SATHYA SAI SPEAKS - Volume III [Ch. 25, 26, 27, 28]

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

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, we are posting the Divine Messages titled as

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

world over. We request members 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 III [Ch. 25, 26, 27, 28]

25. A-NAATHA AND SA-NAATHA

KANNADA is a sweet and soft language; but, I do not propose to speak in it now;

I feel that you can follow Me even if I speak in Telugu. I am happy to lay the

Foundation Stone of this Home for Retarded Children and the Hostel and

Workshops of the Mahila Makkala Koota, for service is the best form of worship.

I know this is an institution that does real service. It is a lighthouse in the

sea of mere worldly-mindedness.

For all the higher forms of service, Bhakti is the very life-breath. Of the two,

Preyas (worldly gain) and Shreyas (spiritual merit), Sunandhamma has chosen

Shreyas; so, even when she is ridiculed, she carries on; even when she is

praised, she does not accept the praise. If she must succeed in this venture,

she must strengthen her faith in the Lord. That is enough. When the election

season is on, you find people suddenly going round and round and falling at the

feet of all and sundry, praying for votes. They could have fallen at the feet of

the Lord, and He would have showered His Grace. If he is a godly person, full of

humility and the spirit of service, he would have got the votes he needed, even

without this humiliation of door-to-door soliciting.

Faith is the very breath of victory

Be good, be serviceable, be useful, be kind, be God-fearing---the confidence of

the people will be yours. I am sure Minister Kaanthi who is here will agree

with Me when I say, that such a man has no need to beg for votes, people will

themselves come forward and offer the votes at his feet. Faith, faith---that is

the very breath of victory---faith in oneself, faith in the good work one has

set upon; faith in its success, in spite of signs of failure.

Attachment and hatred---these are the greatest enemies of progress in any scheme

of social service, why, in any scheme of work. If the individual is deluded into

believing that he is saving others, then woe be to him, for, there is no other

at all. All are One, one man's sorrow is every one's sorrow. The fundamental

flaw is the ignorance of man. If only he was wise, he would have known that all

individuals are waves on the surface of the self-same ocean.

Nishkama karma (selfless action) is the ideal to be aimed at; now everything is

measured by the result, the gain that accrues. Study too is for the salary one

can get on the basis of the degree which is its goal. If you fan a person out

of love, when you leave of, he cannot blame you but, when the paid servant who

is the pankaahwaallah stops, the master takes him to task. In the first case,

the act is done in the Nishkama way; there is no aim to seek gain, The desire

for gain is like the poison fangs; when they are pulled out, the snake of karma

is rendered harmless.

Faith becomes steady through Sadhana

The correct discipline to acquire the Nishkama (without selfish desire) attitude

is dedication; and dedication is possible only when you have intense faith in

God. That faith becomes steady through Sadhana. Now, Sadhana (spiritual effort)

is like the snacks one eats; the main dishes are all of the world, from the

world. The spiritual must be the major portion of the food. You must be aware

of the danger of a fall, in time. Do not behave like the master of a house, who

when his wife said, "I hear some noise; it is perhaps a thief' replied: "I know;

do not interrupt my sleep." In a few minutes, she said, "He has entered the

house," but the man said, "I know." Later, she said, "He is opening the box";

still, the man said, "I know" and kept quiet. After some time, she said, "He is

running away" and the master said, as formerly, "I

know." He did not pay any attention to the warnings of the theft; so, too, you

do not heed the warning, but move forward to the calamity, with eyes open.

Once you feel that all are waves on the self-same sea you will no longer use the

word, A-naatha (helpless orphan), which I found in the report that was read. In

one sense, there is no A-naatha at all; all are Sa-naatha (protected by a

guardian), for the Lord takes care of all. He is the Pashupathi, pashu meaning

individual jeevas (living beings). There is only one Purusha (Masculine) in

creation; all the rest are sthree (feminine). There is no fool too; that is

only a role played by that particular manifestation of the jnaana swaruupa,

which is Paramaathma. Nagayya might play the role of Thyagayya, in the film on

Thyagaraja, but all the while his Nagayya is the truth, the reality. The

Thyagayya is a temporary role in the drama of life.

Journey to God is to be through good karma

Remember this and do not tarry on your journey to God. You fill up the petrol

tank with fuel for the journey that lies ahead, is it not! When you propose to

keep the car in the garage for long, you do not fill the tank. Well, the body

too is fed with fuel so that it may go on a journey; journey to God. That

journey is through karma, good karma, and Nishkaama karma. Such karma is called

kaayaka (relating to the body), the exertion of the kaaya (body) for the

liberation of the soul imprisoned therein.

Not all the raindrops that fall from the sky manage to reach the sea. It is only

those that flow into a flowing river that attain the goal of all the drops; for,

they come from the sea and they yearn to reach their source.

I find that the Sun has invaded this side of the pandhal; the hall is not big

enough to provide shade for all of you. I cannot bear to see you suffering. I

find one man has fainted there. Here, take this Vibuthi (sacred ash) to him;

let him drink it in a glass of water. {He waved His right Hand once and created

a quantity of Vibuthi as a token of His Grace). When I am leaving do not crowd

around and fall at My Feet. Do the Namaskaaram (obeisance) in your hearts; that

is better than crushing everybody and pushing forward. There are many old men,

sick persons and children; so, be calm and patient. Why do a thing, which does

not give you full satisfaction, nor gives Me satisfaction? Make Sai the

resident of your heart; that gives you hai (happiness) and Me, joy!

Mysore City, Vaanivilaasapuram, 15-9-1963

You must tread the spiritual path with an uncontrollable urge to reach the Goal;

you must cultivate the yearning for liberation from all this encumbrance.

Remember that you have to dwell in a house built on four stout pillars: Dharma,

Artha, Kama, and Moksha (righteousness, wealth, desire and liberation); Dharma

supporting artha, and moksha being the only Kama or desire. However much you

may earn either wealth or strength, unless you tap the springs of Ananda

(Supreme bliss) within you, you cannot have peace and lasting content. - Sathya

Sai Baba

26. BUILDING OR BEGGING?

I MYSELF asked Sunandamma to call you all here this evening, so that I can talk

to you about the great piece of social work you are engaged in. I laid the

Foundation Stone for your Institution this morning; I blessed the endeavor,

because you are serving women and children, especially children who are

mentally defective and physically handicapped. I understand you have the help

of experts in psychology, who can understand the special problems of the

underdeveloped children. So far so good.

As Trustees who have undertaken to help Sunandamma in this Mission of Mercy, I

would advise you to start the construction of the rooms for the inmates and for

the classes, first. The Prayer Hall can wait; the atmosphere of the place where

such work is being done cannot be anything but a prayerful one. This is thapas

(penance) that you are doing and the children and adults who watch you and your

efforts do not require something more inspiring than that.

Discover a via media between ancient and modern

Sunandhamma was telling Me that some of you want the buildings to be reminiscent

of ancient Indian architecture, a kind of temple, in fact; while others prefer

the latest style, plain utilization and cheap, without elaborate decorative

motifs. You cannot revive the Parnashaala (hut made of leaves, hermitage) now,

in the 20th century; you have to discover a via media between the Sanathana and

the Nuuthana (the ancient and the modern). Moreover, I want the Sanathana spirit

in the heart; not in brick and mortar.

When the children are all of this modern age, affected by its attraction and

attitudes, how can the style of the building in which they dwell change their

outlook? And what of the teachers? They are imbued with the passions and

prejudices of the modern age. Change their hearts into Parnashaalas, full of

the ideals and aspirations of the sages of this land, charged with simplicity

and sincerity, moved by the urge to expand in love to all beings---then, the

style of the building does not matter. It is the architecture of the mind that

matters. If the needs of the modern age require a change, change the

non-essentials. Do not dilute the truth so much that it loses its genuineness.

If some one favors drinks of a blue colour or red, do not pour blue dye or red

dye into the bottle; pour the drink into a blue or red glass, and offer it to

him. That would be enough. So too, if one style of building is to be preferred,

by all means, put up the structure; but do not change the essentials of the work

to be done therein, or the outlook of the workers.

Patience and strenuous effort will be rewarded

Hitha and Mitha (pleasant and moderate), these are the directions. Let it not be

too garish, too ramshackle, too costly, too fragile. Take the middle course;

that will yield maximum benefits. The craving for sense objects cannot be given

up fully, so transform it into an instrument for worship. Dedicate all your

efforts to the Lord; accept all achievements and failures, as proofs of the

Grace of the Lord. His Will decreed that they should so happen. Transform all

the six passions into instruments for spiritual uplift.

I know also that you are worried about funds for the completion of your plans.

Sunandhamma even asked Me to show the way! Well, He who showed the way so long

will do so hereafter also. This will be completed; otherwise, I would not have

laid the Foundation Stone. Good works never languish for want of funds; the

Lord will come to their rescue. Only it may take some time; do not lose heart.

The orange is quite bitter when it is green; but time gradually sweetens it

into a delicious fruit. Patience and strenuous effort will get rewarded.

I must tell you, however, that for such good causes as this, you should not

collect money in devious ways. Help should come form pious hearts, from

well-earned money, from persons who know and appreciate the purpose for which

they give. That is why I oppose all benefit shows, where you tempt people with

a dance, or a drama or a film and collect money for your pet plan. I am also

against lotteries, where the lure of getting a big prize, for which one does

not do anything, a prize collected out of other people's earning, is used for

the collection of funds. Let each one give, out of the fullness of his heart,

on his own initiative, whatever he can give gladly, after studying well the

present work and the future possibilities of the institution. Your duty is only

to inform; do not try even to persuade; begging for the sake of work which is

inherently good

is an insult to human nature; the man who asks and the man who is asked, both are demeaned.

I want to give you this courage and this confidence. Carry on in a spirit of

humility and fortitude and you will succeed.

Meeting of the Trustees, Mysore City, 15-9-1963

All the joy you crave for, is in you; but like a man who has vast riches in the

iron chest, but who has no idea where the key is, you suffer. With proper

directions, dwelling upon them in the silence of meditation, it is possible to

secure the key, open the chest and be rich in joy. - Sathya Sai Baba

27. HUMAN AND DIVINE ACTIONS

Many people consider all acts of worship, Pooja, etc., as "His" and all acts of

earning and spending as "Mine." But, this is a mistake. All acts are "His."

There is no such distinction as Maanavakarma and Maadhavakarma (actions of man

and God); all karma leads you towards Madhava or away from Him. For example,

you say that you fall ill, that you are in good health, etc. That is because

you feel that the body is "you," whereas you are really only the Atma, with the

five sheaths which you have super-imposed on it. This is the result of the

system of education now prevalent, which teaches that the Ananda one derives

from the senses is all the Ananda that one can get. It does not disclose to the

individual the eternal source of Ananda that he has within himself.

There is no training in the art of acquiring mental peace. No one is told the

secret of attaining the state of equanimity, amidst the confusion of modern

civilization. Everyone is induced to float with the current that drags humanity

down to fear, anxiety and despair. Life today is similar to the situation when

the master of the house is restricted to a tasteless regimen, while the members

of the family revel in a banquet. The senses revel without limit but the Atma is

ignored.

Modern education does not produce wise men

Modern education produces only "learned fools;" it does not produce wise men who

can meet life calmly and bravely. Its products know how to fill themselves with

information, device tools or handle them for the destruction of fellowmen or

cater to the whims of the senses---but they are helpless to meet the crisis of

death, a crisis that is inevitable. Hanumantha Rao of the I.A.S., who is the

President of this Meeting, said that, during the last 14 years, when he had not

visited this place, many great developments have taken place, including this

Hospital.

Some of you may ask why there should be a Hospital at all, here! Why should not

Baba cure diseases by an exercise of His Will? That is the question. Well, for

one thing, this Hospital is not My only Hospital. Hanumantha Rao has a Hospital

in Madras where disabled children are treated and trained to be useful and

self-respecting individuals. That too is My Hospital. In fact, all hospitals

everywhere are Mine. I visit them all. Why, all those who call out from their

hearts for succour, in whatever language, from whatever clime, whether from

hospitals or homes, are Mine. Do not confine Me to these few acres round

the Prashanthi Nilayam. Wherever a person craving for Prashanthi (perfect

peace) lives and prays, there a Prashanthi Nilayam exists.

Faith in Grace is not yet strong

You should remember another point. The Hospital serves to increase faith, to

demonstrate Divinity and to remove doubt. That is also necessary; besides, you

have to mark time, in consonance with the song that is sung. There are many who

are hungry for medical treatment and they are satisfied only if drugs are given

and injections administered. Their faith in Grace is not yet strong. So, a

Hospital is required for such anugraha (grace), that is the crucial gain. The

hospitals can be closed, especially if the spiritual Sadhana used for gaining

the Anugraha results in simple lives, spent in contentment and undisturbed

calm.

The King of Death does not bring a noose when he comes to drag people to his

abode; the noose is made by the victim himself and he has it ready round his

neck, awaiting the arrival of the end. It is the Karma-paasa (noose resulting

from action) which each manufactures and winds round himself that ultimately

drags him away. Become aware of your reality and you will lose the sense of

identification with the body. That will make you disease-free. You will have

perfect ease. This is quite easy, understanding that you are not the body. For,

you are practicing this truth every day for at least six hours, ever since

birth! If that cannot teach you, I wonder which can. Every day, when you sleep,

where are you? Who are you? Your senses are inoperative, your intelligence is in

abeyance: you mind creates a world of its own and after playing in it for

sometime, it lapses into inactivity. That is sleep; the nearest you reach in

your journey to Samadhi (super-conscious state).

Each one of you can become Bhagawan

Live in the Atma thathwa (true nature of Self); that will ensure Shanthi. With

the poison of raaga and dhwesha (attachment and hatred) inside you, how can you

be pronounced healthy?. If you experience the Atma thathwa, you become Bhagawan

(Divinity) Himself. That is why I do not address you as Bhakthulaaraa! You are

not Bhaktas (devotees); you are more than that-- -you ought to become Bhagawan;

each one of you can become Bhagawan by merging your separate individual jeevas

(souls), in the Ocean of the Universal Atma.

Death comes swooping like the falcon on chicken feeding on the ground. The man

who dies, prays to Me to receive him; the persons who weep at his departure,

pray to Me to keep him alive. I know both sides of the picture, the past and

the present, the crime and the punishment, the achievement and the reward and

so, I carry out what is just, though modified by Grace. I am not affected one

way or the other, by the arrival into the world of some or the departure from

it of some others. My nature is Nithyaanandham (eternal Bliss). You can share

in that Ananda by following My instructions and practicing what I say.

Shri Sathya Sai Hospital, Seventh Anniversary Festival, 18-I0-1963

28. THE DAY THEY GOT THE LIGHT

I AM surprised that you read out a Welcome Address to Me and extolled Me as

jnaanam Swaruupam, Prema Swaruupam (embodiment of Supreme Knowledge and of

Love), etc. I must tell you that I am no stranger and therefore need no

welcome. I am no stranger anywhere, much less here, of all places where I took

birth. I belong to you; I am very near to you. Besides, I do not like this

praise, for praise places you at some distance, whereas I take delight in being

with you, beside you, around you. No father likes his sons to praise him! No son

approaches the father with a Welcome Address, in which his scholarship, wealth,

strength, virtues are listed and extolled. Kinship evokes kindliness; there is

no need or chance for formal ceremonial behavior. Now, you have asked Me to

switch on these street lights and you have mentioned that this is a supreme

moment---for, the village is to be free from darkness and full of light,

hereafter! Let Me tell you, this village is not getting light, today! It got

the Light, the Day this Shakthi took birth in this place! For, what is this

little light that illumines just a few yards around each pole when compared

with the Light that illumines the heart and spreads joy and peace.

Light from Puttaparthy is widening over the world

>From that day, when this light appeared, you have been witnessing how the Light

is widening over the country, attracting the attention of the entire world to

this tiny hamlet nestling among these hills away from the flow of the turbid

currents of civilization. Now, you have buses and lorries coming along the

newly laid roads. Just today the decision has been made to improve the roads

around this village to the standard of tarred roads; you have at the Prashanthi

Nilayam an up-to-date Hospital, you have a fine school building for your

children, and this and the neighboring villages have the benefit of this very

useful electric current, which you can now direct for various purposes at home

as well as in the fields.

You gave Me this garland of flowers when I came; but, I would have been glad if

you, every one of you, had become a fragrant flower, free from insect pests of

vice and wickedness, strung on the thread of devotion to God. That means, you

must be united and of one mind, free from hatred and spite, factionalism and

greed. Villagers are being ruined everywhere by elements that promote faction,

and sow the thorny seeds of hatred, in fields where useful crops have to be

grown.

Here, many feel that 'you are not attending Bhajan or frequenting the 'Nilayam

as much as they do. They say among themselves that the inhabitants of

Puttaparthy, the village where Sathya ' Sai Baba was born, have no Bhakti! But,

I know, that you are every moment thinking about Me, watching for Me, talking

about Me, pointing Me out to visitors, expecting Me to return soon when I have

gone out of this place, etc. If this is not smarana (constant remembrance),

what is it?

Injurious attitude is being perpetuated

You must have seen women carrying a number of water pots one over the other on

their heads; they may have babies on their hips, and children which they lead

along; but, all the while, their thought will be about the hearth in their

kitchens and the food that is being cooked there for they are anxious that it

should not be spoiled.

The strength-giving, peace-creating culture of Bharat has been submerged by the

flashy, glittering ideals introduced from the West during centuries of foreign

rule The attention of the people of this land is drawn from the heights, to the

lowly needs of the senses and the stomach. Even after Indians have regained the

power to shape their own future, the situation has not improved, for the same

injurious attitude is being perpetuated. The beliefs and practices of the past

are condemned as superstitions by the inheritors of that very heritage! I won't

agree with people who dismiss them as superstitions; for, they gave those who

believed and acted according to the belief, the most precious treasure of

Ananda and Shanthi. They helped to pull out the poisonous fangs of karma, fangs

which inject greed, egoism and hate.

They taught man to do karma (action) as a sacred duty and leave the result to

Gods thus avoiding two evils- the evil of pride and the evil of

frustration---pride that the act was a success, frustration when it did not

succeed. It also contributed some positive good; the karma was done well, as

well as the individual can execute it, for all karma was transformed into

worship of the Supreme. Man was saved by this emphasis of Nishkaama Karma

(Selfless action), from unending desire and inexplicable sorrow. Now like

water, man flows ever downward, and at the least disappointment, he breaks into

bits and drops.

Faith in the Divinity of man has to be restored

Once again, that attitude must be implanted in Man. He has acted the role of

clown or servant or an extra much too long; it is time he took on the role of a

Hero for which he is destined, and equipped. So like the garland maker who

selects flowers of various hues, sizes and fragrances for preparing a garland,

the Prashanthi Vidhwan Mahasabha too has selected these Pundits and prepared a

Garland. The purpose of this Sabha is to remind every one of the roles of the

Hero he has to play. Of course, I am the sustainer of the flowers, not the

garland maker! The heroism of the wise man has gone from this land; and the

weakness of the ignorant has overwhelmed the people. This has to be corrected.

Sloth has taken the place of earnestness; hesitation has halted courage. Even

in other lands, the sense of values has to be restored and faith in the

Divinity

of Man has to be restored. That is the task for which I have come.

Even the Pundits who have great scholarship have no happiness; the scriptures

that they have mastered are designed to confer peace of mind, contentment and

unshakable joy, but, the repositories of that scholarship are a very

discontented group today. They have the umbrella in their hands, no doubt, but

it does not protect them against rain or shine! So, even they have to be made

aware of the excellence of the knowledge they are carrying, and its curative

property. Know thyself---not the Sun and Moon---is the specific for man's ills.

Act up to your professed declarations

Watch the mind, just as you watch the cable through which the current flows. Do

not establish contact with the mind; it is as bad as contacting the cable.

Watch it from a distance; then only can you derive Ananda; search for the cause

of Ajnaanam (ignorance) just where it resides. Then you will find that the Mind

in association with vishaya (sense objects) is the cause. Cut it off from the

vision of vishaya and jnaana (wisdom) dawns. There was a person who proclaimed

himself a Sthithaprajna (established in super-consciousness) and an adept in

Yoga. He went into Samadhi in a trice and sent his Kundalini Shakthi (inner

cosmic energy) to the Brahmarandhra (crown of the head)! Then he got himself

buried in the riverbed; but he rose after a few days and started asking for

Cash

contributions from onlookers!

It was a descent from the sublime to the ridiculous. You must guard against

that. Be consistent; act up to your professed declarations. The members of the

Prashanthi Vidhwan Mahasabha have to share their learning and their experience

and their joy with the people, that is their elementary duty. For this, they

are not to receive any monetary benefits, for they are only doing their duty,

increasing their own joy, sharing their own enthusiasm.

I am sure this Sabha will move from victory to victory, for it is contributory

to My Work. This huge auditorium was erected, would you believe it, in 15 days!

It was all done by the Bhaktas; not a single cooly was employed. The Chitravathi

River helped a good deal, for it supplied the sand with which the place was

filled. No Government, no force of authority could have achieved this so soon;

only devotion can inspire this consistent Shraddha (firm faith). It is all the

effect of Sankalpa (Will). The Sankalpa is there and so, the Mahasabha also

will carry on its great task, unhindered.

Prashanthi Nilayam, 20-10-1963

The body is the cart and the mind is the horse that drags it. No food is given

to tile horse, which is really the more valuable of the two. Give the mind and

its culture the importance it deserves; then only is life worth living. -

Sathya Sai Baba

TO BE CONTINUED…

With Sai love from Sai brothers – ‘’

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