Life 23 (Jul 14 - Jan 15)

[winston]

What is the simplest discipline to convert our home, wherever we are, into His residence ?

Silence is the first step, which makes the other steps easy. It promotes self-control, lessens chances of anger, hate, malice, greed and pride. Besides, you can hear His footsteps, only when silence reigns in the mind.

Cleanliness opens the door to Divnity. Inner and outer cleanliness are essential to install Him within your heart.

Service saves you from the agony you get when another suffers; it broadens your vision, widens your awareness, and deepens your compassion.

All the waves on the sea originate from the same sea and also merge in it. Selfless Service teaches you to be firm in this knowledge.

Practice Love. Practice hatelessness. None must be looked down upon as secondary, inferior or unimportant. Everyone has their allotted role in the drama designed by the Almighty.

Do not slight, insult or injure anyone; for , He is in every being and your slight thus becomes a sacrilege.

- Divine Discourse, 19 July 1970.

Love is Divine, live in Love.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What should we focus on in this life and why?

When Yajnavalkya resolved to go into the forest to live as an ascetic, he called his two wives before him and proposed to divide the riches he had earned between them.

Before accepting her share, Maitreyi asked her husband whether the riches will help her to realise Truth and achieve immortality. When she understood that they will not, and in fact they are mere hindrances, she refused to be burdened.

Nachiketa refused the gifts of empire, affluence, and years of healthy life.

Prahladha taught the same lesson to his playmates.

Buddha solved the mystery of suffering through renunciation of attachment as the first step in his Sadhana. All of them had implicit faith in the existence of the Divine; their lives revolved on the axis of that faith.

- Divine Discourse, 19 July 1970.

True education is that which develops in you love for your fellow-beings and motivates you to serve the community

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why must we develop the habit to never bear ill-will towards any being in this Universe?

The Gita offers valuable advice to help one swim across the sea of sorrow.

"Bear no ill-will against any living being", "Always be engaged in promoting the wellbeing of all" and "Consider foe and friend alike" - these are jewels contained in the Gita, highlighting the means to develop Universal Love.

By declaring that none should have ill feeling towards the entire world of living beings, the Gita is teaching an invaluable lesson that the Divine is in all beings and objects, as an active illumining Principle, appropriately called Atma.

The Vedic assertions also firmly establish this profound Truth. All are enveloped in Divinity: the inner core of all beings is He.

- Divine Discourse, 29 July 1969.

Love can be developed and fostered only when non-violence is practiced.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why must we persist in transforming ourselves, beyond pain and pleasure?

Grief and joy, and pain and pleasure, alternate like the dark and bright fortnight, by the Divine's decree, to foster equanimity and to lead man towards reality beyond both.

If you do not attempt to transform yourself but resort to blaming the Divine for your sorrows, it is incorrect!

You blame Him because you announce yourself as a devotee too soon, and expect plentiful grace. Grace cannot be claimed as such; first the Divine must accept you!

Use your talent of discrimination to sift the trash and discard it in preference to the valuable. Engage in selfless service; flee from bad persons and win the friendship of the good and noble, who will cleanse you and heal you.

Man is consumed by time; The Divine is the master of time. So take refuge in the Divine.

Let the Divine be your Guru, your path, your Lord.

- Divine Discourse, 2 July 1985.

Your mind must be trained to develop a taste for the good and the divine, not for money or material gains.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What must we do to move nearer to the Divine?

To hate or injure other beings is as bad as hating and injuring oneself. The reason being that the injurer is as much a living being with the Divine as the core, as the injured is.

Until you become aware of your own Divinity, so long as you are conscious of your distinct individuality - till you feel you are you and the Divine is Divine, you struggle, with some attitudes and objectives. This is called the Sadhaka stage.

During that stage, you must endeavour to equip yourself with the qualities of love, sympathy and compassion. For, without these, Yoga and Jnana (wisdom) cannot be secured.

Love is vital, it is divine. To render an act fit to be offered to the Divine and pure enough to win His Grace, it must be a manifestation of Love. The brighter the manifestation, the nearer you are to the Divine.

- Divine Discourse, 29 July 1969.

You are a spark of the Divine and you must manifest Divinity in your every activity.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the easiest way to realize the Divine within?

Let the Divine be your Guru, your path, your Lord.

Adore Him, obey His commands, offer Him your grateful homage, and hold Him fast in your memory. This is the one and only way, and the easiest way to realize Him as your own reality.

This reality is cognisable everywhere. It is evident within yourself, when you earnestly seek it. You can experience it, even while performing selflessly your duty to yourself and others.

I shall indicate to you today, four directives for sanctifying your lives and purifying your mind, so that you can contact the divine within you. They are:
1. Give up the company of the wicked
2. Welcome the chance to be among the good
3. Do good deeds both day and night
4. Remember and discriminate which is lasting or otherwise .

- Divine Discourse, 2 July 1985.

Service to people, even if done as part of one's duty becomes elevated into Divine Worship.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Understanding Desire

We have to understand desire; and it is very difficult to understand something which is so vital, so demanding, so urgent, because in the very fulfillment of desire, passion is engendered with the pleasure and the pain of it.

And if one is to understand desire, obviously, there must be no choice.

You cannot judge desire as being good or bad, noble or ignoble, or say, "I will keep this desire and deny that one."

All that must be set aside if we are to find out the truth of desire, the beauty of it, the ugliness or whatever it may be.

- Krishnamurti, J. Krishnamurti, The Book of Life

Source: www.jkrishnamurti.com

[winston]

What is the secret to universal peace and prosperity?

Love cannot be affected or modified by considerations of caste or creed or religion; it cannot be tarnished by envy, malice or hate.

Preserve Love from being poisoned by these evils; endeavor to cultivate hatred-lessness and distinction-free feelings.

The root of all religions, the substance of all scriptures, the rendezvous of all roads, the inspiration of all individuals is the Principle of Love.

It is the firmest foundation for every human being's mission of Life. It is the Light that ensures world peace and prosperity.

Fill every word of yours with Love. The word that emerges from your tongue should not stab like the knife, nor wound like an arrow, or hit like the hammer.

It has to be a foundation of sweet nectar, a counsel of consoling spiritual wisdom and a soft path of blossoms; it must shower peace and joy.

- Divine Discourse, 2 July 1985.

The Divine loves every being, whose heart is saturated with Divine Love

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

[b]What is the ‘Buy 1 Get 3’ free policy offered by the Divine ? [/b

Many of you do not consider the sacred values of Sathya,Dharma, Shanthi, Prema and Ahimsa ( Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-Violence ) as inner current that are present within you.

In fact, they form the basic foundation of human life. Without the basic fundamentals, the more knowledge you acquire, the greater and longer you continue to be a fool, if you do not invest effort to realize your true nature.

Truth is present and latent within everyone. It is a precious gift from the Divine. Whether you recognize these facts or not, and even if you consider them as irrelevant, these facts remain. Hence now onwards, you must install Truth deeply in your heart.

Love is the natural fruit of developing Truth. If you grow in truthfulness, then as a result, Love blossoms from within. Along with Sathya and Prema, comes Ahimsa.

Truth sustains Ahimsa or Non-Violence. You will find that the value of Non-violence is often absent, in every person, wherever and whenever Love is absent.

- Divine Discourse, June 7, 2007.

Holding fast to Truth, you must make Righteousness, Peace, Love and Non-violence, the guide posts for your life.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the best way to escape from the cycle of birth and death?

Just as all rivers merge in the ocean, all branches of education end in spiritual education. You must experience that kind of totality and merge with Divinity.

Traditions and truths are being separated into various groups and the vicious syndrome of dislike for one person towards the other has come into existence. However, not just in the past, even in the present, there are quite a few people who conduct themselves as per the traditional rules and guidelines with purity, to attain the ultimate goal in life.

The means to liberation, in Krita Yuga was Meditation (Dhyanam), in Tretha Yuga was performing ritualistic worship (Yagna), in Dwapara Yuga it was worship (Archana), and in the present Kali Yuga, it is chanting the Name of the Lord (Namasmarana).

Any or all of these methods, when followed with utmost sincerity and devotion, will help one achieve the
ultimate goal of life which is Liberation (Moksha).

- Divine Discourse, June 7, 2007.

Without surrender, there can be no liberation. So long as you cling to the “I”, the four prison walls will close in on you. Cross out the “I” and you are free.

Source: radiosai.org