Life 46 (Aug 23 - May 24)

[winston]

What role do temples and places of worship play in our lives?

The temples play a vital role in awakening the spiritual impulse in man and directing him towards the realisation of his inherent divinity.

The real temple for man is his heart and forgetting this fact, man goes after temples outside.

Temples are erected to remind men about the Divine but the Divine dwells in the heart and should be sought there.

Men go through any amount of difficulties, hardships, trials and tribulations in life, but few try to understand their essential Divinity, which should be the primary aim of life.

Men devote considerable care and attention to the preservation of the body which is perishable. But they do not cultivate good thoughts and do good deeds through which they can attain enduring bliss.

Temples serve to provide the company of the good & holy and should be used for cultivating such company and acquiring mental peace.

It is not enough merely to go to temples as a mechanical ritual.

- Divine Discourse, Jan 25, 1985.

The purpose of the temple is to awaken the Divinity in humanity, inducing people to believe that the physical frames in which they live are themselves houses of the Divine.

Source: radiosai.org

[behappyalways]

The famous "iron lung" lawyer in the United States passed away!
He was paralyzed at the age of 6 and had been trapped in a metal "cage" for 72 years.
The American iron lung lawyer died of illness.
The iron lung is my home!
Lawyer: It is a cage and a cocoon before spreading wings.

美國知名"鐵肺"律師離世! 6歲癱瘓住金屬"牢籠"72年 美鐵肺律師病逝 鐵肺是我的家! 律師: 是牢籠也是展翅前的繭│記者 顏馨宜│【國際大現場】20240314│三立新聞台

https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=HtLnQvXMMb0

[winston]

What is the paradigm shift that needs to be brought about for us, to create a fair and respectful society?

Everyone should respect others as one's own kin, having the same divine spark and the same divine nature.

Then, there will be effective production, economic consumption and equitable distribution, resulting in peace and promotion of love.

Now, love based on innate Divinity is absent and so, there is exploitation, deceit, greed and cruelty.

If man becomes aware of all men being 'cells' in the divine body, then, there will be no more devaluation of man.

Man is a diamond; but, he is now treated by himself and by other men as a piece of glass!

Man can realise his mission on earth only when he knows himself as Divine and when he reveres all others as Divine.

Man must worship the Divine in the form of Man. He appears before him as a blind beggar, as an an ignorant man, a leper, a child, a decrepit old man, a criminal or a madman.

You must see behind those veils, the divine embodiment of love, power and wisdom and worship Him through seva (selfless service).

- Divine Discourse, Apr 01, 1975.

When the winds of love and faith blow, the clouds of doubt and egoism are scattered and He reveals Himself.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the doorway to ultimate freedom?

The Divine doesn’t insist on all men following one path and accepting one discipline. There are many doors to His mansion.

The main entrance is, however, overcoming of attachment. Do the task without any attachment to consequences.

This lesson is valuable for theists and atheists, for both have an attachment to the consequences of their tasks, an attachment which will colour their eagerness and double the distress when disappointed!

Both do not take from here any minute portion of their acquisitions, both can earn the gratitude of people only by sacrifice and love!

- Divine Discourse, Mar 28, 1967.

The ‘unattached’ have real love toward all. Their love is not only pure, it is divine as well.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the shortest way to reach the goal?

There are four F's that you must fix before your attention.
(1) Follow the Master,
(2) Face the Devil,
(3) Fight to the End and
(4) Finish at the Goal.

‘Follow the Master’ means, observe Dharma.

‘Face the Devil’ means, overcome temptations that beset you when you try to earn artha (wealth).

‘Fight to the End’ means, struggle ceaselessly; wage war against the six enemies that are led by kama (desire).

And, finally, ‘Finish at the Goal’ means, do not stop until the goal of Moksha (Liberation from ignorance and delusion) Is reached.

The F's are fundamental for the pursuit of the four Purusharthas (goals of life) - Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha.

March on; have no fear.

- Divine Discourse, Jul 06, 1975.

There is no strength more effective than Purity, no bliss more satisfying than Love, no joy more restoring than Bhakti, no triumph more praiseworthy than Surrender.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the simple yet super-powerful ‘instrument’ that will help us realise the Divine?

When a plane flies across the sky, it leaves no mark on it, no streak that lasts, no furrow or pot-hole that interferes with further traffic.

So too, allow all feelings and emotions to cross your mind but do not allow them to cause an impression.

This can be done through inquiry and quiet reasoning within oneself, more than by listening to lectures or study of books.

- Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 6, Ch 27.

Every being has to reach the Goal, however slowly they walk or circuitous their road.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why is training our mind important for crossing the ocean of worldly life?

You need not renounce hearth and home and flee to the forest. There is no guarantee that hearth and home will not follow you into the silence and solitude of the forest!

For, if your mind clings to worldly desires, you cannot escape them by simply putting some distance between you and them! You may be in the jungle but your mind may wander in the marketplace!

Similarly, you may be in the market but by Sadhana (Spiritual Practice) you can still secure a patch of peace in the heart in the midst of the busiest thoroughfare.

The mind can build a silent refuge or tie you up into complex knots. It binds; it loosens bonds.

You can sail safe on the sea of worldly life if you have no leaks in the boat. But through the leaks of lust, anger, greed, delusion, pride and envy, the waters of the world will enter the boat and it will sink, drowning you beyond redemption.

Do not allow the water into the boat; stop all the leaks. Then, you need not fear the world, you can benefit from all the chances it gives for training the senses, widening affections, deepening experience, and strengthening detachment!

- Divine Discourse, Mar 28, 1967.

The root of all trouble is the uncontrolled ill-directed mind.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

How can we keep our homes and hearts pure and sacred?

To lead a good life, constant prompting from the Divine within, is a great help. That inspiration can be obtained only by constantly reciting His Name and calling on the inner springs of Divinity.

The Name is so valuable an instrument to win His Grace, to realise His presence, to picture His form and to remember His glory, that even if it is repeated from the heart once in the morning, and once in the evening, that will make the a home, instead of a cave!

The lamp of the Name when it is lit will illumine the household and make it a home, instead of a cave.

If a lamp is kept burning in a room, it may go out when winds blow in from the windows.

The senses are the windows and when they are open, the lamp of the Name will not burn steadily. So keep the external-facing windows (senses) closed to the influences that attract and concentrate on the Name of the Divine and its beauty and sweetness!

- Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 6, Ch 27.

All evil thoughts and wicked plans and plots will disappear like fog before the Sun when the Name of the Divine is remembered sincerely.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What should be our attitude towards this life that has been given to us?

You have to read the newspaper to know how mad and foolish the world is; how futile is heroism, how momentary the glory and after perusing it for the information it conveys, you throw it aside; it is now a tasteless waste.

So too, live but once; so live that you are born but once.

Do not fall in love with the world so much that your false fascination brings you again and again into this delusive amalgam of joy and grief.

Unless you stand back a little, away from entanglement with the world, knowing that it is all a play whose director is the Divine, you are in danger of being too closely involved.

Use the world as a training ground for sacrifice, service, expansion of the heart and cleansing of the emotions. That is the only value it has.

Do not waste time purposelessly; let every moment be worship. Know the purpose of Worship or "Rememberance of the Divine's Name" Namasmarana and devote yourself wholeheartedly to it; derive the maximum benefit from the years allotted to you.

- Divine Discourse, Mar 28, 1967.

Rise every day with the thought of the Divine; spend every day with the name of Him; go back to bed with the thought of His glory as enshrined in His name.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Who are the cops that are following us in this lifetime, regardless of our preferences?

A sense of real value must influence every choice that you make. The goal is Divine-realisation, the realisation of the reality over which all this is but an appearance! That should not be allowed to fade.

So long as you act with an eye to benefit by it for yourself, you will have to undergo the consequences and suffer either joy or grief, being born to bear them both.

A person being transferred from one jail to another will have two constables who will escort him; the "good consequences and bad consequences of actions" are the constables who lead man from one birth to another!

If you must escape from their attention and avoid migration from one jail to another, act but do not calculate the consequences.

That is to say, do not worry about the consequences; leave it to Him who prompted the act and made it possible. Dedicate the act, the will, the wish, all to the Divine.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 11, 1966.

He alone is the giver of life, the guardian of life and the goal of life!

Source: radiosai.org