Life 46 (Aug 23 - May 24)

[winston]

What are the six qualities which will guarantee the Divine's love, blessings and Grace for us?

Faith or Self-confidence, Determination, Courage, Intelligence, Energy and Valour - when one has these six qualities, the Divine will stand by them, in all their endeavours.

In any age, any place or in any circumstance, these six good qualities are essential. No worry will haunt anyone who has these six virtues.

These six qualities cannot be acquired by education nor imparted by any preceptor. Nor can they be inherited from one's parents.

These qualities are secured only by Self-confidence.

In our daily experience, faith is evident from the simple act of posting a letter. No one will send a letter by post if he did not have faith in the postal department. The address and postage stamp on the letter are unaffected by distance.

Likewise, the Divine makes no distinction between those near to Him or remote from Him.

One's faith should be properly addressed. Faith should be unwavering, total and free from doubts of any kind.

The letter of faith must carry the stamp of selfless love (Prema). Selfish love will be useless. When firm faith is associated with unselfish love, prayers addressed to the Divine are bound to reach Him.

- Divine Discourse, Dec 25, 1997.

The basic moral prescription for the devotee who aspires to be near and dear to the Divine, is ‘Worship the Divine and offer Love to Him in every living being.’

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why should we never give up service to society?

Even liberation (moksha) can be won through serving and promoting the progress of society.

Through the sense of unity, the willingness to sacrifice and the softness of compassion, all objects can be gained.

The first lesson in seva (service) must be learnt in the family circle. Father, Mother, brothers, sisters - in this limited well-knit group, one must engage in loving service and prepare for wider seva that awaits outside home.

The character of each individual member determines the peace and prosperity of the family; the Character of each family is the basic factor that decides the happiness and joy of a village or community. And, the nation's progress is based on the strength and happiness of its communities.

So, for the welfare of the country and of the entire World, the spirit of service, vital enthusiasm, constructive imagination, pure motivation, and unselfish alertness are urgently needed.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 19, 1981.

The Divine sets the example for devotees to follow. He teaches that service done to any living being is offered to Him only and is accepted by Him most joyfully.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

How should we celebrate the joyous Divine Advent of an Avatar?

The Divine Incarnation (Avatar) is the power of the Supreme Soul (Atma Shakti) that has put on the raiment of power of action and power of divine communion.

Generally, Avatarana (the process of incarnation) is described as a 'coming down' from a higher status to a lower one.

But, no! When the baby in the cradle weeps, wails and clamours for help, the mother stoops and takes it up in her arms. Her stoop is not to be described as a 'coming down’.

If you earn the necessary credentials, the Incarnation will come and save you. If, on the other hand, you multiply your demerits and descend lower and lower, how can you be saved?

Have pure love and divine bliss (Ananda) in your heart.

Ananda comes from pure vision, pure listening, pure speech and pure actions.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1978.

Offer yourself to the Divine and in a moment you will experience Him within you.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Avatars

All who come embodied are Avatars, advent of Divine manifestations of Him.

What then is the special feature of the ascended masters? Why do we worship, adore and celebrate only these with reverence?

The individuals that are in awareness are Avatars, individuals that are unaware are humans. They are aware of Atma (Inner-Self) which is the Truth. Because you have forgotten your true Self you lead lives with the feeling that you are human.

As Divinity is in the Atma, the individuals with awareness are adored with the appellation of Avatars.

Just like when you dream, you forget your many experiences during wakefulness, so too, having been born in this world with a body, you have forgotten the awareness of your Atmic nature and you have achievements in this dream world alone as your goal.

As Divinity is beyond wakefulness, dream and sleep; beyond time, space and causation; a person with awareness of the divine nature, can no doubt be proclaimed as an Avatar.

Of what use is it to honour the Avatar and hold the day when the Avatar took human form as sacred?

The message of the Avatar must be born, must become alive, must grow in you, in your heart; that is the birthday, you have to celebrate.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1972.

Plant the seeds of Love in your hearts, let them grow into trees of service and shower the sweet fruits of Ananda (bliss). Share the Ananda with all. That is the proper way to celebrate the Birthday.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why should we be careful about every thought, word and deed?

Know that whatever you feel or do, is an offering to the Divine, that flows towards Him. So, be cautious.

Do not offer bad thoughts, words and deeds, which He does not accept. Offer instead the holy and the pure. That’s your duty.

That will ensure Self-satisfaction. Self-satisfaction paves the way to Self-sacrifice and Self-sacrifice brings about Self-Realisation.

The entire process rests upon faith; Self-satisfaction, Self-sacrifice and Self-realisation - all these depend on faith.

Faith decides the yearning; the yearning decides the fruit; and the act decides the stage that is reachable.

For, the sincerity of the act, promotes the purity of the path; the purity of the path determines the validity of the wisdom and true wisdom is Divinity itself.

The act, the conduct, way of life - all these must be disciplined and elevated. How can a mind encumbered with desires ever rest content? How can it welcome sacrifice? Hence, one must involve themselves only in acts that encourage detachment and renunciation!

- Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1984.

One filled with Divine Love will be fearless, will seek nothing from others and will be spontaneous and selfless in expressing one’s love.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

As sincere seekers, what should we be grateful for and what should we work upon?

A person stands knee-deep in the river and utters hymns in praise of the river. He lifts up in his palm, sacred water of the river and pours it back as his offering to the deity the river represents.

Its water into itself - The Divine's gift to Himself again! That’s all one is capable of; that is all one needs to do.

He endowed you with this wonderful body, this sweet tongue, this amazing instrument called mind! He granted you intelligence, powers of analysis and synthesis, the capacity to receive and give up, to remember and forget.

Acknowledge these gratefully and use them to the best advantage. Use them to see Him everywhere in all beings, to seek Him through all the ups and downs, joys and griefs, doubt and decisions of life.

These dual impacts are a result of wavering of the mind. The mind revels in diversity of name and form; it must be drilled into the recognition and enjoyment of unity!

- Divine Discourse, Nov 22, 1970.

The sense of ego separates the individual from the Divine. When the individual offers everything to Him, this ego barrier is removed.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why should our devotion not stop merely at adoration of the Divine

Let us consider chamatkara, acts that attract and cause wonder.

You see a flower. You long to hold it in your hand only when its colour or fragrance is attractive.

You enter the market and see heaps of fruits. If the fruits are not attractive, you have no urge to eat them and benefit from them.

Attraction is the very nature of the Divine. Once the person is drawn near, the process of samskara (transformation) starts. Without this, man remains fallow and feeble. He has no dignity or personality.

A worthless steel lump, is transformed by skillful manipulation and reconstruction into a watch that is worth several hundred rupees; this is the result of samskara, which turned it into a useful tool for indicating time.

Thus, man can also be transformed into a noble, efficient, happy and disciplined member of society, by the implanting of good thoughts, good feelings, good deeds and good emotions.

Such transformed persons will spontaneously engage themselves in the task of promoting human welfare. They will be promoters of the ideals of brotherhood of man and fatherhood of the Divine.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1976.

When you are immersed in worldly affairs, He brings tears to your eyes. When you are immersed in spirituality, He wipes away your grief.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What should our Sadhana (spiritual practice) be directed towards?

The shadows are many and varied, though the light is One.

When the One is reflected in the many, in the multitude of jivis , it appears as the Self in each, which watches unaffected as the witness.

The Atma (Divine Self) is Eternal. The Self is Truth. However, since it is enclosed in flesh, bone and skin, man deludes himself into believing that the outer covering and not the inner core is the source of bliss.

The foremost duty of man to himself, is therefore to penetrate through these sheaths and imbibe the higher bliss which his Atmic core alone can confer.

Everyone must, in their own best interests, strive to attain that unifying principle that is their inner treasure.

Of all Sadhanas (spiritual exercises) this is the most pertinent - the process of achieving this closeness.

For, Sadhana means the endeavour and the effort to gain the desired object.

Activities that are devoid of Truth, do not deserve to be known as Sadhana.

The Atma is the Universal Eternal Truth and therefore, it cannot be gained by search in the particularised and the temporary world.

The Divine shines in your heart and can be won only therein.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1984.

So long as one is dominated by sense pleasure, it cannot be said that their spiritual life has even started.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the holistic approach we must employ to be successful in this spiritual quest?

All the myriad differences that one sees in the world, are only variations in form of the one basic entity - the Brahman.

A man who seeks to enjoy the fruit of a tree, cannot be content with nourishing only the flowers. He has to nourish the roots, the trunk, the branches, the leaves and the flowers.

Likewise, the man who seeks the highest Jnana (wisdom) has to nourish the body, the senses, and the feelings appropriately.

For this purpose, the nine forms of devotion have been prescribed for seekers.

The mind, it has been said, is the cause of bondage or liberation. The mind is like a lock and the heart is the key.

When the key is turned towards the Divine, there is detachment. When it is turned towards the world there is attachment. Thus, the mind is the cause of either liberation or bondage.

Therefore, the mind has to be directed towards what is holy and pure. Then you will lead a free, joyous, blissful life.

The man who has developed such an attitude will be in a permanent state of bliss. He will be the embodiment of bliss.

- Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1989.

Offer services and receive love. This is the recipe for experiencing Divinity.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

How should the faculties of the senses and the mind, be controlled and guided, so that we reach the goal?

The body is a chariot. The charioteer is the principle of Buddhi (intelligence).

The senses are the horses. The reins that regulate and restrain the horses are the mind.

When the mind wavers and wanders, not having stability of purpose, the horses run helter-skelter, endangering even the charioteer, Buddhi (Intellect).

Speech is an important function of the senses and serves the whims of the mind. So, one must control the mind and not pollute it with greed for sense pleasures.

Nor should the mind be tossed about on waves of 'Yes' and 'No', of acceptance and rejection, of resolutions and hesitations.

The mind must act as an associate of the Buddhi. Speech subserving the mind and mind subserving intellect - this is the way to bring about Prashanti, Supreme Peace!

And note this: Slowly and steadily, instruct the intellect to turn towards Atma. Speech with mind, mind with intellect and intellect illumined by the Atma — this ensures you attain your genuine goal!

- Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1984.

To control the mind, we should control the five senses. Only then will we be able to realise the Divine.

Source: radiosai.org