Life 48 (Feb 25 - Dec 26)

[winston]

What is the secret to true happiness?

Those who are in bliss, will have an aura around them and an effulgence on their faces.

People can derive joy watching their faces and yearn to have that experience again and again.

The faces of the worried and the anxious, will infect others too with similar feelings.

Besides, delight endows one with great power too, whereas anxiety robs one of the strength one has.

True delight cannot be acquired by effort or produced artificially or maintained by design.

No course of Sadhana (spiritual effort) can be prescribed to enable one to gain ananda (bliss).

For, one is, in fact, the very embodiment of ananda! But since he has failed to identify his truth, he is seeking it from outside, from the objects around him.

For those who have realised that they are the Eternal, the True and the Pure Atma (Inner-Self), ananda is ever accessible.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1983.

However much you may earn either wealth or strength, unless you tap the springs of bliss (ananda) you cannot have peace and lasting content.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why is it pointless to seek bliss in objects of the world?

The ananda or bliss we get when a meal appeases hunger is short-lived.

Hunger afflicts us again before long. However sweet and tasty the food may be, it causes nausea when consumed in big quantities.

Supreme Divine Blissis native to man, his very source and sustenance. The purpose of human striving, through stage after stage of spiritual progress, is to attain that.

A fish placed in an artistic golden gem-studded bowl is miserable. It has no ananda, for it has no water. Water is its home, its real source and sustenance.

Man too must reach his original home, however far he may wander.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1983.

The more desires are controlled, the more blissful one will be.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What are two important spiritual disciplines for the present times?

During this Kaliyuga (age of moral decline), two Sadhanas (spiritual disciplines) are important, Namam and Danam.

Namam means the name of the Divine. It must activate every thought, word and deed and render them full of Love. It can certainly lead man to the vision of the bearer of the Name.

The Name, the sound is the material which can reveal the non-material, the jada or inert which is the door to the Chaitanya or awareness enshrined in it. This is the purpose of the Sadhana - to recognise both the Kshetra (Field) and the Kshetrajna (the Master of the field) as the Divine.

The second Sadhana, means gifting, caring and sharing. The gift of food to the hungry, gives immediate contentment and relieves the pangs of hunger. Annam Brahma (Food is Divine) says the Scriptures.

Gifts are to be given without inflating the ego of the giver or deflating that of the receiver. They should be offered with understanding, humility and love!

- Divine Discourse, Feb 26, 1987.

The Divine only your hearts, for His residence and happiness. He does not like other temples or altars. Purify the heart, by Namasmarana; He shall come, and dwell therein.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why is the mind of man today, filled with worries and restlessness?

A jasmine flower is placed on a table in a room. The flower, which is gross, is small in size. But its fragrance, which is subtle, pervades the whole room.

Likewise, the steam generated from water, occupies a much larger space than the volume of water from which it is produced.

The mind of man because of its extreme subtlety, is capable of immense expansion. Because of the senses, the mind has attraction for a variety of objects and persons.

When these objects fill the mind, its expansiveness gets reduced. It is only when attraction from these objects is reduced that the mind can achieve expansion.

If today, man is filled with worries and has no peace of mind, it is because his mind is filled with innumerable desires.

The world cannot be blamed for man's mental state. Nor can family life be held responsible for man's bondage.

You bind yourself to Nature and family by your attachments and desires. To withdraw yourselves from these attachments and to reduce your subjection to the external world, you must practice control over your eyes, ears and tongue!

- Divine Discourse, Mar 13, 1988.

Man has to expand his knowledge, his emotions, his sympathies, his love. Expansion is life, expansion is love.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the one faculty we all tend to misuse these days?

Through the power of speech, one can acquire a kingdom or great wealth.

Friends and relations can be got through speech. Through speech, one gets bound and loses his freedom.

Even death is brought about by speech.

Speech is the life-force of human beings. Speech is the backbone of life. It is all-powerful.

The Saint addressed his tongue thus: "Oh tongue! You know all about the sweetness of speech! You enjoy truth and goodness. That is why chant the sweet and sacred names of the Divine!

Don't indulge in reviling anyone. Speak sweetly and softly". “Let your speech be truthful, pleasing, good and free from any resentment”.

Unfortunately, because such sacred and sweet speech has become scarce, society is riddled with bitterness and discord.

The permissiveness of a crazy civilisation has destroyed discipline and morality and turned society into an inferno.

- Divine Discourse, Jul 22, 1994.

A mind turned inward, toward an inner vision of the Divine and speech turned toward outer vision of the Divine - both will promote spiritual strength and success.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the one question for which the answer has to be sincerely pursued by each one of us?

When asked where you have come from, you quickly reply, "From Delhi" or "From Calcutta" or "From Thiruvananthapuram”; but those are the places from where your bodies have come here.

Within the body, as its source, sustenance and support, there is the Dehi (the embodied one) distinguishable from the deha (the body) where it has come from. That is beyond your ken.

Investigate into that; discover the answer; that is the task of man. You will be released from this role only when you have overcome this colossal ignorance and realised the source, the sustenance and the support of, not only your seeming individuality, but of all the manifold million-faced sparks of that one Divine Force.

Do not delay any further; the minutes are fleeing past; be inspired by the yearning to drink the nectar of the realisation of your true worth.

- Divine Discourse, May 12, 1968.

Life, which is not aware of either the 'from' address or the 'to' address, is merely a waste of time.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the cause for moral decline in society and how can we remedy it at the individual level?

On the one side, man has achieved astonishing progress in science and technology, especially in the fields of electronics, synthetics, atomic power and exploration of space.

On the other side, we witness political and economic crises, caste and communal conflicts and students agitation.

Today, moral values are steadily declining among men.

In the moral, ethical and spiritual spheres, men's attitudes are deteriorating alarmingly.

Even well-versed scholars and eminent public figures are caught up in the coil of bitter controversies because of narrow-minded thinking.

Unity among the people is being shattered by the ideological and sectarian differences among persons who are well educated and intellectually eminent.

Intellectuals who promote discord are on the increase, but there are few who promote unity in diversity.

At the root of all these tendencies, is the fact that mankind has still not got out of the animal stage.

Men have to realise that essentially they are divine in origin. The individual selves have come from the ocean of Sat-Chit-Ananda ( "truth, consciousness, bliss" representing the essential qualities of Brahman, the ultimate reality), like waves from the ocean. It is only when this truth is realised that men can experience true bliss.

- Divine Discourse, Jul 22, 1994.

Human life is vitiated by selfishness and the pursuit of ephemeral pleasures, forgetting what is eternal and true.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is necessary to transform the society we live in today?

To transform the world from its present state, there is no need for a new social system or a new religion or creed.

What is essential is a body of men and women with sacred ideals.

When there are such divine souls, the country will enjoy divine dispensation. But such persons can survive only in a society in which there is purity of mind and good character.

For these two to blossom, the basis is morality. But morality cannot flourish without spirituality. Hence, the mansion of the good society has to be built on the foundation of spirituality, with the pillars of purity and character, and with morality as the roof.

The reputation and pride of India, have been founded on spirituality from ancient times. It has achieved this name and fame because of noble men, women of great virtue and exemplary children.

- Divine Discourse, Jul 22, 1994.

The entire existence of Bharat is based upon spirituality. If spirituality goes, Bharat will cease to exist. If Bharat goes, the whole world will go.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the goal of life and what is the most effective discipline to attain this goal?

The goal of life has to be the realisation of the unity of the self with the Supreme Self.

Why else should the self take this human form? If mere 'living' or even 'happy living' was the goal, the self could have been encased in the form of birds or beasts.

The very fact that man is equipped with memory, mind, intelligence, discrimination ability to anticipate the future, desire to detach himself from the senses, etc., is an indication that he is destined for some higher goal.

Inspite of this, if man craves for a lesser consummation, he is a sinner. But he who persists, in spite of temptations and obstacles, on the path that leads to self-fulfilment and self-realisation, is a Gopi, for the Gopis (cowherd girls) of Brindavan were the most inspiring examples of such souls.

The most effective discipline that man can adopt to attain this lofty goal, is the control and conquest of the five senses, avoid the errors and evils that the eye, the ear, the tongue, the mind and the hand are prone to commit.

- Divine Discourse, Mar 20, 1977.

Seek the shelter of the Divine and transform every moment into a sacred celebration!

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What are the important lessons that we must internalise from the Scriptures?

There is no object without fault or failure; no joy that is not mixed with pain; no act that is not tainted with egotism.

So be warned and develop detachment which will save you from grief.

The word ‘duty’ is used today to indicate methods by which one exercises his authority.

No! Duty is the responsibility you have, to respect and revere others and serve them to the best of your ability!

You claim to have freedom to walk, waving your walking stick around you; but, the man coming behind has as much freedom to use the road as you have!

To exercise your freedom such that you don’t limit or harm the freedom of others - that is the duty, which becomes worship!

- Divine Discourse, Apr 20, 1975.

If you pursue your spiritual discipline, while regulating your daily life and discharging your daily duties, you are bound to become the recipient of His grace.

Source: radiosai.org