Life 48 (Feb 25 - Dec 26)

[winston]

What is the relationship we must strive to have with the Divine?

You must all realise that the relationship between you and Him is not related only to the physical body.

Thinking only of the physical relationship, you should not waste your life.

The body is a passing thing. You should concentrate on the attainment of that which is permanent and beyond the limitations of time and space.

You have seen for yourself and experienced the Divine here. You must carry with you this experience and enlarge it by contemplating on it internally.

Here is an example. Thousands have assembled in the Hall. The Avatar has been conversing with you. How long can this last? Perhaps for two or three hours.

Tomorrow you will all be returning to your respective places. After you go back, the memory of what you have experienced here, the discourse to you and the presence of thousands of devotees will be etched in your mind whenever you try to recall this day.

It will be a lifelong possession for you. This is because you are carrying Him in your mind.

Looking at things externally, the hall will be before you for only a short time. But you must retain permanently what you have seen with the outward-looking eyes.

- Divine Discourse, Jul 24, 1983

Happiness derived from worldly objects is transient. The source or spring of bliss lies within one’s own being.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What clouds the experience of our true essence? What must we do to experience it?

The Divine is everywhere. You are Divine.

It is the agglomeration of body, mind, and senses which is preventing you from recognising your inherent divinity.

You are covering yourself in this manner. You are the cause of your bondage through the body and mind.

When you understand the nature of the body-mind complex, you will realise your true essence.

It is enough if you develop the conviction that you and the Divine are one, Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman).

Cultivate steadfast faith in this Divine oneness through love. That love will lead you to Self-realisation.

Wherever you may be and whatever you do, regard yourselves as instruments of the Divine and act on that basis.

You need not wait for a whole year to observe any holy Festival. Treat every moment of your life as being intended for dedication to the Divine.

This is the way to experience the Divine all the time, at all places. This is true Sakshatkara (Vision of the Divine).

Serve all and love all. Firmly believe that the Divine is in everyone and constantly act on this belief. Only by continual practice can you develop this sacred attitude.

- Divine Discourse, Jul 7, 1990

Your evil qualities have covered up your divinity. When you remove this covering, you will have the vision of your true form.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the one thing that we are all aspiring for?

Note that everyone, from the beggar to the billionaire, is prompted by the urge to achieve ananda (supreme bliss), which is based on inner peace and unaffected by ups and downs.

Every activity, however elementary or earth-shaking, is subservient to this ideal.

This Bliss Divine is not manufactured by any company, nor available in any shop. It is not something that can be earned from outside and added to the sum of one’s possessions.

It has to sprout and grow from within and fostered and treasured within.

Take the case of the contentment and pleasure that food imparts. A hungry man may hold bundles of currency notes in his grasp or even plenty of eatables but unless he consumes the eatables or converts the currency into consumable food and eats them and they become part of him, no sense of satisfaction can arise.

Similarly, bliss too is an inner experience, an elevating, exhilarating inner calm. It cannot be gained by the accumulation of impediments like cars and houses, land and gold, stocks and shares.

How can a cash-box appease hunger or a passbook give peace?

- Divine Discourse, Feb 03, 1972

Happiness of material origin is short-lived and has misery as its obverse.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

How can we live in truth and righteousness? What can we do to enjoy peace every day?

When your thoughts emanate from a mind purified by love, they will result in right action, which is dharma.

When love becomes part of your experience, thoughts and actions, you get shanti (Peace).

When we comprehend love clearly, ahimsa or non-violence, will result automatically.

So, love is the unseen undercurrent binding all four values. It can be summarised thus: love plus thoughts is satya. Love plus feelings is shanti; love plus action is dharma and love plus understanding is ahimsa.

Love is the common denominator for all these values. It is the form of the Divine, for He is love.

One who gives love is a man, and one who fails to nourish this love is a beast.

Love, or the absence of love, makes one an animal, man or Divine. Nurturing love is possible only in a tender heart. Because of attachment to worldly objects, that tenderness is lost.

When the mind is directed towards the sensual world, life becomes artificial.

- Divine Discourse, Jan 25, 1985

The absence of love leads to the absence of unity. When there is no unity, there is no purity and without purity, divinity cannot be realised.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the nature of our mind and how can we deal with it?

The mind flits fast from one idea to another; it fondles for a moment and forsakes it the very next moment.

You may manage to keep your mouth shut, but it is next to impossible to keep the mind shut.

The mind is of that nature; it is woven so, out of the yarn of desire. Its characteristic is to flutter and flit, hither and thither, through the outlets of senses, into the external world of colour, sound, taste, smell and touch. But it can be tamed and put to good use by man.

If we keep it engaged in good pursuits and good adventures, particularly in the contemplation of the Universal, the Absolute, the Eternal, that is to say, Divinity, then it will not go astray and land man in ruin; for He is the source of undying strength, of everlasting joy and unfathomable wisdom.

- Divine Discourse, May 19, 1969

The body is like a water bubble, the mind is like a monkey; don’t follow the body or the mind, follow the conscience.

Source: radiosai.org

[behappyalways]

Pregnant Wildebeest Dies at Waterhole - What Happens Next is Nature’s Reality
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=Fxmyu0K_qcU

[winston]

What should we do to ensure our life is a pilgrimage?

For want of the five human values, mankind is in the throes of distress and disaster.

The morning newspaper is full of murder, massacre, arson and dacoity.

The brain and the mind have been polluted to a dangerous extent.

Education aims only at providing information and promoting skills. It has not tackled the problem of moral degeneration, of the sublimation of low desires, of sense control and the development of spiritual insight.

Man is converting himself into a brute with a human form.

Man, today, is a beast in human garb. When he develops and demonstrates human values, he would have to discard the beast in him and become man, the pilgrim to the Divine.

- Divine Discourse, Mar 07, 1986

For peace and happiness, human values are most important. Bereft of human values, man can never be at peace.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the attitude with which we must take up the Sadhana of service?

Just think for a moment: Are you serving Him? Or is He serving you?

When a pilgrim stands waist-deep in the river, takes in his palms the sacred water and reciting an invocatory formula, pours the water as an offering or arpanam as he calls it, what he has done is only pour Ganga into Ganga!

When you offer milk to a hungry child or a blanket to a shivering brother on the pavement, you are doing nothing but placing a gift of the Divine into the hands of another as a gift of the Divine!

You are reposing the gift of His in a repository of the divine principle!

He serves; He allows you to claim that you have served! Without His Will, not a single blade of grass can quiver in the breeze.

Fill every moment with gratitude to the giver and the recipient of all gifts. Nurture the will to ‘give’, to renounce the little for the big, the momentary for the sake of the momentous!

- Divine Discourse, May 19, 1969

In whatever activity you are involved in society, do it with a spirit of service. There is no one in the world who is not a servant.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

For any spiritual aspirant, what is the importance of love and service?

Greater than all other forms of worship is Seva (service to one’s fellow men) done in an unselfish and dedicated spirit.

There is an element of selfishness in forms of worship like recitation, meditation, etc. But when service is done spontaneously, it is its own reward.

It must be done as an offering to Him. Seva is a small word filled with immense spiritual significance.

Seva must be viewed as the highest form of Sadhana. Serving the poor in villages is the best form of sadhana.

In the various forms of worship of the Divine, culminating in atma nivedanam (complete surrender to the Divine), Seva comes before atma nivedanam.

His grace will come when seva is done without expectation of reward or recognition.

Sometimes, ahamkaram (ego) and abhimanam (attachment) raise their heads during seva. These should be eliminated altogether.

- Divine Discourse, Jan 25, 1985

Every Seva done with sympathy and skill to anyone in distress, anywhere in this world is selfless service.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What can we do to enjoy and lead a life of peace and happiness?

People of yore enjoyed peace and happiness a thousand-fold compared to the present generation. They were selfless, egoless and simple. They always had liberation as the goal of their lives.

To enjoy the same kind of peace and joy, we must strive to foster humanism first.

Mind plays a prominent role in the life of man. Mind keeps on playing tricks with humanity.

It can do good and bad. It is the cause for sorrow as well as happiness. Mind is both negative and positive. The principle of the mind is the most important thing that man must know about.

It is the needle-like thorn that gives pain; and it is the same needle that removes the thorn.

It is fire that dispels darkness and cooks food. It is the same fire that burns and destroys things.

The mind alone is responsible for both bondage and liberation. It is the mind that is responsible for all our joys, sorrows, sins, merits, good or bad.

We must try to understand the traits of the mind, and we must strive to take hold of it.

- Divine Discourse, Jan 12, 1984

Riches and pomp are ephemeral, like passing clouds. Virtues are our real wealth. To forget virtues is not a symbol of civilised life!

Source: radiosai.org