SWAMI'S LETTERS TO DEVOTEES AND STUDENTS

[Guest guest]

Om Sri Sai Ram

SWAMI’S LETTERS TO DEVOTEES AND STUDENTS

AN ELDERLY WOMAN

An elderly woman grieving her

husband's passing received a surprise letter of comfort from Bhagawan,

expressing:

Wedding binds two persons

together as husband and wife. What were they to each other minutes before? The

one would not have worried for the other if the wedding had not happened!

Where were the son, and the

brother before they were conceived and born? Life is an interlude between what

was and what will be. This interlude should be used not to lament over what

cannot be helped or set right, but to seek God, see Him and take refuge in Him.

Your husband lived such a life in the light of Truth he had glimpsed. He did no

wrong to anyone; he loved and served the suffering and the illiterate. He

salvaged many families from penury and infamy. He helped many young people to

go through college. Many sick persons were saved by his timely donations. He

was ever cheerful and spread cheer wherever he went. And, at last, God willed

that he cast away the body that limited him. Of what profit is it now to

calculate what might have happened, had he not gone to Madras that day?

Your duty from now on is to

sustain the fame he earned, to follow the ideals he had placed before himself.

Your husband is here, in MY presence now, and he will be there forever as he

had wished to be when alive. Swami will not allow him to be separated from the

Presence. He is now free from bonds and boundaries.

You are indeed fortunate that

destiny drew you to him and gave you so many years of loving companionship with

such a fine person. His thoughts were pure; there was no blemish of envy,

hatred, or greed in him. So his place is with Me, forever. I am writing this

letter to you in order to shower on you the cool rain of love. That rain will

scotch the flames of grief that are now raging in you. Your husband is at

Prasanthi Nilayam, in the presence of Sairam, having attained that climax by

his spiritual attainments.

Baba

*****

LOVE HAS NO DISTANCE

During Bhagawan’s absence from

Prasanthi Nilayam in earlier years, He used to send letters to be read out loud

for all the residents; to bring them joy and make them aware that He was

thinking of them, and knew of their whereabouts—no matter the distance between:

 

Blessings to all at the Mandir!

 

Tell them to fulfill the duties

assigned and carry out the responsibilities fixed. The daily schedule of Pooja,

Dhyana, Bhajan, Sankeertan and study should be followed punctually and with

faithful devotion. People should move along with others with love and

reverence. Of what benefit is Sadhana if it is done without controlling

jealousy, envy, pride, anger, and malice?

However long you may live in

the Ashram, these vices will yet undermine whatever merit you acquire. The

proof of the rain is the wetness of the ground. The proof of Sadhana is the

subjugation of the senses. Give up irrelevant and impertinent talks and

activity; cultivate self-examination, self-discovery; develop the inner eye,

the inner discipline. Make the best of this chance acquired as a result of the

good done many previous lives. Of course, Swami's Sadhana

Baba

*****

DISCLOSING HIS OMNISCIENCE AND DIVINE QUALITIES:

DEAR CHILD VEERBHADRAM

Dear child Veerbhadram!

You are Badhram (meaning:

happy, full of confidence and joy). Aren't you? You might answer, "What

kind of bhadram is this?" Of course, that answer is natural.

When life flows clear and

smooth with no hurdles to cross, to feel that it is all because of one's own

choice and to forget God, and when that flow encounters obstacles and

obstructions at every turn, to lament and lose heart—are these not signs of the

intellectual frailty inherent in man? You, too, are human, dear Bhadram;

therefore, it is no wonder that you are overcome by depression and despair when

troubles bother you at every step.

Bangaroo! Man only is the

target of trouble; trees are not. Even when they are, they have no capacity to

express how deep they are hurt.

And though the life of man is

basically a manifestation of Immortality and an unbroken stream of Ananda, he

strays away from the awareness of the Atman, the spring of that Ananda,

slavishly yielding to the ravishing tactics of the mind, the reason, and the

vagaries of the ego. Sinking and floating, rising and falling on the turbid waves

of the sea of delusion, he is tossed between anxiety and calm, grief and joy,

pain and pleasure. He is afflicted with the evanescence of the world and the

unreality of his plans and passions.

Why are you confound and

confused by this false panorama? Remember, you are thereby despising and

denying your own Atmic identity. You have stored in your brain the Vedas, the

Sastras, the Puranas, the Ithihasas and the Upanishads, but you behave like

dull boor; you bewail your lot and weep at your plight, as it is not worthy of

the learning you have accumulated. You have to draw strength and courage

therefrom and further the blossoming of holy, heartening thoughts.

Should this one single

trouble—want of money—make you stoop in weakness and fear? You have with you, and

you know its efficacy, the Name, which is Dhanvanthari for the ills and

anxieties of man. Instead of letting the name dance merrily on the tongue, why

are you paying attention to what you call 'loss,' 'grief,' and 'worry'?

You are the repository of so

many branches of scriptural scholarship; but you have neither realized their

value nor attempted to experience the joy they can give you. This must be your

goal. On the other hand, you are spending your days contentedly and with vast

self-satisfaction, as if the biggest purpose to which you can devote your

learning is exhibiting it in speech and demonstrating it in outer behavior. The

result is, you are led into the baseless belief that you are being 'attacked'

by anxieties and adversities.

Really speaking, these are all

objective phenomena, passing clouds that are but a feature of the external

nature. The Ananda that the Atma can confer on you cannot be lessened or

hindered in the least. Have faith in this Truth. Don't you know, Bangaroo, the

freedom, the delight and the peace that you can derive by the contemplation of

the Ananda that the unbroken awareness of the Atma can endow you with! Then,

though mountains roll on your head, do not get attached with, or affected by,

happenings in the objective world.

To preach to others is quite

easy; but it is extremely difficult to put even a fraction of what is preached

into actual practice and experience the felicity promised. You have been

announcing in ringing tones that Swami knows everything; Swami is the Unitive

Embodiment of all the names and forms by which man has adored God down the

millennia. But you forget to establish its truth in your life, which problems

overwhelm you.

Don't I know? The other day,

when you were reduced to plead with your father for help and when you were

about to proceed to where he resides, your wife suggested, "We shall write

to Swami about our troubles and losses," let me ask, why you told her,

"I won't allow this; you should not write." May I tell you the reason?

You thought she might inform me various other details! Don't I know? Can I know

if she writes to me? Foolish Bangaroo!

Don't I know that you went to

Ramachandrapuram, proposing to give a series of talks on the [bhagavad] Gita

and returning with a minus balance? The 'Gita discourse' did not receive the

response you expected, since your talk was pervaded and polluted by the

Burrakatha style that has struck roots in you since long. It cannot easily be

overcome. Bear with it patiently and by steady effort, get rid of this tendency.

If you desire that your Gita talks should be appreciated, some improvements are

called for. Without effecting them, why do you moan, be gloomy and dejected,

blaming your scholarship and your experience as mere useless loads?

Well, for me, who is fostering

all these worlds, fostering you and your family is no burden. I am giving you

these series of troubles, in order to teach you some lessons. "Study is

not all important. Practicing what you have learnt is very necessary." My

purpose is to bring to your notice this facet of the process of learning.

Let me tell you this. He who

but plants a sapling cannot but water it; if he had no will to water it, he

wouldn't have planted it. This is the identifying principle of the Atma and the

Jiva, the Universal and the Individual, God and man. You had written and

published that the name of Swami is dancing in home after home, that Swami's

Form is being adored in home after home. And for this little vision, you were

filled with Ananda. No, it is not every home only; the Sai Name will arouse

ecstatic delight filling the entire world, nay, every inch of it. People sing

now, "All is Sai-full, this world is Baba-full." This fullness will

be realized, without doubt. Be bold; be in bliss; take up the burden of the

duties assigned to you. Seek the realization of the four goals of man-justice,

prosperity, righteous desire, and liberation from bondage.

When you resolve to progress on

these lines the Lord of Parthi (Sai Ram) will Himself be available to you as

the God who will lift you and liberate you. Therefore, Bangaroo, seek and gain

your own motivating principle, I will never give you up. I will forget you, no

never.

You have been maligning the

rich; give up this erroneous habit. Not only the rich; you should not dishonor

anyone in any manner in any measure. Remember, Sai resides in all men; so

maligning any person involves the maligning of Sai Himself. If they are bloated

in their ego, they will suffer. How can it affect you? Convey my blessings to

your wife and children.

I have written this long letter

out of the compassion and love I bear towards you. I have not written this out

of anger or a sense of hurt. Be ever in joy; be ever intent on practice and

experience.

The Resident of your Heart,

Sai

*****

SELECTIONS FROM LETTERS WRITTEN TO STUDENTS OF THE BRINDAVAN

CAMPUS:

1 DEC 1971

I suppose all the hostel boys

are happy? Is the discipline being properly maintained? Exercise some control

in regard to your thoughts, words and actions and understand and carry out

SAI's command, work hard and study with interest. Do not let down your parents

and their hopes and expectations but strive to make them happy. Studying in

SAI's college, staying in SAI's nilayam and being frequently in SAI's company,

you should feel SAI's presence everywhere. It is only when you understand and

assimilate SAI's ideals of living that SAI's Grace is showered on you.

In my presence you display

utmost obedience and reverence, but in my physical absence, you indulge in

careless and vulgar actions. You may think that they are for your good but the

truth is not hidden from Me. Understand that SAI is present (resides) in your heart; it

is SAI's wishes and not yours. That should be materialized in your actions, it

is understood that you don't believe that SAI resides in your heart.

SAI is your Thaai, Maai, Aayi.

So, do not give place to any ill feelings but conduct yourselves towards one

another as brothers do.

Convey my blessings to all

Baba

The secret of

perfect health lies in keeping the mind always cheerful never worried and never

hurried.

Baba

*****

JANUARY 1972

SANKRANTHI

Dear Boys,

How are you all? Are you

pursuing the same old habits or has there been any change? Has there been any

acquisition of noble ideas and ideals? In winnowing, the dry outer coverings

are removed from the grain. Similarly, you should also separate and isolate the

seeds of bad thoughts and emotions from the good and healthy ones. Let not the

seeds of bad thought sprout anywhere near you. At least from this Sankranthi

day onwards, live up to the word you've given to Swami and walk along the

flowery path shown by SAI. Receive in full SAI's Grace and Love. Lead your life

with good thoughts, good inclinations and good ideals. Strive to attain the

fruits of your studies. SAI is your 'Hridayasthaayi'. SAI is the One who grants

your wishes. It is this SAI, who is your Thaai: SAI MOTHER.

Blessings

to All,

Swami

*****

11 JULY 1972

To All Hostel Boys!

How are you? You are very happy

because I am not there. No, no, I am here, there and everywhere. Swami is Love.

Love is Swami. Therefore, Love is there. There are two kinds of love. One is

called Personal love and the other is called Impersonal. Personal love relates

to the physical part of the being and Impersonal to the spiritual part. Life is

intended to practice Impersonal love, because this Love is revealed in your

heart and then you realize wonderful universal truth, spirit or existence,

which is called God.

To devote yourself to Swamiji

in order to realize Him means shedding your individual sense and knowing that

you are Universal Truth and spirit. This is possible only when you transcend

the individual sense or the ego sense in you. The ego sense is the cause of

your unhappiness, bondage and misery in the world.

'SAI KRISHNA'

through Geetha has asked you to surrender yourself to the Divine completely and

be free from the ego sense. When the ego sense is eliminated you shall have the

universal vision and based upon that vision you love all alike. God is love and

He dwells in love. In one who dwells in God, God dwells in him. God as love is

dwelling in your hearts and therefore, the Kingdom of Heaven is within you. When you realize this truth in the freshness

and beauty of the Immortal Spirit. Let thy life sing with the music of love.

With Blessings,

Baba

*****

17 JULY 1972

 

Dears!

Little knowledge is a dangerous

thing making one conceited, it causes his downfall. Ego is the root cause of

all troubles.

Realizing is resting. Laziness

is rusting. Is it not the truth? Surrender of the disciple and blessings of the

Swamiji (God) smoothens the path of self-realization. Life without Swamiji is

like a boat without a rudder. Churning the mind with self-inquiry gives the

cream of Knowledge. Love is the manifestation of self-illumined. Like water in

a reversed pot, the spiritual knowledge does not enter the mind pot. Man's

heart is the temple of the Divine. Don't inflame it with ideas of mine and

thine.

"Time lost is life

lost". Doing one's duty however small, in an unattached manner gives rise

to the awakening of self-awareness. Ego is limiting and pushing one into

darkness. Truth is a flame of life, trying to reach the peak of attainment! The

angry do not go to hell but inflame hell fire wherever they are. Water does not

stay in the basket. Wisdom does not stay in the mind passionate. Mind is like a

dog, wanders without any objective...

This is My Love

With Blessings,

Baba

*****

LETTER WRITTEN TO A DEVOTEE FROM

THE U.S.A

You as body, mind or soul are a

dream but what you really are is Existence, Knowledge, Bliss. You are the God

of the Universe. You are creating the whole universe and drawing it in. To gain

the infinite universal individuality, the miserable little prison individuality

must go. Bhakti is no crying or any negative condition. It is the seeing of all

in all we see.

It is the heart that reaches

the goal; follow the heart.

A pure heart seeks beyond the

intellect. It gets inspired. Whatever we do reacts upon us, if we do good, we

shall have happiness and if evil, unhappiness. Within you is the mighty ocean

of nectar divine. Seek it within you, feel it, free it, it is here the Self, it

is not the body, the mind, the intellect, the brain, it is not the desire of

the desiring, it is not the object of desire.

Above all, there you are. All

these are simply manifestations. You appear as the smiling flower, as the

twinkling star. What is there in the world, which make you desire anything?

With Blessings and Love,

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

*****

1 JANUARY 1974

Dear Boys!

Wish you a happy and peaceful

New Year. What is the happiest day in your life? All are happy days to a person

of true knowledge. Happiness is an internal conscious experience, which comes

as an effect of the extinction of mental or physical desire. The lesser the desire,

the greater is the happiness, so that perfect happiness consists in the

destruction or satisfaction of all desires in the Absolute Being. Life is an

experience meant to train the individual for a higher, deeper and more expanded

state of existence through the experience of the results of action. The aim of

everybody's life is the attainment of complete perfection in the spiritual

absolute.

Prema is not an illusion. It is

a reality and actuality for those who have realized oneness in life.

What is man's dearest

possession apart from his life; one's dearest possession is one's own true Self

and there is no permanently dear thing apart from that.

God is great, all others are

mere dusts.

God only is real and great.

Everything else is unreal and valueless. I go further and say that God only

exists and there is nothing second to SAI (God).

With Blessings,

Baba

*****

SHANKARANTHI 1974

Dear Boys,

Let every human being remake

himself. Let us understand that we live not for money making, not for fulfilling

our wants, not for scholarly and intellectual pursuits, but for spiritual

development. Effects of karma's of the past have to be effaced with karma's

backed by PREMA.

Every karma must have a

background of PREMA.

It is only in this world that

spiritual progress can be made. Annihilation of ego and dissolution of desires

can be made here and now. Conquer desires, the little 'I' feeling, Vaasanas,

vikaras, raga and dwesha. All these have built this world of appearances and

illusions.

Fill the heart with the LIGHT

of PREMA so that the evil qualities of hate, greed and conceit find no place

therein.

In winnowing, the dry outer

coverings are separated from the grain. So too, you should separate the bad

thoughts and emotions from the good and healthy ones. From this Sankraanthi Day

onwards, walk along the FLOWERY PATH shown by SAI.

Receive in full SAI's Grace and

Love. SAI is your Hridaya Sthaayi. SAI is the ONE who BLESSES your life with

PEACE. SAI is the ONE who grants your wishes.

IT IS THIS SAI, WHO IS YOUR THAAYI (Mother).

With Blessings and Love,

Baba

*****

5 AUGUST 1974

JANMASHTAMI SANDESH

Dear Boys!

Accept My Blessings and Love.

In the world today so full of people who are selfish, unloving and unloved,

this brand, this kind of atheism is almost a religion.

What is the SELF? It is the

Self that says 'Not I' for if it says so, then it is unreal self, since the

real Self has no thought of itself. The real Self is the selfless self, the

self that has no thought either of or for itself.

It is the Self that has

forgotten itself because somehow it remembers itself only in others. It is the

Self that seeks the truth without a thought of self because truth is selfless

wisdom. It is the Self that is quiet because quietness is the cessation of self

through the wordlessness of the mind. It is the Self in wordless meditation,

because wordless meditation is the stopping of the mind through union with the

Divine. It is the Self that does not judge, does not evaluate, does not

compare, does not condemn, does not separate, does not seek security of any

kind, and does not seek even itself.

It is the Self that has

completely abolished itself and yet in a strange and mystical fashion is never

more complete, never more real, never more itself than it has ever been. This

is the real Self.

God is Love, Love is

Selflessness. Selflessness is the abolition of all sense of selfhood and

separativeness, all thoughts of you, all identification with the isolative life

of the counterfeit being called self. Self is separativeness. Separativeness is

the denial of wholeness. Wholeness is God. The denial of God is Godlessness,

God privation, atheism. Atheism therefore as now understood, is not the denial

of this or that religion, or the denial of this or that concept of God. It is

rather the denial of a life of love, which is the nature of God. It is the

assertion of the life of self, which is negation of the being of God. In short,

real atheism is the denial of love, the assertion of selfishness.

The process of God-ward called

self-sacrifice is in its most real essence, love. For, God is love and love

alone can lead to Him. As the most God-full act is the act of love, so the most

God-less act is the act of non-love or hate. But hate, which is separativeness,

can arise only when there is selfishness or self-fullness. Thus it comes to

pass that the most Godless, loveless act is the act of selfishness or

self-fullness.

Love must be completely

selfless to be God-ward, to be Divine. Its creation must be the beloved first,

its technique must be your happiness not mine. This way to happiness is the

forgetting of oneself and the remembering of God (Sai Krishna).

Whatever we do reacts upon us.

If we do good, we shall have happiness and if evil, unhappiness. Within you is

the real happiness, within you is the mighty ocean of the nectar Divine. Seek

it within you, feel it, feel it. It is here, the Self; it is not the body, the

mind, the intellect, the brain. iI is not the desire nor the desiring. It is

not the object of the desire. Above all, these you are. All these are simply

manifestations. You appear as the smiling flower, as the twinkling stars. What

is there in this world, which can make you desire anything?

It is the pure heart that

reaches the goal. Follow the heart. A pure heart seeks beyond the intellect. It

gets inspired.

With Blessings,

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

*****

BOYS

Through the awareness of the

Divine alone can we really bring true peace to the world. There is no doubt

that considerable effort is being made by great leaders of the world in the

material plane to bring about peace and harmony. But Sai does not see any sign

of their success.

The only way left is for us to

turn our mind within ourselves and find out the true and everlasting basis, the

supreme source, from which alone can we get true happiness and peace in the

world. The basis is GOD, who is in fact dwelling in the hearts of everyone of

us. He is the Universal Spirit.

Every one of us is the very

embodiment of Divinity. Your true being is Sath-Chit-Ananda, representing

Existence-Consciousness-Bliss. You have forgotten this truth. Remember it now,

and take the holy and powerful name of the Reality until your mind disappears

and you stand revealed as Truth itself, and enjoy, as Sai has been enjoying,

the Eternal Bliss which never exhausts itself.

With Blessings,

Baba

*****

MY DEARS,

The time will come when the

whole of this dream will vanish. To everyone of us there must come a time when

the whole universe will be found to have been a mere dream, when we shall find

that the soul is infinitely better than its surroundings. In this struggle

through we call environments, there will come a time when we shall find that

these environment were almost zero in comparison with the power of the soul. It

is only a question of time, and time is nothing in the infinite. It is a drop

in the ocean. We can afford to wait and be calm.

With Blessings,

(Baba) Sri Sathya Sai Baba

*****

YOU IN ME AND I IN YOU

The bird with you, the wings with Me;

The foot with you, the way with Me;

The eye with you, the form with Me;

The thing with you, the dream with Me;

The world with you, the heaven with Me;

So are we free, so are we bound;

So we begin and so we end;

You in Me and I

in you.

-Baba.

*****

My Dear Boys!

Accept my Love and Blessing. I

received all your letters. Give all that is yours to Sai Krishna lovingly. Like

the fool who squanders his life’s boon, you, too, can receive Bliss from above

and still look for the sun at high noon. Give all yours to Sai and merge with

Him, just like a moth that flies into the flame. Then you will surmount all

problems. He is reality. Life is a false game. My Boys! Be Happy and study

well. Your Sai is always with you and around you.

Love,

Baba.

19.9.1977

*****

NEW YEAR MESSAGE

1.1.80

Convey My New Year Blessing to

all boys. Tell them that they should study well and pass their examinations in

the First Class. They also lead an ideal and worthy life by implicitly

following Swami’s Commands and cultivating high and noble thoughts. They should

shape themselves into boys having good qualities, good behavior and a pure

mind.

If they nurture such sacred

ideas at a young age they will stand in good stead both in youth and in old

age. Such sacred ideas will remain with them throughout their lives and express

themselves in all actions. Also tell them that they should avoid excessive talk

and should give no opportunity to go out of their way to establish unnecessary

contacts with each other. Instead, they should fulfill the purpose for which

they have come and follow the ideals of Sai.

Ultimately, this is what will

remain. This alone will take them to the goal and shower Grace. No one is

related or attached to the other.

The only true and permanent

relationship is with Sai and all other attachment is merely worldly and false.

This truth must fill their heart to the brim and continue to ring within

forever.

Sai.

*****

5.2.1980

Tell the boys to study hard and

write the exams well. The opportunity, which they are getting, is indeed a

great boon, which even Devas aspire for. Once this great opportunity slips

away, it is lost forever and this atmosphere can never be regained. The Avatar

will soon be recognised by one and all and the entire world will come to His

feet and turn towards the spiritual path. Make the best use of your time now so

that you do not repent unnecessarily later. What is the use of all your studies

if you cannot grasp the real Vidya.

Convey My Love and Blessings to

all the boys and tell them to be disciplined. This opportunity would never come

again and ask them to make best use of it. Even countless births would not get

them back this opportunity.

Baba

*****

28.2.1980

Accept my Love and Blessings.

What is morality in the hands of a philosopher? A good deal depends on the

definition of the morality especially in the hands of a philosopher. If he

looks upon morality as only a convenience imposed by common consent by the

people on themselves, the philosopher would presumably attach very little

importance to moral issues arising in that connection. If on the other hand,

his views lead him to look upon morality as something more than a convenience

of life, as having a basis more fundamental and rooted in eternal verities,

then naturally the importance of morality to him would be very great. It is

purely a question of definition and attitude. My Love and Blessings to all.

Baba

*****

7.3.1980

How are all of you? Truth is

that which does not hold anyone in dissatisfaction but elevates one to more

genuine form of happiness, until its Absolute state is reached. It is not

contradicted by any other experience and does not point to the existence of any

thing better or higher than it. That which never changes and is unrestricted by

anything is Truth.

Physical Science is objective

and cannot lead to the Absolute Truth, but Spiritual Science or Brahma Vidya

can lead to the Absolute Truth. GOD alone is Truth, all others are mere dust.

Do you agree? Yes, GOD alone is real and great; everything else is unreal and

valueless. There is nothing second to GOD. Live in GOD.

My Love to all.

Baba.

*****

Love and Blessings to all. Tell the boys to maintain

silence, be disciplined and study hard and do well in the exams to please

Swami.

In this age of Kali, when the evil force are rampant and

destroying all good people, when even the devotees of GOD are going down to

these bad evils, the name of GOD alone can save anyone. Tell everyone to take

this “Sai†Mantra and live with it throughout their lives. It is the name that

will guide and save.

Many devotees have come here and I am busy with the

constructions going on; hence I could not write anything to the boys. Give them

My Love and Blessings.

Baba.

*****

10.3.1980

These days we are unfortunately

witnessing before our own eyes all the evils of the Kali age being very freely

practiced by men and women everywhere, thus inviting the consequent inevitable

sufferings upon themselves and others. To counteract the evil forces that are

gaining ground, the only way prescribed is the chanting of Sai’s name, the

glory of which has been extolled again and again. All devotees and well wishers

of humanity should now wholeheartedly take to the chanting of the name of Sai

(their Mantra) for longer hours daily with faith and devotion and thus

contribute their mite towards bringing in peace and happiness, in this present

day world of strife, turmoil and unhappiness.

My Blessings to all

With love,

Baba

13.3.1980

*****

 

 

Accept My Blessings. On this

1st day of January, Blessings to you for a long, healthy, happy, peaceful,

comfortable life with the experience of spiritual bliss. All of you should grow

into ideal persons. New Year Blessings and drops of Love. All the boys must

study well and cultivate discipline, humility and obedience. A life devoid of

Divine Grace is verily no life at all.

A birth wherein the Love of GOD

is not secured is really no birth at all. Therefore, take to the path of

spirituality, undertake the necessary Sadhana and become worthy recipients of

Sai’s Love and Grace. Education merely for living is like chaff without the

grain. This is also not education in the true sense of the term. Practice Sai’s

ideals and experience Atmaananda. Love and Blessings to all.

With

Love,

Baba.

1.1.1981

*****

My beloved teachers and boys!

Accept My Love and Blessings.

In this world of change, we meet with various vicissitudes of life, both

pleasant and unpleasant. We are afflicted with disease, both mental and

physical. The body is stricken with diseases and the mind with worries. In this

state of our unhappiness, turmoil and misery, there is only one way and that is

to take refuge in Sai.

Sai alone can remove these

difficulties and disease and bring us to health, peace and prosperity. He who

has got Sai’s name on his lip is a Jeevan Muktha, because continuous

remembrance of Sai eliminates the ego sense and grants him the realisation of

his immortal, changeless Self. The name is a link between the devotee and Sai.

It brings the devotee face to face with Sai enables him to attain knowledge of

his oneness with Sai.

With love,

Your Sai, your Own Sai, (Sri Sathya Sai).

29.3.1981 (Telugu New Year Blessings)

*****

Students!

Accept My Blessings. Because I am now immersed in activities

that do not allow a moment’s break, I do not have the opportunity to talk to

you all directly.

Sai is always with each of you

wherever you are. Be assured. The problems of the country can be solved only

when the special role of education is recognised and efforts made to realise

it. On you, the students, and efforts made to realise it. On you, the students,

depends the progress or decline of the country. You are the builders of future

India. You are the roots of the tree, the basement of the building. You have to

journey longer than the others. So it is not enough if you pour over plenty of

books. You must equip yourselves to be the guardians of the society and the

pillars of the nation. You must fill your consciousness with a sense of

responsibility. You have to revive the culture of Bharath.

Discipline and sense of duty

has to bloom in you. Do not struggle only for “Marks†but try to avoid “Remarkâ€

on your conduct. You must act as a support of peace in the country and must

not, like the uneducated, lose control of yourselves and take part in

anti-social activities and destructive incidents. You must shape yourselves as

Divine Messengers of the ideals of intelligent service that is the hallmark of

a good citizen. For, the purpose of education is the transformation of all

aspects of life into full strength and joy.

It is not the provision of

begging bowls to the youth, and calling them degrees. Jobs are not so

fundamental; inner joy is the important gain. Suyoga is more important than

udyoga (Employment). From the menial to the minister, the current cry is for

jobs. Udyoga really means ‘ Higher Yoga’ and it is available to everyone at all

times. Education must confer humility; it must transform, moral, mental and

spiritual fields and purify thought, word and deed. The educated must gladden

the heart of the parents; when that is done, it bears fruit.

Education is fir life; not for

earning a living, remember. May you all be earnest and skilled builders of a

happy and prosperous country. May all of you contribute to the establishment of

Ananda in all hearts.

Sai is always with you. Be

Happy with Sai’s Love.

With Love and Blessings

Baba

10.3.1988

*****

I am not the

body - a mass of flesh, bones and blood.

I am not the

mind – a bundle of wasteful desires, manifest and unmanifest.

I am not the

feeling - of infatuation that obstructs the way to liberation;

I am that

Eternal Paramathman, who is aware of the power that I Am.

Students!

 

Accept My Blessings. Received your letters full of fragrant flower of

information and prayerful salutations. They have caused this nice letter to be

sent to you. This letter is giving joy to Sai and bringing Sai to you.

The need of the hour is not to

picture life as garden of happiness and romantic love, but to hold it out as a

battlefield meant to be lived as an ideal of heroism and courage. In the

present circumstances, a play with words would be of no use at all. By obtaining

mere degrees, we can make neither your motherland glow with glory nor can you

blossom forth yourselves.

Seeking Truth, you should

transform yourselves into great devotees, lovers of GOD and be ready for any

supreme sacrifice including laying down life itself. Bidding goodbye to all

selfishness and Self-interest, making Divine Love as the bow and Wisdom as the

arrow, you should forth as heroic students, placing your faith in the

transcendental Truth and GOD.

You should know that you are

born to achieve great and stupendous tasks in life. You are the children of

GOD. Heroes in action, great soldiers in the age of Kali, full of compassion

and Divine Love and resolved to make Divinity resound with success in the

world.

This is not the time for rest

and sleep. The future emergence of a glorious new Bharath is dependent upon

you. the mother is awaiting your arrival on the scene. If the morality of

Bharath is destroyed, the world will sink into utter ruin. If the spirituality

of a Bharath suffers and setback, it will be to the determent to the rest of

the world. The unity and the integrity of the nation would suffer a setback.

The morality of Bharath is its sweet experience of Divine Love. the love for

GOD should saturate and flow as the very life-blood.

Hearts should fill and overflow

with waves of idealism. Do not become slaves of external life and education and

destroy the small saplings of spirituality in your heart light the lamps of

Truth and dispel all weakness in your heart. you are messengers of GOD and not

servants of the Lord of Death. Establish the Kingdom of devotion. Earn the love

of GOD. Develop spiritual knowledge along with worldly education. Love based on

gunas suffers modifications. Make that transcendental Love as your own goal in

the life.

Do not become slaves of low

desires and feelings. Make spirituality as your dwelling place. Every object in

creation is transient. It is only the Bliss of Atma, which is inexhaustible.

Strive to attain it. Only through Love of GOD can you attain such bliss and

develop it into full fruition. The inner significance of ‘Krishna Tulaa Bhaara’

is to show that all the wealth of the world, with all its gold and diamonds,

cannot match GOD.

It is only Divine Love, which

is equal to Him. Foster such devotion in your hearts. Most of you have not

understood the principles that Swami embodies, nor can you comprehend.

Understand Sai’s Love. You cannot trace any selfishness in any corner of Sai.

Whatever He does, is for your sake. There is nothing in the world, which Sai needs.

Camphor is white

as also the celestial cow,

Stars are white

and also the wings of a swan,

And so is the

sweet smile of beautiful Sai,

Sweeter than

sweet juice of sugarcane or

Even the wine,

is the love of Sai.

The Love of Sai

is more soothing and comforting than the sight of a beautiful flower or the

sweet smile of an innocent child.

Sai’s word can

confer all joy, happiness and prosperity on the world

Sai’s look can

shower the delight of the rain of the paarijaatha flower

Sai’s Hand can

confer the comfort of a loving mother’s hand.

This alone is

for your joy and welfare - the conferer of Love.

I expect from you only one

thing, that you should transform yourselves into ideal children full of Bliss,

the very embodiments of Atma, proving all this to the world by your behavior

and conduct in life. That alone is True Education. All other types of education

are only its limbs and parts.

What happiness did the Demon

Somakasura enjoy, stealing the sacred scriptures and abusing Hari? What did the

ten-headed Ravana carry with him, seeking the wife of another person? By how

much did Duryodana gain by denying even an inch of space to Pandavas? Could

Kamsa, who vengefully and watchfully killed the innocent children of his

sister, save himself from death?

Even today that would be the

fate of people, who are opposed to Dharma. What more can I convey to you?

Recognising his Truth, carefully follow the proper path and conduct yourselves

accordingly.

Sai,

The Resident of your heart.

23.9.1988

*****