Sai message for the day

[Guest guest]

Swami! You seem to be very much upset and annoyed when anything goes

wrong in respect of discipline, educational standards and personality

development in general. Swami! You come down heavily upon students

when you see their slackness in coming up to your expectations and

openly reprimand the guilty in public. It is terrifying to be a

witness to this sort of a thing. I get fear-stricken when I think of

you, Swami, in that mood. How are we to reconcile ourselves to such a

situation and take it positively?

 

Sai Baba: First of all, you should know that Swami is completely

selfless. You should also note very clearly that Swami is never angry

with anyone: " God is Love, Love is God " . I pretend to be angry and

unhappy with you only to correct you. Even that apparent anger

vanishes very soon like a shower of hail. You cannot call anyone a

guru if he accepts and endorses all that you do and say. He is a guru

in the true sense of the term if he corrects you and turns you in the

right direction as your well-wisher.

 

Suppose this is a workshop. All damaged and spoiled vehicles come

here for repair. I must, if I am a mechanic, tighten bolts, nuts,

screws, etc. Similarly, I should correct your mistakes, make you free

from your faults, see that you are rid of your weaknesses and defects

and finally mould you into ideal citizens of this country. Your

mistake must be corrected immediately then and there itself, as and

when it is committed. I should be harsh enough to correct you. You

bend iron when it is hot, don't you? But, when it is not hot, no man

with all the strength of his muscles will be able to bend it. So, you

should be corrected and admonished when you go wrong immediately. If

your mistakes are pointed out in public, you don't repeat them.

 

Take a small example here. Suppose, wearing a lungi (a South Indian

informal dress, a long robe wrapped round the waist, down to the

feet), you are sweeping your room with a broom. Suddenly your friend

comes to see you. What do you do? You will put the broom aside,

change your dress and make yourself presentable to your friend. Why

do you do that? After all; you are cleaning your room. Nothing wrong

about it! You don't want to be seen in your informal dress. You want

to be dressed neatly before you meet him. You care for him. Don't

you? So also here, when I point out your mistakes in public, you will

be able to correct them forthwith and you will also be careful enough

in future not to repeat such mistakes, won't you?

 

In fact, I don't lose anything if you are spoiled. I don't gain

anything if you are good. I don't expect anything from you. I want

you to be good and get a good name to your parents, your institution,

and your country. This is not for me, but for your ultimate good.