming Sai Mayam (full of Sai), that Sai naamam

(name of Sai) is on every one's lips. I want that it should go deeper. And I do

not insist that it should be the Name, Sai. The world must become

Paramaathma-mayam; that is all, however many Names and Forms that Paramatma

(Supreme Soul) may have on the lips of people and before their mental eyes. It

is the same substance poured into different moulds. Like sugar dolls which

children seek, cats and dogs, cows and horses, they are all of the self-same

sweetness; this child prefers this shape and this name; the other one weeps for

another doll. The same Divine substance appears in different times and places,

assuming different Names. When the forces of evil and hatred overwhelm them,

the Good accept the Lord as their Charioteer and He enables them to

overpower foes.

"Establishment of Righteousness is My task"

This day deserves to be recorded in letters of gold because of this reason.

Moreover, this day is unique because it is rare that an Avatar installs the

idol of another. I Myself find it rather amusing. Of course, Rama installed the

Shivalinga at Raameshwaram before He started out for Lanka for the extermination

of the evildoers. Now, there is no question of extermination. My task is Dharma

Samsthaapanam (establishment of righteousness). And now that I am entering on

that Avathaarakaarya (task of the Incarnation), I too am installing this idol

prior to that task. It is now over 18 years since the Manifestation of Sai as

Naaga took place on this spot; but it has taken you all these years to complete

the erection of the Mandir and the installation of the Image. Well, the years

accumulated to 18 not without reason. It is all in

the Plan. Eighteen is a mystic number, having a profound meaning. I find 18

persons in the Mantapa (podium) here; they represent the 18 officiators of the

Yajna (Vedic ritual of sacrifice): 6 for the Jagath (world), 6 for Kaala

(Time), 3 for Manas, Chitha and Buddhi (mind, thought and intellect), the pair

that perform the Yajna as the initiated couple, and lastly, Atma, the Witness.

I am installing the Naagasaayi in the temple, but that is just a symbolic act. I

require that at that very moment, chosen because it is very auspicious, you

should install Him in your heart; make Him your Hrudhaya-sthaayi!

Have a correct scale of values

What exactly is the meaning of Sai Baba? Sai means Sahasrapadhma, (thousand

lotuses) Saakshaathkaara (Realisation), etc. Ayi means Mother and Baba means

Father; it means He who is both Father and Mother, and the Goal of all Yogic

endeavor---the ever-merciful Mother, the All-wise Father and the Goal of

spiritual efforts. When you are groping in a dark room, you must seize the

chance when some one brings a lamp into the room. Hurriedly collect your

belongings scattered there, or discover where they are located, or do whatever

else you need. Similarly, make the best of this chance when the Lord has come

in human form to your very door and get ready to save yourself from disaster.

The undue importance now attached to the satisfaction of sensual desires must

diminish as the result of your association with sacred books and saintly

personages. You know that the dream world is a fantastic world of nonsense,

where fifty years are compressed into five minutes and where weird incidents

and things are taken as actually present and experienced. But let Me tell you

that from the stage of Realisation, even the waking stage, when you analyze the

dreams and declare them as invalid, is equally without validity. Therefore, have

a sense of values, a scale of values rather; give everything, everyone, its

worth or his worth, not a whit more.

Five sheaths encase the Atma and hide its splendor from revealing itself. Make

all these pure and shining. The Annamaya Kosha (physical sheath) must be

purified by good, clean, pure food; the Praanamaya Kosha (vital sheath) by

calm, steady breathing and an equanimous temper; the Manomaya Kosha (mental

sheath) by holy thoughts and emotions, untouched by attachment to senses or

unaffected by joy or grief; the Vijnaanamaya Kosha (wisdom sheath) purified by

contemplation of the reality and the Aanandhamaya Kosha (bliss sheath) by

getting immersed in the ecstasy of God-realisation.

Do not run after all and sundry

Stick to your faith; do not change your loyalty as soon as something happens or

some one whispers. Do not pull down Sai Baba's picture from the wall and hang

some other picture there at the first disappointment. Leave all to Him; let His

Will be carried out---that should be your attitude. Unless you go through the

rough and the smooth, how can you be hardened? Welcome the light and the shade,

the sun and the rain. Do not think that only those who worship a picture or

image with pompous paraphernalia are devotees. Whoever walks straight along the

moral path, whoever acts as he speaks and speaks as he has seen, whoever melts

at another's woe and exults at another's joy---is a devotee, perhaps a greater

devotee. Baba is beyond the keenest intellect, the sharpest brain. Why, even

the Saptha Rishis failed to grasp the Sublimity of Godhead. Mhalaspathi,

Das Gaanu, Mudholkar, Kaakaa Saaheb saw but the fringe; Daadha had just a

glimpse. So, do not try to delve into Me; develop Shraddha (faith) and derive

Ananda (bliss) through Prema (love). That is the utmost you can do; do that and

benefit. Do not run after all and sundry who blabber text-book stuff and wear

the cloak of fakirhood (mendicancy). Examine, judge and admire. Examine the

daily conduct, the motive, the outlook, the trend of the advice, the

co-ordination between what is said and what is done. When you join the

congregational music of divine Names, as you did some time ago, you had to sing

in tune with the rest, is it not? Otherwise, your voice becomes harsh to the

ear; it grates. So too, unless your life is in tune with the plan that the Lord

has laid down, it spoils the melody; it grates; it is felt to be a disturbance.

Hence, follow the Divine Plan. That is to say, have one hand on Brahmamaarga

(path of Supreme Reality), and the other on Dharmamaarga (path of Righteousness.

These two will take you across and over the sea of birth and death.

Naaga Sai Mandir, Coimbatore 26-2-1961

Bhakti, Jnaana and Vairagya are the three stages of spiritual progress. Bhakti

(devotion) is the Primary School stage; it leads one on to Jnaana (sacred

knowledge), the High School stage; by means of Jnaana, everything is cognized

as Brahmam (Supreme Realty) and the attitude of Vairagya (non-attachment) is

established. That is the College stage of the Education of the Self. - Sathya

Sai Baba

3. BELIEVE IN YOURSELF

I HAVE been seeing your devotion and enthusiasm ever since I entered your town

this morning; and during the procession through the streets, I could see the

ardor of your Bhakti (devotion). Even now, I feel that I could give you joy by

merely sitting here and giving Darshan (audience), for I can listen to your

silent prayers and you can sense My Prema (Love). That is enough. That gives

Anandam. You are born, you grow, you live and you merge, all in Anandam

(Bliss); that is the Truth, though very few know it. That is why I reminded you

of it by addressing you as Aanandha-swaruupulaara (embodiments of Bliss). Your

Swarupa (natural state) is Anandam (bliss), however much you might have ignored

it.

Bharath has proclaimed this for ages; the Vedas declare it; the Sasthras

elaborate it; the Geetha and other sacred texts describe how to experience this

truth. Develop faith in the Atma and in the Sasthras---they are the two eyes,

which will help you to gain the Vision. Do not let this chance go to waste by

clamoring for sitting space, causing confusion and disturbing those who are

engaged in listening. This is tragic: when good things are spoken, you find it

difficult to pay attention; but when demeaning, distracting things are spoken,

the ears are on the alert. Well, listen quietly now and maintain this calm.

Plant the seedling of devotion in the mind

Man should be the master of his behavior; he should not be led away by the

impulse of the moment; he must be conscious always of what is good for him. He

should so carry on his daily tasks that he does not make others suffer or

suffer himself. That is the sign of intelligent living. You should not give way

to fits of anger or grief or elation or despair. The confusion you exhibited now

was the result of Thaamasik (dark and dull) and Raajasik (emotional) qualities.

Be Saathwik, calm and unruffled and collected. The more you develop charity for

all beings, contrition at your own faults, fear of wrong and fear of God---the

more firmly established you are in Shaanthi (peace).

The very name Bharath is derived from the two words, Bhagawan and Rathi, the

attachment to God; that is why India has the role of the "Teacher of the

World." She is also known as the "Heart" of Humanity and revered as such by

seekers. But how can those who are starving feed others? It is your duty to sow

and grow and store and feed the world this great spiritual sustenance laid down

in the Vedas and the Sasthras.

In this spiritual sphere of mental peace and inner joy, the responsibility for

success or failure is entirely one's own. You have no right to shift it on to

others. The fire will go out if the fuel is over; so stop feeding it with fuel.

Do not add fuel to the fire of the senses. Detach the mind from the temporary

and attach it to the eternal. The negative Shakti (power) and the positive

Shakti both together will give the Light. Plant the seedling of Bhakti

(devotion), namely, the preliminary exercise of Namasmarana (remembering the

Lord's name), in the mind. That will grow into a tree with the branches of

virtue, service, sacrifice, love, equanimity, fortitude and courage. You

swallow food, but you are not aware how that food is transformed into energy,

intelligence, emotion and health. In the same way, just swallow this food

for the spirit, this Namasmarana, and watch how it gets transmuted as virtue and

the rest without your being aware of it.

The real test of theism

Ravana discovered that Rama and Kama cannot coexist in the mind. Develop

steadiness in the recitation of the Name of God and in the worth of that Name.

Then, even if the whole world says, "Do evil," you will refuse to obey; your

system itself will revolt against it. And even if the whole world asks you to

desist, you will insist on doing the right. You have to cultivate four types of

strength: Strength of body, intellect, wisdom and conduct. Then you become

unshakable; you are on the path of spiritual victory.

Once a person came to Me and argued that there was no God and he was not

prepared to believe in one. Well. I asked him, "Have you faith at least in

yourself? Which is your self? Your self is God. You have faith in your

judgment, your intelligence, your ability, because God within you tells you not

to falter or fear. That assurance wells from within, from your basic truth,

which is otherwise called God. It does not matter if you do not call it God; it

is enough if you believe in Yourself; that is the real test of theism," I told

him.

I say the same thing to you also. The body is the temple of God; in every body,

God is installed, whether the owner of the body recognizes it or not. It is God

that inspires you to good acts, that warns you against the bad. Listen to that

Voice. Obey that Voice and you will not come to any harm. A lady wept that her

necklace was lost or stolen; she searched everywhere and became inconsolably

sad. Then, when she passed across a mirror, she found the lost necklace around

her neck. It was there all the time. Similarly, God is there, as the Inner

Dweller whether you know it or not.

Two ways of remembering the Lord's Name

Love is of three kinds: Swaartha or self-centered, which like a bulb, illumines

just a small room; Anyonya or mutual, which like the moonlight spreads wider

but is not clearer; and Paraartha or other-centered, which like the sunlight is

all pervasive and clear. Cultivate the third type of love; that will save you.

For all the service that you do to others through that love is in fact service

done to yourself. It is not the others that you help, it is yourself that is

helped, remember. You might have heard Me speak about Namasmarana and its

fruits; how it slowly changes character and modifies conduct and mellows you

and takes · you nearer the Goal. Well, there are two ways of doing this: with a

japamaala (rosary), turning the beads automatically around, just as mechanically

and as punctually and as carefully as any other

routine act of daily life; or, as it ought to be done---repeating the Name,

irrespective of the target number, dwelling deep on the Form it represents and

on the Divine attributes connoted by it, tasting It, revelling in It, enjoying

the contexts and associations of the Name, relishing Its sweetness, lost in Its

Music. Of course, you will be hankering after the taste of the Name only when

you are gnawed by the pangs of hunger. When you suffer from constipation as a

consequence of over-indulgence in worldly affairs, you cannot relish the Name

or the Form.

The mind is the mischief-maker; it jumps from doubt to doubt; it puts obstacles

in the way. It weaves a net and gets entangled in it. It is ever discontented;

it runs after a hundred things and away from another hundred. It is like a

driver who drives the car with the master in it, wherever his fancy takes him.

So take up the task of training it into an obedient secant; it is educable, if

only you know how to do it. Place before it things more tasty and it will

hanker only for those. Once it realizes the value of Namasmarana, it will

adhere to that method of 'getting peace and joy. So start it now. That is My

Aajna (command) to you today.

Udumalpet, 27-2-1961

A bar of iron sinks in water; but beat it into a hollow vessel, and it will

easily float and even carry some weight of things. So, too man’s mind, as it

is, sinks easily in the sea of life; but beat it hollow, hammering it with the

Name of the Lord, and a floats, unaffected by worry and sorrow; it can even

help some others to see Light! - Sathya Sai Baba

4 THE REAL PANCHAANGAM

KASTHURI has just now read from the Panchaangam (almanac) for the New Year,

Plava, the predictions of the astrologers about rainfall, the condition of the

crops, the prices of articles in the markets, the rise and fall in the rates of

gold and silver, the prospects of internal and external peace, the occurrence of

natural calamities like floods, droughts, earthquakes, etc. But reading all this

only increases your worries, your restlessness. Take things as and when they

come. Do not try to peep too far into the future with the help of astrologers.

They are mostly wrong, and the data you supply them are mostly unreliable.

Take care of the Panchaangams (the five-limbed almanacs) within you; that is

more vital. The Panchaangams within you are the five senses; educate the mind

to hold them in check---then you can have peace of mind, whatever the rise in

the market rates or the quantity of rain. Do not get panicky over what the

almanac says about the combination of many planets, the Ashtagraha koota. They

exaggerate the consequences; nothing much will happen; the pralaya (destruction

of the Universe) is more in the frightened mind than in external nature. If you

earn the Anugraha (blessing) of the Lord, no graha (planet) or combination of

grahas can harm you. If you learn how to secure that anugraha, you need not

worry about the Panchaangam.

Today, you are celebrating the arrival of a New Year with a new name, a name

that you will use for the twelve coming months. But remember, it is not the

year alone that is new once in 365 days. Every day is new, every hour and

minute, every second is new. Do not celebrate only the New Year Day in joy;

celebrate every second in joy.

Every step towards Godhead is to be cherished

Start from today, not that today is a New Year---there are so many New Years

celebrated as such by one or the other community that every day is a new year

to some one set of people---but because it is today and the matter brooks no

delay, start from today a new chapter in your life, the chapter of Japam

(recitation of holy name) and Dhyana (meditation), Japa-sahitha Dhyana

(recitation-oriented meditation) or Dhyana-sahitha Japam (meditation-oriented

recitation). In the Thretha Yuga, the Name was Seethaaraama; in the Dwaapara

Yuga, it was Raadheshyaama; in this Kali Yuga, it is Sarvanaama, that is to

say, all Names of the Lord; you can select any one that appeals to you.

Life is like a flight of steps towards the Godhead. You have your foot on the

first step when you are born; each day is a step that must be climbed; so be

steady, watchful and earnest. Do not count the steps ahead or exult over the

steps behind. One step at a time and that well climbed, that is enough success

to be satisfied with and to give you encouragement for the next one. Do not

slide from the step you have got up on. Every step is a victory to be

cherished; every day wasted is a defeat to be ashamed of. Slow and steady---let

that be your maxim! Adhere to a regular routine, a time-robie. Just as the

doctor prescribes a certain fixed measure or weight of the drug and warns you

that anything less is ineffective and anything more is harmful, so too, have

some limit for your spiritual exercises.

Do not overdo them or do them casually and without care. The doctors tell you

also about the hour of the day and the number of times the drug has to be

repeated, for, the action of the quantity taken must be reinforced before it

becomes weak. So also, you have to repeat the Japam and dhyaanam at regular

intervals.

Do not move very fast with the world

Millionaires who always go about in cars and airplanes and people of sedentary

habits are advised by doctors to take a long walk every morning. The walk is

called a 'constitutional', because it helps to build up the constitution.

Similarly, to get over the mental ills consequent on too long brooding over

worldly affairs, the guru will advise you to have a long spell of Dhyana and

Japam. Do not move so fast with the world; the cure for moving fast is to sit

quiet. Do not get entangled in the vain hubbub of the world; the treatment for

those who suffer from the after- effects of that is silence and meditation.

You will have observed that when your train is stationary, another train moving

along another line gives you the feeling that it is your train that moves. If

you watch your coach, fix your attention on your train, you know the truth.

Similarly, as long as your attention is turned on "the otherthe outer" your

knowledge is based on illusion. Once you divert the attention to yourself, you

can discover the truth, viz., though the world moves, you are still.

In the Panchaangam, as Kasturi quoted now, it is also predicted that in the year

that is born today, the number of people who deride God and who laugh at Him and

hate Him will increase. Let Me ask, how can that happen, for that number has

reached the maximum already! The cynical spirit of derision and ridicule is the

bane of this Age; but there is no reason for the godly to be downhearted. At

least the coming Ashtagrahakoota (conjunction of eight planets) will put some

fear into people's minds and they will call on God to save them and they will

do various acts to propitiate the Divine Beneficence in order to overcome the

maleficence of the planets. Therefore, the prediction might prove incorrect,

after all. Be assured that the Lord has come to save the world from calamity.

Your duty is to keep calm, to pray for the happiness and prosperity

of all. Do not pray for your own exclusive happiness and say, "Let the rest of

the world go to pieces." You cannot be happy when the rest of mankind is

unhappy. You are an organic part of the human community. Share your prosperity

with others; strive to alleviate the sufferings of others. That is your duty.

The New Year is called, Plava or Boat. Make it a boat to cross the Sea of

Samsara (worldly life). That is My Blessing to you this day. The ocean drops

rose as vapor, joined the congregation called cloud, fell on the earth, flowed

along the ravines, and at last reached the ocean. Reach like-wise the ocean you

have lost. Start on that journey and travel quickly and light. - Sathya Sai Baba

5. EXPERIENCE

IN spiritual matters, it is experience alone that is the deciding factor. Reason

is rendered dumb before the testimony of actual experience. All the arguments of

logic, all the tricks of dialectics are powerless to nullify the direct effect

of that inner evidence. For example, take the question of image worship. Many

people laugh at those who practice it and condemn it as superstition. But those

who do worship idols have the faith that the Omnipresent Almighty is present in

the symbol before them. For them, it is not a mere external adjunct or

apparatus or object. It is a part of the inner mechanism of devotion and faith.

Of course, all the 'Worship' carried out with the idea that the idol is

life-less wood or stone or bronze, is so much waste of time. But if it is done

in the full confidence that the image or idol is alive, saturated with

consciousness

and power, then, image worship can bestow the Realisation of God-head itself.

Sadhak should see the power inherent in the idol

There was once a Sadhak (spiritual seeker) who approached a guru for guidance.

The guru gave him an idol of Vishnu and also necessary instructions for daily

worship. But the Sadhak found that, even after some months of meticulous Pooja,

he did not get any spiritual reward or elation. So, he reported his

dissatisfaction and the guru gave him another idol, this time of Shiva and

asked him to have another try. The disciple came after another six months

demanding another idol, because even Shiva had failed him.

This time, he got a Durga idol, which he duly installed in his domestic shrine.

The two previous idols were standing, dust-ridden and neglected, on the

windowsill. One day, while Durga-Pooja (ritual worship of Goddess Durga) was

going on, the disciple found that the perfumed smoke from the incense-stick was

being wafted by the breeze towards the idol of Shiva on the window sill. He got

wild that the ungrateful stonehearted God who was deaf to his powerful

entreaties should get the perfume intended for his latest idol! So, he took a

piece of cloth and tied it round the face of Shiva, closing up the nostrils

that were inhaling the perfume.

Just at that moment, to his immense surprise Shiva appeared in His splendor and

Glory before the Sadhak! The man was dumb-founded. He did not know how the ill

treatment had induced Shiva to give him Darshan. But, what had really happened?

The Sadhak for the first time believed that the Shiva idol was alive, conscious,

Chaitanya-full (full of life) and it was that belief which forced him to tie the

bandage to the nose. The moment he realised that the idol was full of Chith

(consciousness), he got the Realisation he was struggling for. Therefore, the

Sadhak should see, not the stone, which is the material stuff of the idol, but

the Power that is inherent in it, that is symbolized by it, the same Power that

is inherent in his own heart and that pervades and transcends all creation.

Discourse at Tirupati, 6-4-1961

When Dharmaraja, the eldest of the Pandavas, had to make the difficult choice of

whom to save, when the Yaksha said he could select one among his four brokers,

who lay dead on the ground, he struck to the Highest Principle, Dharma. He did

not select Bheema or Arjuna, though war was imminent and they were

indispensable. He selected Nakula, because he was the son of his stepmother and

he did not want her to feel that she had no son left. That is the way in which

people in the past-upheld Dharma. - Sathya Sai Baba

TO BE CONTINUED…

With Sai love from Sai brothers – ‘’

Source and Courtesy: http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume02/sss022

Mail Mobile Take Mail with you! Check email on your mobile phone.