To realise God it is not necessary to have wealth, gold or other

[barney 0]

Yajnas and yagas, acts of charity and virtue, penances and

ceremonial rituals are all designed to promote purity of heart.

Purity of mind promotes purity of heart. Purity of mind is achieved

by association with noble personages and studying the writings of

saintly persons. "Chittasya suddhaye karmah"--the purpose of doing

karmas (the duly ordained duties) is to purify the consciousness.

Purity of consciousness leads to realisation of the Self. Atma Jnana

can be got only by faith. Develop faith in yourself and faith in

God. This is the secret of greatness.

 

Self-confidence today is manifest only in matters relating to

worldly achievements and selfcentered pursuits. Faith and confidence

are not in evidence in the spiritual field. Without unwavering

faith, the Divine cannot be experienced. Because of the absence of

firm faith, the formal observance of spiritual practices yields no

results.

 

The primary requisite is unqualified and unshakable faith in God.

One-pointed devotion promotes spiritual Sraddha (earnestness). The

earnest seeker gets knowledge of the Self. The earnest devotee needs

no other qualification except deep faith. He needs no other

knowledge, no title to lineage or wealth. He may belong to any caste

or community. He may be a child or even an animal like Gajendra (the

Lord of the elephants). Valimiki, Nanda, Kuchela, Dhruva, Gajendra,

Sabari, Vidura and Hanuman are examples of devotees who got God's

grace through their deep devotion, without any other special

qualification.

 

To realise God it is not necessary to have wealth, gold or other

emblems of affluence. Nor is great scholarship necessary. All that

is needed is pure, selfless devotion. Today men with selfish and

impure minds attempt to worship God. Without purity of thought,

speech and action, it is impossible to experience the Divine. God

cannot be realised through ostentation and self-conceit. The basic-

requisite is the shedding of selfishness and possessiveness so that

one can engage oneself in actions in a disinterested spirit. Any

person is entitled to embark on this quest without regard to sex,

age, caste or community.

 

– Sri Sathya Sai Baba

 

[Guest guest]

http://home.hetnet.nl/mr_2/121/ex-baba/engels/articles/morediscrepancies.html

[Guest guest]

z