Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

From the Sath has emerged all there is, The Sath permeates the whole of creation, Nothing exists without the power of Sath, Behold the glory of this eternal Sath. Tossed about on the bitter ocean of mundane existence; Going hither and hither without a rudder or a compass, If only you steady your mind for a moment The Lord of Sri will send you, Oh man, His rescue boat. The love of God is the foremost reward to be attained in human life. It is more precious than all the wealth in the world. All wealth and position are obtained by the love and grace of the Divine. The value of Bhagavath-prema (the love of God) can be realised only if the meaning of the term Bhagavan is rightly understood. Brahman, Parabrahman, Sabda are among the terms used as appellations of Bhagavan. The term Bhagavan is the sweetest of them all.

Bhagah means "the One who is repository of all Divine attributes and is uniquely worthy of adoration." Ga refers to "One who has all the excellences and who creates, sustains and reabsorbs everything." The letter Bha has two meanings: Sambhartha and Bhartha. Sambhartha means "One who is competent to make Nature the instrument of the creative process." Because He is also competent to sustain what is created, He is called Bhartha. Bha has other meanings as Shanthi (peace), light, effulgence, illumination. Ga means "all-pervasive." Van (or Vanthudu in Telugu) means "One who is capable." Hence the term Bhagavan means "the One who is capable of lighting the Divine effulgence, the illumination of wisdom, the Eternal Inner Light of the Soul." Can there be anything greater than earning the love of such an Omniscient, Omnipotent Lord? There is nothing on earth or beyond it which is equal to the Divine Love. To make all endeavours to earn that love is the whole purpose and meaning of the human existence. To lead a happy life, man needs peace of mind. The mind is like the turbulent Ganga. It has to be restrained by the use of brakes, as in a fast-moving vehicle. Dhyana (meditation) is the brake devised for the control of the mind. Dhyana means one-pointed concentration. All the diseases which afflict man are the result of agitation in the mind. The enormous growth of disease in the world today is due to the loss of peace of mind. To get rid of illness and to lead a calm, healthy life, man has to cultivate mental peace. Man's mind has three kinds of capabilities. One is Anekagratha (a wandering mind). Another is Soonyatha (vacancy, emptiness). The third is Ekagratha (single-pointed concentration). What is Soonyatha? It is the state in which the mind goes to sleep when something edifying is being said. The mind is unresponsive to what is good and beneficial. Such a state of mind is called Tamasic. It is the blindness of ignorance. Anekagratha (the wandering mind) is an equally undesirable mental state. It also degrades man.

Then there is one-pointed concentration of mind. This is what everyone needs most today. To develop powers of concentration, sports and games are very essential. They serve to promote physical fitness and mental health. Games and sports are to be practised mainly for keeping the body in good trim. Unfortunately, today the spirit of commercialism is rampant even in the fields of sports and entertainment. When the idea of making money is predominant, concern for health recedes to the background. Sports and the fine arts have become commercial arts and are not practised for the sake of health or enjoyment. "Art" has come from "heart," but today the heart has been divorced from the arts. The spiritual basis of the latter has been ignored. What the students need today are two things: The Spirit of Sacrifice; devotion to God; love of the Motherland. Because people are filled with pride, selfishness and self-interest, they are ceasing to be human. It is supremely important that the qualities of devotion to God, patriotism and selfsacrifice should be developed among the people. For this, the first requisite is the elimination of "my" and "mine." The readiness to sacrifice one's pleasure and comforts for the sake of the nation should be promoted among the students. When there are many high-minded, spirituallyoriented students, the nation will achieve peace and security.

Education should be for acquiring knowledge and for facing the challenges of life, not merely for getting a job. Students should not become servile seekers of posts in Government. They should have faith in God and bow their heads only to the Divine. They must be prepared always to make any sacrifice for God and country. Demonic forces have gained strength because the people have lost their faith in the power of God and Dharma (righteousness). Students should develop selfreliance and self-confidence.

They have to adhere to basic qualities such as truth, righteousness, forbearance and self-sacrifice, which are common to all people without regard to nationality, creed or language. They must cultivate a broad outlook, based on the fact that the Divine is present in everyone. There is nothing which they cannot accomplish if they have faith in God and earn God's grace.