Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

Time is fleeting away as if it is being blown by a strong wind. So also, the life span of each one is melt-ing away like a block of ice. However, man is simply moving forward without recognising his duties. Is this the destination of man? Is this the ambition of man? Is this all that he is going to fulfil in his life? Having been born in this sacred country of Bharath, having attained a human birth which is not easily attainable, is man going to spend his life in this manner?

To dream is just a play of one’s own mind. To be awake is again a manifestation of one’s own mind. Both these things are untrue. Man, unable to recognise this truth, mistakes truth for untruth and untruth for truth. Truly, this human body is one of ananda and bliss and has been given to us in order that we may have the vision of the Paramatma. The main task of man is to recognise the secret and the truth behind life. We are wasting our time like a man does when he cuts out sandal wood for burning and using it as coal. With a golden pot, we are trying to cook something which is very inferior. The body that has been given to us for the search of truth is being used for inferior objectives. Truly, we have to search for and find a precious stone in dust. A precious stone cannot be found on the top of a tree. In the same manner, the pearls of wisdom can be found only by searching for them in the human body which is just dust. Dust thou the art and to dust thou shalt return.

In this world of unrest, if we want to establish peace, we have to purify our own minds. People talk words of peace but in action they show violence. They hold an atom bomb in their hands and they keep on loudly proclaiming the need for peace. Even if you reach the moon, you are not going to have peace and happiness. In such a restless world, instead of having total devotion to God, we are trying to establish further restlessness.

All my hopes are resting on the youth. The youth of today are the future citizens and will be responsible for the well-being of Bharath. The good or bad of a country depends upon the youth.

These thirty days, you have been living in Brindavan and spending your time in a heavenly man-ner. We are thinking that the Summer Classes have come to an end today. But our Summer Classes do not come to an end on any day. Till today, you have lived in Brindavan and you have experienced joy in Brindavan. But from today, you must make Brindavan live in your heart. Till today, you have been sitting in the auditorium. From today you must take all the people and all that you have learnt in the auditorium into your heart. If you can promote such an attitude in you, there will be no room for differences amongst yourselves.

Any individual, who is completely healthy, will not want to go to a doctor. A person who is healthy and who knows that he is well will not want to have a checkup by a medical doctor. Only when one has ill health, he will go to a doctor and ask several questions about his health. Unless there is some fault in a man, he will not want to meet another individual. If today all of you have come here, it means that in each of you there is some fault. You want to get rid of those faults and acquire peace of mind. You have come here to shed your mean ideas and your impermanent thoughts and carry with you the permanent truth. You have come here with a view of acquiring new ideas, to acquire good ideas and make the path of your life a rosy one. You have been on that task for the past thirty days.

Many of you are not willing to go back, but remember that Swami is with you. You should not have the feeling that to go back is an unwanted imposition. Sai’s ideals are like this. As a diamond has so many different facets, Sai has so many different facets. He is in all of you. Although the diamond has many facets around, it is the central portion of the diamond that is connected with all these facets. So boys and girls, all of you should develop into rays that are emanating from the centre. You should go and establish the form of seva that you have opted to join.

The lotus has many petals in it. But all those petals are connected with the central portion of the lotus. For Sathya Sai who constitutes the central part of the lotus, you are all like the petals connected with the centre of the lotus.

Young people, you should develop the spirit of sacrifice. Having developed the spirit of sacrifice, you should feel that there are no differences which are of religious origin. You should be able to establish the oneness of all religions. At all times, you should attempt to be of service to others. You must establish and maintain the sacred culture of Bharath. By accepting the sacred essence of our culture which you have learnt during the past thirty days, you have experienced a kind of bliss. In the future, as well, you must try and continue this. To forget what you have listened to, as soon as you leave this place, is unbecoming of human nature.

You must exercise great control over your mind. You must see that the mean desires of your mind do not get control over you. You must serve your parents, your society and then your country. This is the true form of yoga. You must experience this kind of yoga in your daily life. You must acquire for yourself several things, in the dharmic field, the religious field and the spiritual field. It is not possible for an individual to practise all those things; but you must choose a few out of them and put them into practice in your daily life. Most important is that daily, from morning till the night, you must think of the three essential things, namely: Do not forget God, do not believe in the world, do not be afraid of death. These three things are essential in your life. You must forget any harm done to you by others. So also, you must forget any good you may do to others. If you keep on thinking in your mind the harm done to you by others, you will in return attempt to harm them. To harm them in return is a sin. You should not undertake to commit such a sin. By forgetting the good that you may have done to others, you will not be expecting them to do good to you in return. If you are expecting to get something in return and do not get it, you will have to take birth again.

You should strive not to participate in trans-actions connected with the cycle of birth and death. Unfortunately, today, several people take the spiritual path as if it is a path of business. I am hoping that you will not do such a thing. You will recognise the truth and make your lives fruitful and purposeful.

The bliss and happiness that you experienced here should inspire you to give the same kind of bliss and happiness to your friends at your place. You should not become selfish. What you cannot get either by work or by your birth, you can get by sacrifice.

We must also recognise the meaning of the word dharma. We are thinking that our duty is our dharma. This is not so. To do something which will give pleasure and happiness to others is our real dharma. Whatever we do should not cause any curtailment of the freedom which others enjoy.

We should see that what we regard as bad in others is not done by us. We should also see in what manner others are being respected and are conducting themselves, and ourselves do only such things which are regarded as respectful.

Man, today, is protecting his own dignity and his own self-respect. He does not deem it necessary to protect the dignity and self-respect of others. We are trying to locate the faults in others with a hundred eyes. We are not making any attempt to locate the faults that are present in us. When we can search for the faults that are in us and find them, then we will experience the right kind of bliss. By looking for the faults in others, our minds becomes unsacred.

The heart is like the lens of a camera. Our mind is like the plate in this camera. The thoughts that enter our mind will get imprinted on that plate. For this reason, we must not allow any bad thoughts to enter our mind.

I am hoping that you will fix your attention on such sacred things, and you will thereby enjoy yourself. What you should know, you have known. But if after knowing this, you do not make any attempt to experience them, the knowledge becomes a waste.

One individual came to Socrates and said, “You are one who knows everything.” Socrates replied, “I do not know everything. I know only one thing.” The individual asked, “What is the only thing that you know?” Socrates replied, “I know one thing and that is that I do not know anything.” You are thinking that you know everything and when some people come to you and say, “You have been attending Sathya Sai Summer Classes, do you know everything?” At that moment, you should conduct yourselves in a manner that you do not know anything. It is only when we put these things into practice, we may develop the feeling that we know all these things. If we have such a feeling that we know everything, then it will appear as if it has come from books; and it had better remain in books. I am hoping that what you have learnt from the books, you will be able to put it back into your head, and after putting it back into your head, you will be able to practise it.

When you go back to your respective places, you should try and promote some connection with Sri Sathya Sai Organisation. The important changes that have come about in your conduct in life should be demonstrated to your parents.

In the old days, when the students were return-ing to their homes after completing their education, the rishis used to tell them various good things like, “Respect your mother as God, respect your father as God, respect your teacher as God, tell the truth, follow the path of dharma.” They were protecting these statements as if they were precious gems given to them. Throughout their lives and till the end of their lives, these statements remained as their weapons and they were safeguarding them.

These days, as well, I am hoping that you will have these sacred statements in your mind. Take them as important and develop yourselves into future citizens working for your motherland. The first step is to love your father and mother. As soon as you return from here, you must start accepting the orders of your parents. It is only when you respect your parents, that your children will respect you as parents in future. If you slight your parents today and do not respect them, exactly the same kind of neglect and lack of respect will come to you in future from your children.

While the parents have given you all kinds of protection, sacrificing their comforts for looking after you, if you in turn show a disrespectful attitude to your parents, God, also, will be displeased with you. Parents fulfil your material wants and desires; and if you cannot respect and love them, how are you going to respect and love God? How can you please God if you cannot please your own parents?

I am hoping that you will not forget what you have learnt here, that you will recapitulate them and keep on thinking of them. Animals have no inner vision. They have only external or outward vision. But we are not animals. We should develop the inner vision. Even an animal, which has no inward vision, comes back to its resting place and begins to ruminate and digest its food after it has taken its food. If we human beings, who have both inward and outward vision, do not recapitulate and digest what we have listened to, we will become worse than animals. What you have learnt should enter into your blood vessels, and all the time it should manifest itself from your interior. I am hoping that you will remember all the good things that you have listened to during your stay here and put them into practice in your daily life and enjoy the bliss thereof and be of some service and help to the community around you.