Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

Another disease has now begun to spread in the world to weaken and lessen peace. There are plenty who, parrot-like, purvey wholesome advice on morals, religion, and discipline but who do not practise even a single bit of it themselves. The so-called elders know only how to speak, not how to act. How do those who teach how to act know enough to speak about it? Words devoid of experience - that is the illness that afflicts the world today.

This disease must first be treated and removed, for peace is warped thereby for mankind. To speak is easy for all. The real spiritual aspirant, however, acts and then speaks from experience. People who merely speak but do not act bring about disaster. Such dangerous aspirants and seekers have multiplied, and they have confused the true path. Innocent and simple-minded devotees who attach themselves to such are also being led astray and duped. Let the readers and the aspirants first watch the conduct and then choose. If there is no observance of the advice given, treat them with the respect due to a phonograph record; nothing more. The record is to be treated as a record only, not as Godhead, until you reach the stage when the truth of “Everything is God” becomes patent to you. It is a greater mistake and sin to say “All is God” in mere words only and, while doing so, to treat some as unholy in actual practice.

Many take sweet diction and elocution as important. Of course they are, to some extent, but the sweetness of the words must be there whenever the speech is recalled from memory. It should not turn bitter with the passage of time. Only then are those words nectar (amritha). Today, the sweetness does not persist; it soon turns bitter, because there is no coordination between the speaker, the subject, and conduct. Therefore, instead of nectar (amritha), the words now become false (anritha). The impression will be changeless and permanent when a good subject is clothed in a fitting style and presented with appropriate feeling on the basis of actual experience.

What spiritual aspirants have to do now is this. First, develop wisdom with discrimination (viveka) - that is to say, the capacity to distinguish the eternal from the transitory and to decide which is worthy. Second, make a sincere attempt to experience what is chosen as worthy and true. Third, don’t give up the discipline, whatever comes in the way. These three can be called genuine spiritual austerity (tapas). From this austerity alone is born real peace and joy.

Now, everything from ant to almighty is undergoing some change or other, every minute. No object, no living thing is an exception to this law. Creation is ever changing. But this change is of two kinds: external and internal. The external change can be easily cognized; the internal is not so patent, not so easy to understand. That is why it is necessary first to train oneself to understand the external changes, which are clearer, and then gradually to approach the problem of controlling the changing interior. Of these two, whichever you are at, do it with a full heart, to the satisfaction of your own conscience. Don’t do it to earn the esteem of others, to please them, or to get praised by them as a great devotee; such an attitude is treason to the Self (Atma-droha).

The Lord loves the inner, not the outer, but you should not neglect the outer. Even in outward behavior and act, you should manifest the inner feeling; that gives a chance for experiencing the feeling of quietude and peace in fuller measure, for the taste of that peace must be enjoyed through thought, word, gesture, and deed. It is only when peace is enjoyed in all these four that it becomes complete; then, in other words, the mind (manas) fades away and the stage designated as genuine peace or union (yoga) is reached.

Philosophy that cannot be understood, scriptures that are not practised - the present world is full of such.

It is a waste to talk of these. Real change must be made in daily conduct and behavior, for these are within the experience of all, they can be easily practised, and their purpose can be clearly grasped. It is only when these are transformed that the inner Atma, deeper, more mysterious, and more essential, can be understood. In every little act, activity, and word, one should discriminate and adopt the best; that is the sign of the genuine spiritual aspirant.