Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

Embodiments of Love! This sloka (verse) mentions the qualities of a true devotee as taught by Lord Krishna in the Dwapara Yuga. The first quality is anapekshah (desirelessness). A devotee should not have any desires. How is it possible for man, being endowed with body, senses, mind, and intellect, to be in a state of desirelessness? He is bound to have some desire or other. On the one hand, there are desires pertaining to the senses that confer momentary joy. On the other hand, there is a desire that transcends the senses. Today man is filled with various desires.

Then what is the way to lead a desire-free life? Lord Krishna has shown the way for this. He said, “Son, there is nothing wrong in having desires, but all of them must be pleasing to God.” “Sarva karma Bhagavad preetyartham (let alt your actions be pleasing to God).” Ways to attain the state of desirelessness You should put into practice the eternal principles based on Truth and dedicate all your activities to God. Lead your life without the feeling of ‘mine and thine’ and offer everything to God. Only then can you attain the state of desirelessness. Today, man has both worldly desires as well as desires that lead to the inward path, but the number of desires that lead to the inward path pale in comparison to the number of worldly desires in him.

The second quality is suchi (cleanliness). Is it bahir suchi (outward cleanliness) or anthar suchi (inner cleanliness)? One has to develop both. Physical cleanliness alone is not sufficient; inner cleanliness is essential. Bharatiyas (Indians) are aware of this: If sambar is prepared in an uncoated vessel, it gets spoilt. Likewise, if the vessel of your heart is not coated with love, all that you do becomes unsacred. Sanctify your heart by filling it with divine love. Never entertain any unsacred or wicked feelings.

The third quality of a true devotee is determination. You should be a dhaksha (one of determination) in order to attain divine grace. Once you have taken refuge in God, never lose faith, come what may. Do not get disheartened by trials and tribulations that come your way. Be equal-minded in times of both pleasure and pain. That is true determination.

The fourth quality is udaseenatha (total detachment). You should lead a life of total detachment without entertaining the feeling of ‘l’ and ‘mine’.

The fifth quality is gathavyathaha. A true devotee is one who lives in the present without brooding over the past and worrying about the future. Past is past, forget the past. Do not worry about the future for the future is uncertain. So live in the present, it is not ordinary present. It is omnipresent. The past can be compared to a tree; similarly, the future. The present is the seed. This seed is a result of the past and the basis for the future. Therefore, one should live in the present with firm determination. Only then will success be ensured. It is only a waste of time brooding over the past since it cannot be retrieved no remedial action can be initiated. Likewise, there is no point in worrying about the future since it is not in your control. So live in the present and discharge your duties with determination.

The sixth quality is sarvarambha parithyagee. One should give up all desires and ego. Ego leads to attachment, hatred, jealousy, aggrandizement, and other vices. It is ego that is responsible for the downfall of man. One with ego cannot accomplish even a small task. An egotistic person is not respected even by his near and dear ones. Ego is the worst of all the enemies of man. Develop humility in order to get rid of ego. No amount of spiritual practices will help a man of ego in attaining tranquility and bliss.

One who possesses the above mentioned qualities is a true devotee. Only such a person is near and dear to the Lord (Yomath bhaktah samepriyaha). You should cultivate these qualities to be a deserving recipient of God's love,

All your outward actions and behavior should be a true reflection of the inward thoughts and feelings. When you say namaskaram (salutations), say so wholeheartedly. Do not give room for karam (bitter feelings) in your head. Ahamkaram (ego) is full of 'Karam'. Ahamkaram leads to aggrandizement, pomp, and show. Some people give wide publicity to each and every small act of theirs, be it worship or a spiritual practice. God wants only achar (practice), not prachar (publicity). Strive to put into practice whatever you preach and propagate. According to the Upanishads, the word manava means one with self respect. Live up to your name.

“Anudvegakaram vakyam, sathyam priya hitham Cha Yath.” He is a true man who speaks the truth in a palatable way. The culture of Bharat (India) says, Sathyam vada, dharmam chara (speak the truth and follow righteousness). It also says Sathyam Brooyath, Priyam Brooyath, Na Brooyath Sathyamapriyam (Speak the truth, speak in a pleasing manner, do not speak the truth that is unpalatable). Man attains sanctity and fulfillment in life only when he puts these teachings into practice.

As you think so you become. If you entertain bestial thoughts, you become a beast yourself. On the other hand, divine thoughts will transform you into a divine personality. On this basis, the Upanishads have declared “Brahmavid Brahmaiva Bhavathi (the one who constantly contemplates on Brahman becomes Brahman).” God is the only true friend Due to effect of the Kali Age, there is no trace of true love in man. Human heart is polluted. People, in particular the socalled friends, pretend to love, but in reality they do not have true love in their hearts. God is the only true friend. He is always with you, in you, around you, above you, below you, protecting, guiding, and guarding you. But alas! You are distancing yourself from your true friend and reposing faith in socalled friends, who may turn into foes at any point of time. This is bhrama (delusion). What is the difference between bhrama and Brahma? Viewing multiplicity in unity is bhrama and the unity in multiplicity is Brahma. One should visualize unity in multiplicity. The Vedas say,

Embodiments of love ! You may acquire worldly comforts and conveniences and earn worldly name and fame. But that is not all in all. All these are passing clouds. Do not get carried away by them. Follow the teachings of the Vedas and attain Divinity.

Practice is important, not publicity. Practice at least one of the innumerable teachings of the Vedas and share the bliss derived therefrom with one and all. This is your bounden duty. Human life is highly valuable. So, man should lead an ideal, noble and sacred life. “Sathyannasthi paro dharmaha (there is no other dharma greater than truth).” Build the mansion of your life on the foundation of truth.

The safety of the mansion depends on the strength of the foundation. Never utter a lie under any circumstances. It is an unpardonable sin to indulge in untruth. This body is gifted by God. Do not fritter away this golden opportunity by misusing it. “Deho devalayaproktho jeevo Deva sanathanaha (body is the temple and the indweller is God).” What is the difference between man and God? Vyashti (individual) is man and Samashti (collective form) is God. Man should progress from the state of vyashti to Samashti. Only then can he attain Divinity. “Easavasyamidam jagat (God pervades the entire universe).” “Easwara sarvabhoothanam (God is present in all beings).” “Ekam sath vipra bahudhavadanthi (there is only one God, but the pundits call Him by different names).” In order to understand these Vedic dicta one needs to cultivate noble qualities.

It is a disgrace to lead the life of an animal, having been born as a human being.

Ahara nidhra bhaya maithunani Samanya metath pashubirnaranam. Jnanam naranam adhikam visheshah Jnanena shuunyah pashubirsamanah."

Food, sleep, fear and procreation are common to man and animals.

Only man is endowed with wisdom; bereft of wisdom man is equal to an animal.

Animals also eat, sleep and enjoy sensual pleasures. If you do the same, how can you be called a human being? You are also an animal! The only difference lies in the number of legs, i.e. you are a dvipadha pashuvu (two legged animal) and that is a chatushpadha pashuvu (four legged animal). Having been born as human being, you should strive to become Pashupathi (God). Do not degenerate to the level of pashu (animal).

Divinity stands for the principle of oneness. You are getting deluded by differences in names and forms and are wasting your time not making any effort to understand the principle of unity. Time is God. Time wasted is life wasted. Time once lost cannot be recovered. So never waste even a moment. Cultivate divine thoughts, undertake noble deeds and lead a sacred life. Have the welfare of society, not your self-interest, uppermost in your mind. You may have self-interest, but it should be within limit. There is no one in this world who has given up self-interest altogether. But one should not waste one's life wholly in pursuit of selfishness and self-interest Make use of your education to serve society Embodiments of love! There are many students, educationists, intellectuals, and scholars in this country but how many of them are working for the nation’s progress? Only a few! Aurobindo Ghosh was working as a teacher in Calcutta. Once he told his students, “Children, you are very lucky to have been born in this sacred land. Youth is very precious. Make proper use of this golden age. You are born and brought up in society. You acquire all your knowledge and skills from society. Make use of your education to serve and support society. Your education is a mere waste if society does not benefit by it.” What a shame it is if education is used solely to earn money without serving society. Today, people adopt corrupt practices and device crooked ways to earn money. Just as the earth revolves around the sun, man goes around money. Is this the purpose of human life? No. Money is not important. “Money comes and goes. Morality comes and grows.” So cultivate morality. Educate yourself to serve society and set an ideal to the rest of the world. You receive your education from society. In turn, dedicate it for the welfare of society.

The heart that God has given you must be given back to Him as it is - pure and sacred. This is the offering that God expects. God accepts whatever you offer to Him provided you do it with pure love.

In the Krishna Tulabhara episode, Rukmini could weigh Krishna with a small tulasi leaf because her heart was filled with love. “O Lord, if it were to be true that you are pleased with any offering made with pure love, be it a leaf (patram), a flower (pushpam), a fruit (phalam) or water (toyam), may this tulasi leaf balance your weight.” So saying, Rukmini placed a tulasi leaf in the weighing pan, which balanced Krishna's weight. Here patram means body, pushpam means heart, phalam, is mind, and toyam is tears of joy. All these should be offered to God. This is the offering that God wants from you.

You do not need to spend money or strain yourself in order to make this offering. It is rather strange that you find it difficult to make such a simple offering. You are reading many sacred texts, learning many slokas (verses) by heart, but what is the use? You are not able to get rid of your shoka (misery). The only way to overcome misery is offering yourself to God.

Sage Valmiki, after having composed the epic Ramayana, convened a congregation of saints and sages and wanted to know if there was any one who would propagate the story of Rama to the people. The saints and sages expressed their inability to do so, since they lacked the physical strength on account of their advanced age.

Lava and Kusa, who were sitting at a distance and watching the proceedings, came forward and expressed their willingness to undertake the task of spreading Rama's story far and wide. They took thambura in one hand, wore garlands of rudraksha around their necks, smeared vibhuti on their foreheads, and went to each and every street singing the glory of Lord Rama. They sang, “Oh people, listen to the sacred story of Lord Rama. Let your life be His Story.” But modern youth feel shy to spread the message of the Lord. Not merely do they feel shy to participate in bhajans and to even smear vibhuti on their foreheads, some of them smear vibhuti only at home and wipe it off as soon as they step out on the street. They do not feel ashamed to do things, which they are not supposed to. Why should any one feel ashamed to participate in sacred activities and chant the divine name?

Some people feel ashamed to spread the divine glory, but do not hesitate to talk ill of others and ridicule them. They do not understand why the tongue is gifted. It is gifted to chant the divine name.

anybody for everyone is essentially divine. You all know that in the present day politics each one accuses and abuses the other. It is nothing but the result of accrued sins from past lives.

Embodiments of love! Never indulge in slander. Sanctify your lives by undertaking sacred activities. This is the true purpose of human life. Human body is gifted to serve others. The story of Rama is suffused with great ideals and noble values. Yesterday the idols of Sita, Rama, Lakshmana, and Hanuman were installed. Everyone should follow their ideals.

Even Ravana acknowledged the nobility of Rama before he breathed his last. He gave a message to the people in his last moments, “Oh people, I lost my sons, brothers, my entire clan and kingdom as I could not control my desires. Do not become slaves to the senses, like me. Follow the ideal of Rama and sanctify your lives.” Ramayana is replete with inner significance Once, the mother of Lord Rama, Kausalya, the mother of Anjaneya, and the mother of Agasthya met. Kausalya questioned them as to who they were.

Anjaneya's mother introduced herself saying, “I am the mother of the one who jumped across the ocean and went to Lanka in search of Mother Sita.” Agasthya's mother said, “I am the mother of the one who drank the entire ocean in one gulp.” On hearing this Kausalya laughed and said to them, “Your sons could accomplish such stupendous feats only because they chanted the name of my son, Rama.” Exactly at that moment Rama entered the scene and told Kausalya, “Mother, Hanuman and Agasthya could accomplish those feats due to their sincerity and devotion. Hanuman is one of peace (shanthudu), virtue (gunavanthudu), and strength (balavanthudu). Agasthya is no less.” So if you chant the Divine name you can achieve anything.

The epic Ramayana is replete with inner significance. All the ideals propagated by the Ramayana should be properly understood and put into practice by one and all. Only then will human life find fulfillment. The name and form of Rama is highly sacred. Ramayathithi Ramaha, (Rama is one who pleases everyone). So, all should emulate Him. Rama is a synonym for Atma. Hence the term Atmarama. So in essence, all are the embodiments of Rama principle.

Sarvathah Panipadham That Sarvathokshi Shiromukham Sarvathah Shruthimalloke Sarvamavrithya Thishtthathi.

God is all-pervasive. It is a great mistake to forget the allpervasive God and get immersed in mundane, ephemeral pleasures. You may not get this human birth again. So work for the redemption of your life by chanting the divine name. Offer yourself to God. That is the goal of your life.

You all have come from different places for worshipping the padukas and deriving the bliss therefrom. It is indeed a good act. It is not sufficient if you merely worship the padukas. Concentrate on them. Without concentration what is the point in worshipping padukas?

Here is a glass of water. Your thirst is quenched only when you drink water. Likewise you will be blissful only when you install the padukas in your heart. Share the bliss with one and all.

God is the embodiment of love. So you can be a recipient of His grace only when you develop love for God.