Life 48 (Feb 25 - Dec 26)

[winston]

What is the purpose for which the Avatar has entered our lives and how can we make best use of this precious opportunity?

He has come to reform you: He won't leave you until he has done that. Even if you get away before he does that, you cant escape Him; He will hold on to you.

He's not worried if you leave Him for He's not anxious that there should be a huge gathering there. Who invited you all here? You have attached yourselves to Him.

He's unattached. He's attached only to the Task for which he has come. But of one thing be assured. Whether you go to Him or not, you are all his!

This Divine Mother Sai has the love of a thousand mothers towards Her children; that is why He does so much caring and fostering.

Whenever He appears to be angry, remember, it is only love in another form. For, He has not even an atom of anger;

He just evince his disappointment that you do not shape as He direct! When He direct you along a line of action, reflect on His advice; you have full liberty to do so;

He shall be happy if you do so! He do not like slavish obedience. If you feel that it will help you to reach the goal, follow it! Wherever you go, you meet only Him. He's everywhere!

- Divine Discourse, Feb 11, 1964.

The kinship of all of you with Him is ageless! It is eternal, not based on any worldly relationship; it is based on aspirations of your heart!

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the fastest way to win the Divine's Grace?

You must look upon all as limbs of your own body.

Just as you try to heal any bruise or wound on any limb as quickly and as efficiently as possible, you must heal the woes and pains of others to the best of your ability and as far as your means allow.

The Divine is now worshipped by offering Him, all things that you crave for, by treating Him with all the honour you like to be done to yourself.

The idol is bathed and washed, bedecked with jewels, fed and fanned, surrounded with fragrance, etc., since these are things you desire.

But the Divine is pleased only when you do things He desires! How else can you win His Grace?

How else than by nursing and nourishing, succouring and saving His children?

How else than by helping them to realise Him, as their Lord and Guardian, and cultivating faith in Him, through your own straight and sincere living?

- Divine Discourse, Feb 19, 1970.

Have the feeling that whomever you serve, you are serving Him.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

We all wish to transform our lives. But what is the procedure?

To make coal white, it is foolish to wash it in milk; the milk too gets black.

You have to heat it red-hot and continue the process until it is transformed into white ash! The white ash remains ash forever.

Similarly, the tamasik mind (dull-witted and ignorant, represented by black) has to be transmuted into the rajasik stage (red or active and passionate) and then, to the satwik stage (white or calm and pious), by the process of spiritual discipline or heating.

The blackness and the redness, are produced by the qualities of greed and lust. Regular treatment with the drug of self-control (nigraha) will cure you of these.

Holy days and occasions, have been prescribed for inaugurating the treatment.

The scriptures extol the drug and lay down the method of administration. The lives of saints encourage you to seek it and save yourself by it.

Through these, man can ascend from the animal to the human level and from the human to the Divine!

- Divine Discourse, Mar 09, 1967.

Transformation does not come easily; it has to happen slowly but steadily.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why is it we are peaceful and happy sometime and most of the other time, are restless, anxious or worried? How can we fix it?

The bee hovers around the lotus, it sits upon it, drinks the nectar; while drinking the sweet honey, it is silent, steadfast, concentrated, forgetful of all else!

Man too behaves like that when he is in the presence of the Divine. The hum of the bee ceases and is silent when drinking of nectar begins.

Man too, sings, extols, argues, asserts, only until he discovers the rasa (sweet essence). That rasa is prema-rasa (the sweetness of love).

Where there is love, there can be no fear, no anxiety, no doubt, no ashanti (absence of peace).

When you are afflicted with ashanti you can be sure that your love is restricted, your love has some ego mixed in it.

The experiencer of the prema (love) is the inner I, which is the reflection of the real ‘I’, the Atma (soul).

When the senses are out of action, that ‘I’ will shine in its full glory. The senses are one's deadly foes; for, they drag your attention away from the source of joy inside you, to objects outside you.

When you are convinced that they are at the bottom of this conspiracy to mislead you, you will certainly stop catering to them!

- Divine Discourse, Feb 26, 1968.

To be immersed in His love and thoughts of Him is the greatest enjoyment as well as true yoga.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What must we do to free ourselves from the shackles that bind us?

The river is a part, a portion of the sea; it earns fulfilment when it returns to the sea and merges in its source.

Fishes are of water. They live in water and die when deprived of water.

The baby is a part of the mother. It cannot survive apart from the mother.

The branch is a part of the tree. Cut it off, the tree gets dry and dies.

Man is an amsha (a part) of the Divine. He too cannot survive without Him. He lives because of the urge to know Him, his source.

In the Scriptures, the Divine declares (15-7): "All living beings are My amsha (part). I am in them as the Eternal Atma"

He indicates. Man lives for a high purpose, not for submitting as the beast does to every demand of instinct and impulse. He has to install himself as the master, not crawl as a slave.

He has the right to proclaim "I am Divine", "I am the undiminishable fullness", "I am Ananda" (I am bliss).

As soon as one becomes aware of his reality, the chains that bind him, iron as well as gold, fall off and he attains moksha (liberation).

- Divine Discourse, Feb 26, 1987.

Goodness, compassion, tolerance - through these three paths, one can see the Divinity in oneself and others.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the resolve we all must make?

The mind of man has to undergo transformation. It must promote not bondage but liberation.

It must turn Divine-ward and inward, not world-ward and outward. Only then can attempts at economic, political and social transformation succeed in uplifting man's destiny.

The mind plays many tricks to please you and give you a great opinion about yourselves. It revels in hypocrisy, riding on two horses at the same time.

You may prostrate and declare that you have surrendered. But, once you are away, you may behave otherwise and allow faith to fade away.

Even the thought that you have not benefited from the puja or japam you do, should not pollute your faith.

To practise Sadhana is your duty, your innermost urge, your genuine activity. Leave the rest to the Will of the Divine.

- Divine Discourse, Feb 29, 1984.

Without the training that the practice of dharma (righteousness) gives to your senses, feelings and emotions, you cannot have steady faith and steady detachment.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the surest way to win His grace?

Thousands of you have gathered here from all corners of this world. You have put up with many discomforts, hardships and inconveniences, in your struggle to earn grace.

It has been for each of you a lesson in love, tolerance, fortitude and patience.

Your innate quality of love has enabled you to share in joy and peace.

Love makes you all theists. You must be labelled an atheist if you have no love in you, however demonstrative your religiosity may be!

If you believe that you can win the grace of the Divine by means of vows, fasts, feasts, recitation of hymns of praise, offering of flowers, etc., you are woefully mistaken.

Love alone is the essential condition.

The Scriptures says you must be "one with non-hatred towards all beings"; but that is not enough.

A wall has no hatred towards any being. Is that the ideal? No.

You must positively love all beings, actively love and actively engage yourself in acts of love. That alone wins the grace you crave for!

- Divine Discourse, Feb 23, 1971.

When you become all-embracing infinite Love, the Divine will manifest in and through you.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What are the four goals of life we must pursue?

The four goals laid down by the Scriptures.

They are Satya (Truth), Dharma (Righteous Living), Shanti (Peace) and Prema.

Mankind must understand the importance of these four goals, accept them, adore them and practise them in daily life.

Only then can Divinity latent in man shine forth in all its glory.

Truth (Satya) is the first ideal. It is realised by sadhana (spiritual practice) of the tongue.

The second, Dharma (righteous living), is realised by the sadhana of the body and its components in relation to society which surrounds man and the objective world which affects him and is affected by him.

By his right action and right conduct, man can attain the third goal, Shanti - unaffected poise or peace.

This can be won by the discipline of the mind.

Satya (Truth) establishes itself on the tongue through satwik sadhana;

Dharma is achieved by the exercise of rajasik (active) regulation; Shanti or peace is the consequence of tamasik withdrawal and even inactivity.

But, Prema (love), the fourth goal, is beyond these three modes and beyond thought, word and deed!

Divine Love is not easily comprehensible. Prema is Divine. Divine is Prema.

To consider it as a method of speech, an attitude of mind or as physical behaviour, is to sorely demean it.

Prema has no trace of selfishness; it is not bound by motives.

- Divine Discourse, Mar 08, 1981.

The human values can progress and thrive only in a spiritual environment.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the relationship between the Divine and the Universe?

When you enter a cinema theatre, you find a white screen. Merely watching the screen does not satisfy you. Once the show commences, you find different scenes projected on the screen. Without the screen, can you see the picture? No.

But, when the picture is projected, though the screen exists, it is not seen; it merges itself with the picture. The screen exists all the time - before, during, and after the show.

The Scriptures declare: “That all-pervasive Divine is present within and without".

As the screen is to the picture, so is the Atma (Inner-Self) to the creation. The screen of Atma is present within and around all beings and is the primordial basis for the entire creation. Therefore, it is said, "Divinity pervades everywhere".

Divinity is present in the “picture”, around the “picture”. So, who can know the form of such a Divinity?

On the screen of Love, you find the picture of the universe. This Love is present in the name of Atma in all beings.

- Divine Discourse, Sep 30, 1998.

Ignorance can be removed by acknowledging the universality of the Divine and merging your individuality in the Universal!

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

In this world filled with different forms and sounds, how does one recognise the Divine, who is the source?

In order to experience Divinity, understand this example.

The very nature of mother is love. Mother has a form but love has no form. Mother herself is the form of love. Due to the presence of the Atmic (Inner-Self) Principle, you are able to see its reflection in the form of the world.

The whole world is nothing but reflection, reaction and resound. The Atma (Inner-Self) is the only reality. But man has forgotten the reality and is seeing only the reflection.

You cannot have reaction without action; you cannot have resound without sound. Though the Sound is everywhere, you are not able to hear it. Though the Reality is everywhere, you are not able to see it.

How will you be able to see it? With unflinching faith and selfless love, think of the Divine continuously. He will certainly manifest before you.

Today, man chants the name of the Divine and desires to see Him. But since he lacks steady faith, he is not able to experience Divinity.

Man has become blind having lost the two eyes of faith. Faith is most important.

- Divine Discourse, Sep 30, 1998.

Whatever things of beauty you see in the world are but the reflections of the one source of all beauty - the divine.

Source: radiosai.org