You are not a mere man, but God Himself. Do not be under the delusion that God is residing somewhere and that you have to search for Him God is within you
1
One need not search for spiritual power, going around the world and
spending a lot of money. You can stay in your own house and develop
it within yourself. You do not have to run for it hither and thither.
You are not a mere man, but God Himself. Do not be under the delusion
that God is residing somewhere and that you have to search for Him;
God is within you.
2
When an individual seeks fulfilment outside himself, he fails; if he
seeks it within himself, he is successful in obtaining it. The divine
principle within us is always accessible and always responsive. Pain
is felt only as long as attachment or aversion to outer forms
remains. Ultimate relief from pain can come only by the effacement of
the ego, by the elimination of that which reacts to one thing as pain
and to another as pleasure, and whose memory and conditioning
sustains the recognition of the dualities of joy and grief
3
No object in the world can be without a creator. Everything we use in
our daily life has been made by someone. But, there are also objects
which are beyond the capacity of humans to create. The stars which
twinkle in the sky, the sun and moon that illumine the whole world,
all these demonstrate the existence of a superior power. These are
not human creations. Have they come into existence by themselves or
have they been created by some invisible force? The supreme power
which has the capacity to create such marvels has been described by
the Vedas as Aprameya, one who is beyond all proofs and all
limitations. He cannot be described in words. The primary object of
man must be to seek to understand this Infinite Power.
4
The joy you seek and the Self-realization you aim at are both within
you. They cannot be found in the external world. This condition is
similar to that of a person who begs for food on the street even
though there are sweets and delicacies in his own home. You imagine
that the world and its objects confer happiness on you. This is an
illusion created by your mind. It is only when you follow the
discriminating intellect that you will be able to enjoy true peace
and joy.
5
Life is a long garland of blossoms, fair and faded, fragrant and
futile. They are, so to say, the good and bad of life. Man recognizes
only the blossoms, happy over some, unhappy over most; he does not
see the string on which they are bound together, the Brahmasutra, the
everlasting and ever-fresh principle of divinity that holds all the
short-lived flowers together. Just as sparrows during a storm fly
towards a warm shelter, man too, must take shelter in the Divine
principle to escape from the storms of life.
6
When boring is done to draw water from the bowels of the earth, the
pipe has to be kept free of air so that the water will rise up. If
the air enters, the water cannot rise up in the pipe. So too, be sure
that attachment to worldly things does not mar your spiritual effort.
Love will not rise up if sensual pleasure or personal pride invade
the mind.
7
Love God with steadfast devotion and faith, have fear of sin and
practise morality in society. If you want morality in society, you
should develop love for God. If you love God, you will have fear of
sin. Today people without fear of sin commit heinous acts. This
contradicts the very nature of humans. The body is a house given to
you on rent. The owner is God. Live there as long as He wills,
thanking Him and paying Him the rent of faith and devotion
8
Tat Twam Asi: Thou are that. This is the highest and holiest
teaching. You are the indestructible Atma. It is for the sake of the
Atma that you have the physical body and so in the attempt to realise
God here and now, you must be prepared to sacrifice the body at any
moment. The body is only an instrument, an implement given by God.
Let it serve its rightful purpose.
9
For establishing oneself in the contemplation of the omnipresent
Lord, there are no limitations of time and place. There is nothing
like a holy place or auspicious time for this. Wherever the mind
revels in the contemplation of the Divine, that is the holy place.
Whenever it does so, that is the auspicious moment.
10
All are God. You too are God, above and beyond the past, present and
future. You are not the body which is tied up with time and which is
caught in the coils of was, is and will be. Be ever fixed in the
attitude that you are of the nature of Parabrahman (God); dwell
constantly in this thought. Thus you can become a Jnani (person of
wisdom).
11
Like the wind that covers everything with dust, desires and
attachments cloud the mind. They have to be kept away so that the
splendour of the self might merge in the splendour of the Higher
self, the Paramatman (God). The process of purifying the
consciousness of man in the crucible of single-pointed thought,
speech, feeling and activity directed towards God, will rid him of
all blemishes and defects. When the inner consciousness has been
rendered pure and unsullied, God will reside therein. Then man will
experience the vision of God within him.
12
The person who is free from all desires, who has not even the
slightest inclination to possess or enjoy the sensory world, who has
no trace of egoism and who is ever immersed in the bliss of God
consciousness, is always untouched by any tinge of sorrow. He is
firmly established in supreme joy and peace.
13
The mouse is the vehicle of Lord Vinayaka. What is the inner
significance of the mouse? The mouse is attracted by smell and is
considered as the embodiment of the sense of smell. The mouse is a
symbol of attachment to 'Vasana', which means both smell and worldly
tendencies. It is well known that if you want to catch a mouse, you
place a strong-smelling bait inside the mouse-trap. The mouse also
symbolises the darkness of night. The mouse can see well in the dark
and moves about freely in the night. As Vinayaka's vehicle, the mouse
signifies an object that leads man from darkness to light. Thus, the
Vinayaka-principle signifies that which removes bad thoughts, bad
habits and inculcates good thoughts and good conduct in people.
14
To realise God, it is not necessary to have wealth, gold, luxuries or
scholarship. All that is needed is pure devotion. Without purity of
thought, word and deed, it is impossible to experience the Divine.
God cannot be realised through ostentation and 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 irrespective of age, caste
or gender.
15
Dharma (righteousness) is the foundation for the welfare of humanity,
it is the eternal truth. When the effulgence of Dharma fails to
illumine human relationships, mankind will become enveloped in the
darkness of sorrow. Man must dedicate himself to Dharma so that he
may live in peace and the world may also enjoy peace. He cannot
acquire lasting peace nor can he win the grace of God through any
means other than by leading a Dharmic life.
16
Never use foul words against another. Such words should never defile
your tongue. Remember that there is God inside your heart, as well as
in the hearts of everyone around you. He sees and hears everything.
When you use harsh, angry and foul words against another, the God in
you and the God in the other person is hurt. The tongue is a tool
with which you can harm yourself and others too. So, be very careful;
use it only for your good and for the good of others. The best way to
use it is by speaking kind words, repeating the Name of God and
singing His Glory.
17
Man does not live by food alone. In fact he lives by the power of the
Atma. So you must use your strength of body and mind, wealth and
education with intelligence, in order to realize the power of the
soul. Without discrimination, what is the use of physical strength?
Everyday, when you take food, you are offering eatables to the Fire
that God has put in you to digest food. You have to eat in a
prayerful mood, in profound gratitude. The Bhagavad Gita says that
the fire that cooked the meal is God; the meal is God, the eater is
God; the purpose of eating is to carry on the work entrusted by God,
or pleasing to God; and the fruit of that work is progress towards
God.
18
The supreme message of the life of Lord Sri Krishna is the uniqueness
of the Prema Tattwa (Principle of Love). This message is all the
world needs. Krishna is the embodiment of love. This love can be
understood only through love. It is strong, brilliant and unbreakable
like diamond. It is extremely precious. If you want to secure such
divine love, your love for God must be equally strong. You can cut
diamond only with diamond. Love begets love. Hatred can only beget
hatred. Jealousy begets jealousy. Anger breeds anger. Therefore, if
you want to foster love, you have to get rid of hatred, jealousy and
anger.
19
One's actions decide one's destiny. It is of no avail to blame others
for one's misfortune and misery. Nor is it correct to blame God as
being partial or cruel. When one plants the seed of a bitter fruit,
one can only expect a bitter fruit to grow. God is only a witness to
the chain of causes and consequences. The way to escape this
predicament is by dedicating every act to God in a spirit of
detachment
20
Man has springs of joy and peace in his heart, even as a child.
Cultivate them, give them fullest freedom to gush forth and fertilize
all fields of activity, that is the real purpose of education. Man is
born to be perpetually happy, but he is always in misery. This is
tragic; it is like the man who died of thirst though he was standing
knee-deep in the running stream. The source of happiness is in you.
Real education has to teach man how to tap this spring of joy.
21
Why is man so pathetically afflicted today with fear and anxiety? Are
we to search for the reasons outside us or do they lie within us? The
reason lies in the false emphasis we have laid on things of the
material world, ignoring matters of the spirit. The body that man
bears is essentially a receptacle of God. It is a temple where God is
installed, where God is the Master. Hence, it does not behove you to
pander to its every whim. Instead, realise it to be a very valuable
instrument in your journey to God.
22
Education has to cultivate humility and discipline; but today it is
yielding a harvest of pride and envy. 'Vidya' means: 'Vid' (Light)
and 'Ya' (that which gives). So education has to shed light and
illumine the darkness in the mind and the intellect. It does not
indicate mere bookish knowledge. It has to clarify the kinship of man
with man and his intimate relationship with nature. It must harmonize
one's earlier experiences with one's present ones, and guide one to
beneficial experiences in the future. It must validate the knowledge
gained from the books by the experiences and in the process make man
grow, until he becomes Divine.
23
Many of you have problems of health or mental worry of some sort or
the other. They are mere baits by which you have been brought to My
presence, so that you may obtain My grace and strengthen your faith
in the Divine. Problems and worries are really to be welcomed as they
teach you the lessons of humility and reverence.
24
The very first Sadhana (spiritual exercise) one must adopt is the
cultivation of inner silence, to put an end to the continuous
dialogue with the mind. Let the mind rest for a while. Do not project
on the mind irrelevant details or pollute it with fumes of envy and
greed. Every idea we entertain, either good or bad, gets imprinted on
the mind. An element of weakness and unsteadiness is thus introduced
in the mind. Keep the mind calm and clear. Do not agitate it every
moment by your non-stop dialogue.
25
Life has to be an incessant process of repair and reconstruction, of
discarding evil and developing goodness. Paddy grains have to be
de-husked in order to become edible as rice. Cotton has to be
converted as yarn to become wearable cloth. Gold nuggets have to be
heated in the crucible to remove the impurities. Man too, must purify
his impulses, emotions and desires and cultivate good thoughts, words
and deeds so that he can progress spiritually.
26
The blazing fire of Jnana (wisdom) which convinces you that all this
is Brahman (God), will consume in to ashes all traces of your egoism
and worldly attachment. You must become intoxicated with the nectar
of union with Brahman. That is the ultimate goal of Dharma
(righteousness) and Karma (action).
27
Impure gold is melted in the crucible and it emerges shining and
bright. The mind rendered impure by Rajas (passion) and Tamas
(sloth), by anger and conceit, by the impressions of a thousand
attachments and desires, can be made bright and resplendent if it is
put in to the crucible of Vicahara (enquiry) and heated on the coals
of Viveka (discrimination). The brightness is due to the light of
Realization, the knowledge that you are the Atma.
28
Whatever the crisis, however deep the misery, do not allow your grip
over the mind to get loose. Tighten it further, fixing your eyes on
the higher values. Do not allow the mind to stray away from the
tabernacle of the heart. Make it bow before the Atma within.
29
"I am God. You are God too but the only difference between you and
me is I am aware of my divinity but you are not!"
30
Man seeks joy in far places and peace in quiet spots; but, the spring
of joy is in his heart, the heaven of peace is in him. Even when he
walks on the moon, man has to take with him his fears, his anxieties,
his prejudices and his pet aversions. Have faith in God, and in the
correctness of moral living. Then, you can have peace and joy,
whatever may be the fare that fortune offers you.
31
Whoever subdues his egoism, conquers his selfish desires, destroys
his baser feelings and impulses and gives up the natural tendency to
regard the body as the self, he is surely on the path of Dharma
(righteousness). The goal of Dharma is the merging of the wave in the
ocean, the merging of the self in the Higher self.
32
The body, the sense organs, the mind and the intellect are the
instruments for a human being. Only when one understands the secrets
of these instruments will one be able to comprehend the Atmic
Principle. If you cannot understand the vesture you are wearing, how
can you understand the mystery of the infinite, indwelling Spirit?
The body is the basic instrument for all the actions in life and for
the acquisition of all knowledge and skills. The body should be
regarded primarily as an instrument for the realization of the
Divine. Attachment to the body for physical pleasures should be given
up. It is essentially sacred and precious for it is the abode of the
Atma and should be used only for sacred purposes.
33
Look at the clouds that wander across the sky. Note that they have no
intimate lasting relationship with the sky, which they hide for a
short while. Such is the relationship between your body and you; you
who are of the nature of Paramatma (God) and the body which is but a
temporary, passing cloud that hides the Truth.
34
The impure impulses bind you to the wheel of Samsara (worldly
existence) and tie you down to this earth. The giant tree called mind
has two seeds: Vasana (impulses) and Prana (life breath). The seed
grows in to the tree, the tree yields the seed. The Prana moves
because of the Vasanas. The Vasanas operate because of the Prana. But
if beneficent Vasanas are encouraged, they will not bind the mind.
They are like seeds that are fried, which will not sprout. These
Vasanas are characterised by such activities as the association with
holy persons, reverence for the guru, charity, fortitude, love,
patience, truth, courage, sense control, etc.
35
When a river reaches the ocean, it becomes one with the ocean and the
river ceases to exist. Before it joins the ocean, the river is bound
by its banks and it has a distinct form. But when it merges in the
ocean, it loses its form, name and taste. Likewise, when "man" merges
in the Infinite "I" only the Infinite "I" remains and the limited
human entity disappears
36
There is a tendency to interpret renunciation as merely giving up
worldly attachments. Renunciation truly means attaining perfect
equanimity. People may criticize you or praise you, take them both
with a sense of equanimity. One may try to harm you while another may
try to do you a good turn; treat both situations with equanimity. In
one business venture, you may incur a loss while in another you may
make a profit; treat them both alike. Equanimity is the hallmark of
yoga (spiritual attainment).
37
There are two forms of Love. One binds you to God. The other binds
you to the world. The mind is responsible for either of these states.
The mind can be compared to a lock. If you turn the key to the right,
the lock opens. If you turn the key to the left, it gets locked. The
heart is the key to the lock of the mind. If you turn the key towards
the world, you have attachment and bondage; when you turn it towards
God, you achieve liberation. That is why, it has been declared that
the mind is the cause of human bondage or liberation. When it is
filled with wisdom, it makes a man a saint. When it is associated
with ignorance, it turns into an agent of death
38
When you know that you are but a spark of the Divine and that
everything around you too is a spark of the same Divine principle,
you look upon all with reverence and true Love; your heart is filled
with supreme joy and the assertions of the ego are rendered
ineffective. Man seeks joy in far off places and peace in quiet
spots; but, the spring of joy is in his heart, the heaven of peace is
within him. Even when he walks on the moon man has to take with him
his fears, his anxieties, his prejudices and his aversions. Have
faith in God and in the correctness of moral living. Then, you can
have peace and joy, whatever may be the fare fortune offers you.
39
He who considers himself free is free indeed, and he who considers
himself bound remains bound. Constantly think yourself as being
eternal, unlimited, Consciousness-Bliss, and you will be free and
happy. So long as you trap yourself in body consciousness you are
like a lion moping about in a musty cave. Do not feel satisfied by
saying, 'I am the body'. Roar and say, 'I am the Universal Absolute.
I am all that is, was and will be.' Pettiness, ego, time and space -
all will flee from your heart and you will realise your own Divinity.
40
Believe firmly that the body is the residence of God, that the food
you eat is the offering you make to your deity; that bathing is the
ceremonial bathing of the Divine Spirit in you; the ground you walk
upon is His domain; the joy you derive is His gift; the grief you
experience is His lesson that you tread the path more carefully.
Remember Him at all times; many people think of God only when grief
overtakes them; of course, it is good to do so; it is better than
seeking the help of those who are also equally liable to grief. But,
it is infinitely better to think of God in grief and in joy, in peace
and strife. The proof of rain is in the wetness of the ground; the
proof of Bhakthi (devotion) is in the Shanti (equanimity) the bhaktha
(devotee) has, Shanthi which protects him against the onslaughts of
success and failure, fame and dishonour, gain and loss.
41
'Gu' means darkness and 'Ru' means light. Guru (spiritual preceptor)
scatters darkness through light; he imparts wisdom which roots out
our ignorance. 'Gu' also connotes 'Gunaatheetha' (One who is beyond
'gunas' or attributes) and 'Ru' connotes 'Roopavarjitha' (One who has
transcended Form). Do not seek human Gurus, however great their
reputation. They are bound by the qualities they have developed and
they are still in need of the Form so that they may conceive of
Reality. They themselves being limited, how can they communicate to
you the Unlimited? Pray to the Parabrahma Principle (transcendental
principle) or God within you to reveal Itself. Accept that as the
Guru and you will be illumined
42
Man is a prisoner of his senses as long as the feelings of 'I' and
'mine' remain. Man strays into misery and pain, because he aspires
for the temporary and the trivial. He ignores the voice of God that
warns and guides from within, and pays the penalty for the
transgression. Life is to be dedicated not to mere food and drink and
catering to the cravings of the senses. It has to be devoted to the
attainment of the bliss that God alone can confer.
43
The sense of duality arises when the Aham ('I') assumes a specific
form and name. Ahamkara (the ego-sense) is the result of this change
in form. It is only when one dissociates himself from name and form
that one can discover one's true divine self. To forget one's
essential divinity and identify oneself with a changing and
impermanent form is the cause of bondage and sorrow. It is the mind
that is the cause of this wrongful identification, because of its
involvement with the external world and the impressions received
through the senses. When the workings of the mind are understood, the
reality of the Atma, which is beyond the mind, will be experienced as
the one omnipresent, immutable principle.
44
With faith in the omnipresence of the Divine, man should engage
himself in good deeds, cherish good thoughts and dedicate his life to
good practices. His words should be words of truth. The ornaments he
should wear are the necklace of truthful speech, the earrings of
listening to sacred lore and the bracelet of charity. Money is of the
nature of manure. Piled up in one place, it pollutes the air. Spread
it wide, scatter it over fields, it rewards you with a bumper
harvest. So too, when money is spent for promoting good works, it
yields contentment and happiness in plenty.
45
Broaden your vision. Cultivate the spirit of love. Being endowed with
the human form, you must strive to develop human values and not stray
away from the path of righteousness. Fill your minds with sublime
thoughts, and your hearts with divine feelings. Consider everyone as
your brother and sister. Only then will you realize your unity with
all creation. Redeem your lives by revering your parents, honouring
your teachers and developing loving faith in God. Be aware of the
divinity that is inherent in every being. Thereby, you will grow in
self-esteem. Fill your life with joy. Be happy and make others happy.
This will please God.
46
Food is God. Everything that keeps us going is God. Food is a
manifestation of God outwardly. Within us the vital force is God. All
things that sustain life are expressions of God. The great life force
is God. Therefore, we must not treat food in a contemptuous way, in
an angry mood or in a mood of displeasure. So food should not be
eaten with disregard or in a huff or in a criticizing manner. “What
is this food you have put upon this plate?’. We must not be in such
temper when we eat food. We must eat food in a worshipful manner and
must not waste food
47
true riches are. If we begin to desire immediately we admit our
poverty. Desire is poverty. Desire is a feeling of inadequacy and
when we begin to desire we are a beggar already. The secret of
prosperity is to affirm our true nature. Be always contended and put
a notice on the mind. “No admission for desire”. The moment a desire
arises just reject it and say “Desire get out” and then we will being
to experience that the desired object comes by itself to us. As long
as we run after a thing we cannot get it. The moment you turn away
from a thing it follows us by itself. This is an eternal law. This is
a law which has been proven in the lives of all those who have
discovered it and applied to themselves.
48
You wear coloured glasses and see everything through those glasses.
Correct your vision; the world will get corrected. Reform yourselves
and the world will get reformed. You create the world of your choice.
You see many, because you seek the many, not the One. Try to subsume
the many in the One - first the family, then the community, the
state, the nation and finally the world. Thus, progressively march on
towards more and more inclusive loyalties and reach the stage of
universality in thought, word and deed. This is the Sadhana
(spiritual endeavour) of Love, for, Love is expansion. The individual
has to be Universalised and expanded into Vishwaroopa (the cosmic
form of the Divine).
49
The human body has been given to you for a grand purpose - that of
realizing the Lord within. If you have a fully equipped car in good
running condition would you stow it away in the garage? The car is
primarily for going on a journey. Only then is it worthwhile to own
it. So too with the body. Proceed, march on towards the goal. Learn
how to use the faculties of the body, the senses, the intellect and
the mind, for achieving that goal
50
The nature of Divine love is different from that of human attachment.
It is timeless and constant. Make it your sole ideal. It is inherent
in you; all that needs to be done is to manifest it in the proper
way. If there is sugar at the bottom of a tumbler of water, you can
make the water sweet by stirring the sugar to dissolve it. Likewise,
your heart is a tumbler at the bottom of which there is Divinity.
Take the spoon of Buddhi (intellect), stir the heart by the process
of Sadhana (spiritual effort). Then, the Divinity in the heart will
permeate the entire body.
51
Man has the choice of two paths - the Pravritti Marga (the outward
path of involvement) or the Nivritti Marga (the inward path and
non-involvement). When involved in the world, man is confronted with
the six internal foes - lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride and
hatred. When detached from the world, man is helped by six internal
friends - sense and mind control, fortitude, contentment, faith and
equanimity. The human body is deified as the temple of God; but the
foes have to be evicted and the friends admitted before the Divine
can establish itself there.
52
Broaden your heart and make it as magnanimous as that of God Himself.
If you look at a balloon, at first, it is flat. If you go on blowing
air into it, it becomes bigger and bigger, and at one stage it will
burst. Though beginning with the ideas of 'I' and 'mine', if you
ultimately move on to the stage where you realize that "all are
mine", "all are one"; gradually you will become broader in your
vision and will merge in God who is omnipresent. You should recognise
the truth that man's life consists of making the journey from the
stage of 'I' to the stage of 'We'.
53
The spark of Love in you has to be cherished and nourished; then,
every being will be God, every act will be Divine and every reaction
you get from the outside world will be charged with love and
sweetened with that nectar. When you love the God in all beings, He
responds with love. Love God, though tribulation may be your lot,
love Him though you are refused and rebuked; for, it is only in the
crucible of travail that the metal is purified and cleared of
blemish.
54
Man suffers from numerous ills because he has not understood the
purpose of life. The first thing he has to realize is that God is
one, by whatever name and in whatever form the Divine is worshipped.
The One chose to become the many. The Vedas declare, "God is one; the
wise hail Him by many names". It is the imagination of the observers
which accounts for the apparent multiplicity of the Divine. The sun
is only one, but its reflection appears in many vessels. Likewise,
God is present in the hearts of different beings in varied forms and
natures.
55
The mind can be used as a bridge to lead one from the manifest to the
unmanifest, from the individual to the universal. Cleanse the mind
and mould it into an instrument for loving thoughts and expansive
ideas. Cleanse the tongue and use it for fostering fearlessness and
friendship. Cleanse the hands; let them desist from injury and
violence. Let them help, heal and guide. This is the highest sadhana
(spiritual discipline).
56
Keep the mind away from base desires that run after fleeting
pleasures. Turn your thoughts away from these and direct them towards
the permanent bliss derivable from the knowledge of the Divinity
within. Keep before the mind's eye the faults and failings of sensory
pleasures and worldly happiness. Thus you will grow in
discrimination, non-attachment and achieve spiritual progress.
57
It is impossible to know the Truth of the Atma either through the
study of manifold scriptures, or by the acquisition of scholarship,
or by the sharpening of the intellect, or by the pursuit of
dialectical discussions. A pure heart is the best mirror for the
reflection of Truth. All the spiritual disciplines are for the
purification of the heart. As soon as it becomes pure, the Truth
flashes upon it in an instant.
58
There is no use arguing and quarrelling among yourselves about the
nature of Divinity. Examine and experience, then you will know the
Truth. Do not proclaim before you are convinced; be silent while you
are still undecided or engaged in evaluating. Discard all evil in you
before you can attempt to understand the mystery. And, when faith
sprouts, fence it with discipline and self-control, so that the
tender shoot might be guarded against cattle, the motley crowd of
cynics and unbelievers. When your faith grows into a big tree, those
very cattle can lie down in the shade that it will spread.
59
Every act done with the consciousness of the body is bound to be
egoistic. Selfless Seva (service) can never be accomplished while
being immersed in the body-consciousness. However, consciousness of
Deva (God) instead of Deha (body) will bring forth the splendour of
Prema (love). With that as inspiration and guide, man can achieve
much good, without ever knowing or proclaiming that he is selfless in
outlook. For him, it is all God's will, His work, His glory
60
Service is God. Why has God endowed man with a body, a mind and an
intellect? Feel and empathise with the suffering through your mind,
plan using your intelligence and use the body to serve those are in
need. Offer that act of service to God; worship Him with that flower.
Put into daily practice the ideals that Sai has been propagating and
make them known all over the world by standing forth as living
examples of their greatness.
61
One may ask, if God is controlling everything, what is the need for
human effort? Yes, God is all powerful. But at the same time human
effort is also necessary, for without it man cannot enjoy the benefit
of God's grace. It is only when you have both Divine grace and human
endeavour that you can experience bliss, just as you can enjoy the
breeze of a fan only when you have both a fan and electric power to
operate it.
62
Man has in him the capacity to grow into a pure Divine personality.
But, due to ignorance and waywardness, he has become stunted. He has
chained himself to low ideals and so, he has fallen into fear and
grief. The Upanishads exhort man to awaken and become master of
himself - "Utthishtta, jaagratha, praapya vaaraan nibodhatha!"
(Arise, Awake and stop not until the goal is reached!). Man is
overcome by the sleep of ignorance and has forgotten the true values
of life. He is obsessed only with material progress. Unless he is
awakened to the spiritual values of life, there cannot be any peace
and prosperity in the world.
63
The chief goal of man is to practice and propagate the principle of
truth. One has to practise truth before preaching it. Come what may,
one should have the courage and conviction to tread the path of
truth. Even at the cost of food, raiment and shelter one should be
prepared to practise truth and righteousness
64
Buddha undertook various spiritual practices in order to realize his
true Self. But none of these practices could show him the path to
Nirvana (liberation). Ultimately, he realized that Nirvana lies in
making use of the five senses in a sacred manner. He understood that
Japa (repetition of God's name), Dhyana (meditation), Yajna (ritual
of sacrifice), Yoga, etc. were mere physical activities. These
spiritual practices are needed only for those who are attached to the
body. One who abides in the Self need not undertake any of these
practices. Buddha taught that Nirvana can be attained only by
cultivating Samyak Drishti (sacred vision), Samyak Vaak (sacred
speech), Samyak Shravanam (sacred listening), Samyak Bhavam (sacred
feeling) and Samyak Kriya (sacred action).
65
We should try and seek fulfilment in our everyday life by moulding
our mundane activities on spiritual values. You must have your hands
in society and your heads in the forest. That is to say, whatever the
activities with which you are occupied, you must be steadfast in
holding on to spiritual ideals. This alone is the true spiritual
exercise, which will bestow lasting peace on you. Remember that you
are the Atma (spirit). All your spiritual exercises should be
directed towards establishing yourself in this firm conviction and
unwavering faith, culminating in your life’s fulfilment. All your
senses should be sanctified by offering the actions performed through
them to God.
66
You should not let any weakness in you dissuade you from the right
path. If in a big tank there is a small hole, all the water will flow
out. In the same manner, even if you have a small sensory desire in
you, then all that you have learnt will be of no avail. Attraction
for the world distracts you from the reality. You should guard
yourselves by desisting error and resisting evil. Good work and
selfless love will help you to tread the path of wisdom
67
Education does not consist in the accumulation of information and
facts from a multitude of books. Reading of books can only enrich you
in the information that you may gather but can never give or promote
good qualities. Good education is a process by which character is
improved and by which one will be able to use one's intelligence and
sharpen one's mind so as to distinguish right from wrong. It is only
when the contents of education are closely linked with ideals of
sacrifice, forbearance, truth, and love that the youth will get the
benefit of education. Students will never get any benefit out of
education if it is devoid of these noble principles
68
God is the Antharyaami (Indweller), and so, when He is sought in the
outer world He cannot be caught. Love Him with no other thought; feel
that without Him nothing is worth anything; feel that He is all. Then
you become His and He becomes yours. There is no nearer kinship than
that. You have come from God; you are a spark of His Glory; you are a
wave of that Ocean of bliss; you will get peace only when you again
merge in Him. Like a child who has lost his way, you can have joy
only when you rejoin your mother.
69
A green gourd sinks in water; but a dry one floats. Become dry, rid
yourselves of attachments, desires, avoid anxieties, worries. Then
you can float unaffected on the waters of change and chance. Even
water, when it becomes steam, can rise into the sky. Become light,
lose weight, bale out so that you may rise higher and higher. Yoga is
defined as chiththa vriththi nirodha--the prevention of impulses that
agitate the inner consciousness of man. These impulses add to the
ballast. Be free from desires that drag you down; have only the
yearning to come face to face with the Truth. That Truth is shining
inside you, waiting to be discovered.
70
You feel the presence of God when silence reigns. In the excitement
and confusion of the marketplace, you cannot hear His Footfall. He is
Shabdabrahma, resounding when all is filled with silence. That is why
I insist on silence, the practice of low speech and minimum sound.
Talk low, talk little, talk in whispers, sweet and true.
71
Life becomes sweeter with a little dose of denial; if you satisfy all
your desires, life begins to turn insipid. Deny yourselves many of
the things your mind runs after and you will find that you become
tough enough to bear both good fortune and bad.
72
Compassion towards all creatures is the greatest virtue; wilful
injury to any creature is the worst vice. Know this to be true;
spread love and joy through compassion, and be full of joy and peace
yourself. You do not have joy and peace now, mainly because your
vision is warped and blurry. It is directed towards the faults and
failings of others, instead of towards one’s own. Really speaking,
inquiry and investigation should begin with oneself. For what we see
in others is the reflection of our own selves, our own prejudices and
preferences.
73
The cause of man's suffering is that he has constricted his love to
himself and his family. He should develop a broad feeling that all
are his brothers and sisters. Expansion of love is life; contraction
of love is death
74
When an iron filing comes in contact with a magnet, the iron filing
also gets the properties of a magnet. Likewise, the knower of Brahman
(the Universal Absolute) becomes Brahman. You are all children of
immortality, you are eternal. The relationship between you and God is
eternal. The body changes through many births, but the mind and deeds
continue from birth to birth. Just as an accountant totals the
accounts of the day and carries the balance over onto the next day,
our mind follows to the next life. You should be able to control the
mind by controlling the senses, then you can merge in truth and
experience oneness with God.
75
If you desire that others should honor you, you should honor them
too. If others must serve you, you must serve them first. As a matter
of fact, no joy can equal the joy of serving others. Be like a clock;
it has no dislikes. It shows the correct time to everyone,
irrespective of the person who sees the time.
76
What is Jnana or wisdom? It is to know your own true self, that is,
self knowledge. Self knowledge is Self realization. Jnana calls for
the control of thoughts by appropriate efforts. Constant
contemplation on the Self is the means of experiencing the direct
vision of God, and Bhakthi (devotion) is the means to achieve it.
Whether one takes to the Jnana-Marga (the path of wisdom) or the
Bhakti Marga (the path of Devotion), the goal is the same,
illumination.
79
Man is not aware of the grand goal of his pilgrimage. He is straying
into wrong roads which lead him only to disaster. He places his faith
in objects outside himself and strives to derive joy from and through
them. He does not know that all the joys spring forth from inside
him; he only invests the outer objects with his own joy drawn from
inside him. He envelopes the outer objects with his inner joy and
then, experiences it as though it is from that outer object
80
How to keep in constant contact with the Higher Self within us? The
best means is the simple exercise of Naamasmarana, the repetition of
any one of the glorious Names of the Lord. People indulge in all
types of purposeless gossip and scandal; they find time and interest
in these degrading pursuits; but, they have no inclination to awaken
the Divine in them by constant dwelling on the splendour of Creation
and the Creator. See only such scenes as will foster this discipline;
speak only of elevating subjects; listen only to ennobling topics;
think and feel only pure thoughts and emotions. That is the way to
develop the Divinity inherent in each one.
81
Dharma is universal. There is a test that may be applied to any
action to determine if it is according to Dharma. Let not your deeds
harm or injure another. This flows from the recognition that the
divine spark is the same in every form, and if you injure another you
are injuring the same divinity that is in yourself. Dharma enables
you to come to the recognition that anything that is bad for another
form is also bad for you. The test of Dharmic action is stated very
clearly in saying: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto
you".
Original: 81 spiritual thought by baba