Life 45 (Jan 23 - Aug 23)

[winston]

What are the sins that we must avoid as we lead our lives in society?

“You are committing crimes against society based on the strength of the Divine's boons. Your ego will ruin you completely. You need humility to attain Divinity".

Education without character, worship without sacrifice, wealth without effort, politics without principles — these sins are the basis for all the misery in the world.

What are the sins of society? Education without character is one. Wealth without effort is another. We must make effort! Without effort how can you expect anything in return?

Next, worship without sacrifice. Yes, you are all praying. But it is prayer without sacrifice.
Sacrifice alone grants bliss in worship.

Politics without principles and science without human values, are on the increase. If science had principles, how would bombs and other means of unrest come about? Human values have declined in science.

- Ch 8, Summer Showers 1995.

If you do not act in a principled manner, all your education becomes useless.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

How should we balance the pursuit of wealth and the pursuit of life’s purpose?

Truly speaking, human life is holy, sublime, sacred, ever-new and ever-fresh.

The Scriptures try to arouse and awaken man into the awareness of this Truth, for man is slumbering in ignorance, wrapped in his ego and desires.

"Awake and adore the Sun and recognise your Reality in the light of his rays," that is the call reverberating from the Scriptures.

But, man is deaf to this entreaty. Three ardent desires are holding man back: he is enamoured of wealth, spouse and children. These obstruct him at each step and act as handicaps for his spiritual advancement.

Of course, wherewithal is essential for the process of life and labouring for it cannot be avoided. But, beyond a limit riches foul the mind and breed arrogance.

They must be used for good purposes, promoting virtue and well-being, fostering virtue and fulfilling one's duties along the Divine path.

If riches are spent for realising fleeting desires, they can never be enough and the ego discovers newer and more heinous ways, of earning and spending.

- Divine Discourse, Apr 13, 1981.

Lead your life with your mind always focused on the goal.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why are our thoughts and emotions so important and why must we constantly try and purify them?

The distinction between a human and a demon, arises only from qualities.

Demons do not have any peculiar physical traits as portrayed in cinemas and books. They are humans also.

It is only by qualities that a human becomes a demon.

All three categories — divine, human and demon — can exist even within the same family!

- Ch 8, Summer Showers 1995.

Give up the company of the worldly minded, the association with those infected by demonic qualities. Seek always the company of the wise and the good.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why should we practice seeing the Divine’s hand in all aspects of our life, regardless of rain or shine?

Good and bad - everything is His will. We should not differentiate between the two.

People believe that good events are His will and unfortunate ones are not. In this world, no one eats only sweet food or only bitter food. Everyone eats both sweet and bitter food. In other words, everyone experiences both good and bad.

If we inquire, bitter experiences are necessary! Only then can we appreciate the value of peace, contentment and bliss.

Difficulties and joy go together. No one can separate them. Happiness doesn’t exist alone anywhere. Happiness results when difficulties are transcended.

A baby gradually becomes a grandparent. But the two are not different. Similarly, the good in us can turn bad and the bad can become good. We should experience the unity of both.

That which makes us understand this unity is our Divinity. When we distance ourselves from Divinity, we deteriorate to demonic and animal states.

- Ch 8, Summer Showers 1995.

Acceptance of both good and bad with equal-mindedness is a supreme virtue, that will lead you to the realisation of Brahman (Divinity).

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Can each of us participate in the Divine's mission?

The purpose for which the Divine has come, is not to fulfil small desires or attend to the small incidents. There are great truths that has to be established.

There is a considerable change in human outlook which has to be brought about. No one can stop Him or deter the Divine from fulfilling the tasks for which he has come, namely the establishment of the one Eternal Truth.

Establishment of dharma (righteousness) is the task to which we have to attend to immediately.

Since everything depends on truth, such truth is not something which has to yield to anyone. Untruth has to subordinate itself to almost everyone with whom it comes into contact.

Truth will never be subservient to anyone.

- Ch 32, Summer Showers 1974.

The Divine’s Love and Grace, is more soothing and comforting than the sight of a beautiful flower or the sweet smile of an innocent child.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the state of society we are witnessing around us in the present times and how can we make amends?

Educated persons do not seem to have any regard for moral values. They have no gratitude for those who helped them in times of need. They have no consideration for their kith and kin and do not hesitate to inflict harm on them.

Students who have gone through many years of higher education are reported to have behaved in an unworthy manner.

Educated young men and women do not behave like cultured human beings after a few months of married life. Many lead miserable lives.

What is the value of an education which does not enable a man to do his duty to his wife and children? The first requisite is the elimination of the bad qualities prevailing among educated persons. They must return to the path of morality and right conduct.

Many educated persons neither have fear of sin nor love of the Divine. Everyone should, therefore, embark upon getting rid of their own bad traits and implanting divine qualities.

Man should realise the Divine within. For this, the path of pure love is the best way!

- Divine Discourse, Apr 02, 1984.

Life is a journey from “I” to “We” to “He”. Live in Love.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the analysis that all of us as spiritual aspirants must do when we encounter our shortcomings?

If aspirants are unsuccessful in following one discipline, they must seek and know the cause of their defeat.

This analysis is necessary. They must then see that, in the second stage, the trait is not repeated. They should try their best to guard themselves against it.

In such matters, one must be quick and active, like the squirrel. Agility and vigilance must be combined with sharpness of intelligence too.

All this can be earned only through peace. Steady and undeviating earnestness is very important for avoiding and overcoming conflicts in the mind. One must be calm and unruffled.

Courage, wise counsel, and steadiness — these make the willpower strong and sturdy. Lustre in the face, splendour in the eye, a determined look, a noble voice, large-hearted charity of feeling, unwavering goodness — these are the signposts of a developing and progressing will-force.

A mind without agitations, a joyous and unblemished outlook — these are the marks of a person in whom peace has taken root!

- Ch 6, Prasanthi Vahini.

We can understand the workings of the universe by understanding the power and potency of the mind.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why do we fail to realise the Divinity within us and in people around us?

What is the reason for this incapacity to realise the Divinity within? It’s because we don’t realise the soiled cover in which it’s wrapped.

If our clothes get dirty, we change them because we are ashamed to appear in dirty garments. If our house is dirty, we try to clean it so that visitors may not get a bad impression. But when our minds and our hearts are polluted, we do not feel ashamed!

Is it not strange that we should be so concerned about the cleanliness of our clothes and our homes but are not concerned about the purity of our hearts and minds, which affect our entire life?

To purify our hearts and minds, the first thing we must do is to lead a righteous life. Our actions must be based on morality.

Indulging in abuse of others or inflicting pain on them, is not a sign of human nature. The evil that we do to others ultimately recoils on us!

- Divine Discourse, Apr 02, 1984.

Whatever sacred acts you may do in the external world, if you have no purity of mind and heart, all of them are valueless.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the quality that keeps us rooted in the reality of the present?

Contentment, humility, detachment - these keep you on the path of Truth.

A street-hawker had on his head, a basket full of empty bottles, as he walked along to the bazaar. He hoped to sell the lot at a profit of ten rupees and, in ten days, he calculated his earnings would have accumulated to a hundred rupees.

With that as capital, he planned to switch on to more profitable deals, so that he imagined he could make a pile of a lakh of rupees in a few months and build a bungalow with a lovely garden tended by a regiment of servants, beaming all round the house.

There, he saw himself on a sofa in the greenery, playing with his grandchildren. As he was engrossed in that charming scene, suddenly he saw among his grandchildren, the children of one of the servants; he got angry at this unwanted intrusion.

Believing his fantasy to be a reality, he suddenly grabbed the child and gave it a swift hefty push, only to find that the basket of bottles had fallen on the road and all hopes of even the ten rupees lost! That was the end of a dream built on the slender basis of greed.

- Divine Discourse, Oct 24, 1965.

Contentment cannot be won by the ignorant one, who piles one wish on another and builds one plan after another, who pines perpetually, worries always and sets the heart ablaze with greed.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why is it important to not fear about the worst outcome? What is the most beneficial quality to cultivate?

One must always have calm thoughts. Only then can one’s mind have equanimity. It is just a question of the discipline of the mind — difficult in the beginning but once mastered, capable of conquering all troubles and worries!

An unruffled mind is very necessary for every aspirant who is marching forward; it is a very beneficial quality.

Such a mind gives real strength and happiness. Strive to gain it. Even if calamity befalls, you should not lose heart. The mind must ever be pure, untarnished, and calm, full of courage.

No weeping for the past, no faltering in performance of task at hand - that’s the mark of an aspirant.

Elation at profit, joy, and cheer; dejection at loss and misery — these are natural characteristics common to all mortals. What, then, is the excellence of aspirants? They should not forget the principle: Be vigilant and suffer the inevitable gladly.

When difficulties and losses overwhelm you, do not lose heart and precipitate some action but meditate calmly on how they came to be.

Try to discover some simple means of overcoming or avoiding them, in an atmosphere of peace.

- Ch 6, Prasanthi Vahini.

Peace is essential for sharpness of intellect. Haste and worry confuse the intelligence.

Source: radiosai.org