Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

Today, jealousy and ego have become prevalent without any limit in the entire world. If one students gets first class, the others become jealous of him. Similarly, if somebody is healthy and happy, others feel jealous of him. A pauper feels jealous of a wealthy person. The same can be said of birds and animals also. Cranes make fun of swans. The melodious singing of a cuckoo is like cacophony to crows.

Worldly people are like crows. Therefore, people who are on the path of truth should not bother about what others say; they should make efforts to lead their life on the righteous path.

Without bothering about the barking of dogs, the elephant continues to move forward majestically. Where is the elephant and where are the dogs! There can be no comparison between the two. Likewise, a cuckoo bird continues to sing melodiously without bothering about the cawing of crows. Does it stop singing just because the crows are cawing at it? No.

In the same manner, people may feel jealous of your goodness, progress, well-being, and purity, but you should continue to keep your heart pure without taking any notice of them.

You should not be dejected or depressed by their negative feelings and criticism.

If the feelings behind an action are good, it is bound to be fruitful. Therefore, make efforts to keep your own feelings pure and do not change them under the influence of others. Yad bhavam tad bhavathi (as are the feelings, so is the result). Whatever the nature of your action, you will have the fruit accordingly.

God is concerned with your inner feelings and not with your outward show. But worldly people see only your outward actions and may make fun of you. God is bhava priya (lover of pure feelings). He is pleased with you if your inner feelings are pure. You have to keep your feelings pure in order to realise Divinity, which is all-pervasive. All your actions depend on your feelings. They are the reflections of your inner being. Whatever you see in the external world is nothing but the reaction, reflection, and resound of your inner feelings. Therefore, you have to make proper use of your body, time, and energy in order to purify your feelings.

People today undertake various types of sadhana (spiritual practices). What is the meaning of sadhana? Is it to perform japa (chanting of God’s Name), dhyana (meditation), or bhajan (devotional singing)? All these are mere devotional activities. True sadhana lies in giving up abhava (defects) and anatma bhava (feelings of non-self).

Perform worldly activities with a sense of detachment. Focus on Kshetrajna (the knower of the field) and not on kshetra (field). That is to say, you give up worldly feelings and develop divine feelings. Leave the path of pravritti (worldliness) and proceed on the path of nivritti (spirituality). This is the real sadhana.

Seeing, hearing, thinking, and getting attached to persons and things are worldly activities. You should transcend all this. That is the attribute of nivritti. Make efforts to understand the nature of nivritti. What is the source of nivritti? I have told this to our students on many occasions.

Aham originates from the Atma. Aham means ‘I’. This is the first name of God. Every human being utters this letter ‘I’ in their worldly pursuits. It is from this Aham that the mind is born. Speech is born out of the mind. Therefore, Aham is the son of the Atma, mind is the grandson, and speech is the great grandson. All these belong to the same family of the Atma.

They have only one property: Sat-ChitAnanda (Existence, Knowledge, Bliss). All three, the Aham, mind, and speech, are endowed with Sat-Chit-Ananda. In fact, SatChit-Ananda is all-pervasive.

Sarvatah Panipadam Tat Sarvathokshi Siromukham, Sarvatah Srutimalloke Sarvamavruthya Tishthati (With hands, feet, eyes, head, mouth, and ears pervading everything, He permeates the entire universe). Wherever you look, you find this principle of Sat-ChitAnanda. This is the attribute of God.

When you say God is attributeless, wherefrom does this Sat-Chit-Ananda come?

Just as fire has three attributes, namely, redness, power to burn, and heat, God also has these attributes: Sat, Chit, and Ananda.

Sat is that which exists forever. It is steady, changeless, pure, and selfless. Such is the principle of Sat.

Then comes Chit. It means awareness or consciousness.

Wherefrom does Ananda originate? The combination of Sat and Chit is Ananda. That is why everyone aspires for happiness from birth to death.

Students are happy when they pass their examinations. But this happiness is short-lived. They want to attain higher levels. Even after attaining higher degrees, they are not happy; they want to secure a job. But even after getting a job, they are not happy. They jump from one desire to another all their life. There is no end to their desires. Since they entertain limitless desires, they are unable to attain everlasting happiness.

Worldly happiness is momentary. It is not the quality of a human being to aspire for such happiness.

All these change and perish in a short time, but you consider all these to be permanent and waste your life in their pursuit.

All this is just like a dream. The mansions and palatial buildings that you see in a dream are not there when you wake up. Similarly, what you see in your waking state is not there in your dream state. One is the night dream, the other is the day dream. Both are dreams, essentially. But you are present in both. Therefore, you are omnipresent.

Such eternal principle is within you and not outside. The happiness that you get from worldly objects, matters, and individuals is not permanent. All these are like passing clouds. But you consider them to be permanent and undergo a lot of hardship to possess them.

You have to take to the path of spirituality to understand truth. Thousands take to the spiritual path and perform many sadhanas (spiritual practices), but how many are able to experience bliss? They undertake spiritual practices for a number of years and grow old in the process. Ultimately, they leave their mortal coil without achieving any result.

What is the reason? The reason is that they do not have firm faith. Moreover, they have no love in their heart. I have told you many times that there are two main principles that support the ladder of spirituality. The principle of love supports it at the base and faith at the top. Only when you have both love and faith can you climb this ladder of spirituality and attain the goal of your life. Today, some people have love but no faith and others have faith but no love. Only faith is not enough; love is also very essential. Faith and love are closely related to each other.

Today, the hearts of many spiritual seekers are full of negative thoughts. How, then, can they attain positive results? 2312First of all, they should get rid of their negative thoughts.

Everybody is bound to leave this world some day or the other. The human body is not permanent. Even the fruits of our actions are temporary, like passing clouds. Why should you suffer so much hardship for these temporary fruits?

People do not make efforts to attain God, who is true and eternal. They vigorously pursue education for bhukti (worldly possessions) and not for mukthi (liberation). What can this worldly education give us? It can give us only worldly gains, power, and position.

But there are only two things that you should uphold in this life, one is truth, and the other is good reputation.

You should earn a good name. How is it possible? It is possible only by following the path of truth. You cannot earn this in any other way. Truth is the source of good reputation of man. In fact, truth is God; it is all-pervasive. Truth is our very life and the source of our sustenance. That is why our ancient culture teaches, Sathyam bruyath, priyam bruyath, na bruyath sathyamapriyam (speak truth, speak pleasantly and do not speak unpalatable truth). Sathyam vada, dharmam chara (speak truth, practise righteousness).

Make truth and righteousness the basis of your life. If you want to earn a good name in this physical world, your actions should also be good.

The world will respect you as long as you have wealth, gold, and other worldly possessions. Actually, what is it that people respect you for? You are deluded to think that they respect you. No, no. They do not respect you but they respect your wealth, high position, power, and intellectual capabilities.

Earn respect by your good character. Character alone confers good reputation. You should have both individual character and national character. First of all, one should have individual character. How can anybody have national character without individual character? If you have national character, you will be remembered as a good person in history.

What is the real meaning of history? His story is history, which includes the stories of Avatars like Rama and Krishna. You cannot write your own story and call it history. In fact, it would be an insult to history itself. The story of God is true history. That which describes the divine attributes of the Avatars and ideals set by them is true history.

You should not remain a mere mortal. You should become immortal by earning a place in history. You should not covet worldly gains, which are ephemeral like passing clouds. Are there not many wealthy and highly educated intellectuals in this world? But these so-called intellectuals see only diversity in unity. The world needs virtuous people who see unity in diversity and not pseudo intellectuals who divide unity into diversity. Only those who see unity in diversity find high place in history. Therefore, understand the principle of unity in diversity.

Names and forms may vary, but the principle of Divinity is one and the same in all. That principle of Divinity is truth. How do we attain this truth? It cannot be learnt from a teacher or a book. It cannot be purchased in the market, nor can it be gifted to you by a friend. It has to be acquired from your own practical life. Keep in view this principle of truth as your goal every moment of your life. That is true humanness. The proper study of humanity is the human being.

Humanness lies in the unity of thought, word, and deed (trikarana suddhi), but how many people have it today? How many are able to experience unity? Year after year, they perform spiritual practices. They do the parayana (ceremonial study) of many sacred texts like the Ramayana, the Bhagavata, and the Mahabharata. But what is the use? Do they derive any benefit out of it?

Put your hand on your heart and ask yourself. Then you will be able to know the truth. Have you made even a little spiritual progress? No, not at all. What is the use of leading such a life for any length of time? Your heart is your witness. Then what is the use of doing all these spiritual practices, participating in congregations, studying sacred texts, and performing prayers and worship? All these endeavours are like roasted grains, which get blown away with a gust of wind. This is not what you should attain. When you make real spiritual progress, your heart will acknowledge it. You should strive for that.

Today, all your actions have become artificial. Whatever you do, do it wholeheartedly. Art is outside and heart is inside. Therefore, follow your heart. There is no point in following others.

Munde munde mathir bhinnah (opinions vary from person to person). There are as many opinions as there are heads. Even the actions and their results vary from person to person. Such being the case, why do you imitate others? Follow the dictates of your heart.

Imitation is human and creation is divine. Creation comes from your heart. When you follow your heart, all your doubts will be dispelled. You will move forward on the spiritual path in spite of any number of hurdles and obstacles and ultimately realise truth. This is what is called “sathya smriti” (remembering truth).

Immerse yourselves in the vibrations of truth. These vibrations are present everywhere, but you are not able to visualise them. Just because you are unable to see them, you cannot deny their existence. There is air all around us, but our eyes cannot see it. Can we deny its existence? Similarly, divine vibrations are present in you, with you, above you, below you, and around you. You have to make efforts to understand this divine principle of the Atma.

Many people perform spiritual practices and listen to the stories of noble souls in congregations, but they do not retain anything in their heart. Just as we exhale the air that we inhale, we leave out everything that we hear. You should imbibe all that is divine and cast off all that is worldly.

People today perform spiritual practices but they do not get any real Ananda (Bliss) out of them. The reason is their worldly attachment. Worldly possessions are temporary. You have to ultimately leave all your worldly possessions. That which will always remain with you, in you, around you and protect you is only truth. This is the sacred path that you should follow.

There is no point in chanting ‘Rama, Rama’ mechanically. You repeat it only with your lips; it does not come from your heart. Even a tape recorder or a gramophone record can repeat the divine Name endlessly. What benefit do they derive out of it?

Many people talk about free will, free will, free will. Nobody has free will except God. You may say that you have free will, but actually you do not have it.

You should use your will power and connect your heart to God, not the physical heart, but spiritual heart. Wherever you are and whatever you may do, contemplate on God as naturally as you inhale and exhale your breath. This process of inhalation and exhalation continues when you are sleeping, working, or even quarrelling with others. This is a natural process, and nothing can come in its way. Similarly, you should contemplate on Divinity in any form continuously, whatever you may be doing. Strive to follow this path, which is ever true and eternal.

What you have to develop today is sathya and dharma (truth and righteousness). No special efforts are needed to protect this world. In fact, no individual can protect it. It is only sathya and dharma that protect this world. Therefore, what you have to protect is sathya and dharma. If you protect sathya and dharma, they will in turn protect the world. In fact, you should consider sathya and dharma as your very life breath.

Dharmayeva hatho hanthi, dharmo rakshati rakshitah (If you destroy dharma, you will be destroyed by dharma. Similarly, if you protect dharma, you will be protected by dharma.) But today people do not know what is sathya and dharma.

Trikalabadhyam sathyam (Truth remains unchanged in the three periods of time - past, present, and future). Truth does not change. That which changes from time to time is only nijam (worldly truth). In the morning, it is yoga (spirituality), during the day it is bhoga (indulgence) and at night it is roga (disease). Such is the nature of worldly truth. It is no truth at all.

The Ramayana is the story of the battle between Rama and Ravana. Ravana had only one defect in him and that was kama (desire), which brought about his ruination. Similarly, the battle of the Mahabharata was fought on account of the lobha (greed) of Duryodhana, which led to his downfall. Likewise, the Bhagavata describes the story of Hiranyakasipu, who met his doom due to his wicked quality of anger. Thus, the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, and the Bhagavata teach us that even if there is one wicked quality in an individual, it causes enormous destruction and leads to his ruination.

Then, what can be said of man’s fate today who has got all the three wicked qualities, namely, kama, krodha, and lobha (desire, anger, and greed)? These three wicked qualities are the main obstacles on the Godward path. In fact, as the Gita declares, these are verily the three main gates that lead to hell. One who has these wicked qualities is bound to perish.

Therefore, first of all, make efforts to get rid of these evil qualities. Only then will your life become worthwhile and will you attain good reputation. Otherwise, you will be put to disrepute.

From outside, a fig fruit may appear to be beautiful but when you open it, you may find it full of insects. Likewise, man today is shining outwardly. He acts as if he is happy. It is just like cinema acting. This is not true happiness. True happiness is that which comes from your heart. That is real fulfilment and bliss. That is your true property.

Who is the poorest man in this world? He who has many desires is the poorest man. Who is the richest man in this world? He who has much satisfaction is the richest man. Only the one who has satisfaction can attain peace.

But who has satisfaction today? None, in fact. People have trishna (craving), but not trupti (satisfaction). Their desires go on increasing every moment. People should leave trishna and follow Krishna. When one follows Krishna, one can attain everything. Similarly, you will be free from difficulties when you follow Rama. Therefore, chant the name of the Lord and obey His command.

But how far are you following the command of the Lord? Rama set the ideal of obedience to the command of his father. But, how many today follow the command of their parents? Rama was the embodiment of truth. But what people follow today is only untruth. They perform Sathya Narayana Vrata once a year, but the rest of the year they resort to only asathya (untruth). This is not correct.

Sarvada sarva kaleshu sarvatra Hari chintanam (everywhere, at all times, under all circumstances contemplate on God). People do not make even a little effort to follow truth. Whenever they open their mouth, only untruth comes out of it. They even do not try to know what sathya (truth) is.

Never give up truth under any circumstances. Uphold it even at the risk of your life. Sathya is in you, with you, around you, and it will protect you just as the eyelids protect the eyes.

Harishchandra earned the title Sathya Harishchandra by uncompromisingly adhering to truth. How many sufferings he had to undergo and how many difficulties he had to bear! He was even forced to sell his wife and son. He lost his kingdom and became a keeper of the cremation ground. In spite of all this, he was unnerved and unperturbed. He firmly held on to truth. Ultimately, God Himself manifested before him and restored everything he had lost. Besides, He conferred upon him the title of Sathya Harishchandra.

The Vedas declare, Srunvantu viswe amrithasya putrah (Oh the children of immortality! Listen). Man has to earn this title of Amritha Putra (son of immortality). You are Amritha Putra and not Anritha Putra (son of falsehood). You are born to truth and not to untruth. God is the embodiment of truth and all are His progeny.

Just as water bubbles originate from water, all human beings originate from the ocean of SatChit-Ananda (Being-A wareness-Bliss). All are embodiments of Sat-Chit-Ananda. Everyone should understand this truth. You are human only in form, but you are essentially the embodiment of Sat-Chit-Ananda.

When you have such feelings firmly rooted in your heart, how blissful you will be! The feelings should not be artificial. These should be the natural feelings of your heart. You should have the firm conviction, “I am the embodiment of Sat-Chit-Ananda. The body, mind, and intellect may perish, but I am the immortal and eternal principle of oneness, that is, Atma.” When you develop such firm feelings, you will attain God-realisation.

But people today do not have faith in such feelings. Then, how can they have Godrealisation? Therefore, have faith in yourself and faith in God. If you have these two, you can have everything. Be fearless. Don’t be afraid of anything. Why should you be afraid when you have truth with you? Truth is not afraid of anything. That is why the Vedas declare, sathyam vada (speak truth), sathyameva jayate (truth alone triumphs).

You can attain the principle of truth only by following the path of love. All My Discourses begin with truth and love and also end with them. I may or may not speak on any other subject, but I always dwell upon sathya and prema. There is no Discourse in which I do not touch these two topics. The reason is that sathya and prema are verily the life of everyone. Both of these are like the inhalation and exhalation of our breath.

Just as man cannot live without inhalation and exhalation, he cannot live without sathya and prema. Sathya symbolises the process of inhalation, ‘So’, and prema denotes the process of exhalation, ‘Ham’. Sathya and prema both combine to form the immortal Soham mantra, which sustains our life.

Develop truth and love from this young age itself. Never misuse sathya and prema. Adhere to sathya and follow the right path. But people distort sathya and prema because of their selfishness and self-interest.

Sathya Harishchandra could successfully uphold truth because the environment in those days was so pure. Nothing could deviate him from the path of truth. But the evil influence of Kali Age is such that even if Harishchandra were to come today, people would make him utter untruth. Many people make a firm resolve to speak truth but when it comes to practice they speak only untruth. This is due to the influence of Kali Yuga.

You should not fall a prey to this influence of Kali Yuga. Let your truth make Ananda (Bliss) overflow in your heart. It does not matter even if you do not perform any spiritual practice. It is enough if you develop truth and love.

Violence has no place where there is truth, righteousness, love, and peace. For those who are endowed with sathya, dharma, santhi, and prema, ahimsa (nonviolence) will manifest in them in full glory. Due to lack of these values today, the world is beset with violence. Wherever you see there is violence, be it in the house, outside in the bazar, in a train, in a bus, or in a plane.

Life today is full of fear, and man is caught in the maze of the world. The entire atmosphere is full of fear. People are full of fear even when they are in their house without venturing outside anywhere.

Which is the place where there is no fear? There is no fear in divine proximity. There is no scope for fear when God is installed in you. Therefore, first and foremost make God the resident of your heart. You are endowed with hridaya (heart) so that you can install God in it and not give place to worldly thoughts. God is the indweller of your heart. Not only that. God has given His word,

Always speak truth under all circumstances. You may experience some difficulty in the beginning, but, truly speaking, it is very easy to speak truth. It does not involve any effort.

But if you want to speak untruth, you have to think a lot and plan so much. How much effort is required to speak untruth! Why do you take so much trouble to speak untruth? Speak truth, which does not involve any effort at all. Speaking truth is as easy as crushing the petals of a flower.

How easy it is to report things as they are! If someone were to ask you, “Who has done the translation?” you can at once reply, “Anil Kumar.” But if you don’t want to mention Anil Kumar’s name, you have to do a lot of planning. Why do you undergo so much difficulty? Why don’t you speak truth and report things as you see them?

Do you require a mirror to look at your bracelet? You can see your bracelet directly. But your eyes cannot see your Self. You need to have a third eye to see it. This third eye is the eye of love. You can see everything with the three eyes of truth, righteousness, and love.

The practice of yoga involves the three processes of puraka (inhalation), kumbhaka (retention) and rechaka (exhalation). There are three subtle nerve channels - ida, pingala, and sushumna - through which prana (life principle) flows in the body. Ida is the right nerve channel, pingala is the left nerve channel, and sushumna is in the centre.

When Mira sang the song, Chalore Mana Ganga Yamuna Teer ... (Oh mind! Go to the banks of Ganga and Yamuna), she actually referred to ida and pingala. Ganga and Yamuna are, in fact, within you. You don’t need any ticket or a vehicle to go to their banks. It is very easy to go there. All that you need to do is to focus your vision on bhrumadhya (centre of the eyebrows). Then you will become free from all thoughts. That is where the third eye is. But you cannot see the third eye if you try to cut the centre of your forehead open. You will see only blood coming out it. The third eye is not to be found at the physical plane; it is at the subtle plane.

God is called Trinetra (one endowed with three eyes). What is the reason? Every person has two eyes, with which they can see the past and present but not the future. Only God can see the future also.

Our ancient Indian culture is replete with such inner meanings. How sacred, ideal, exalted, noble, and vibrant is our Indian culture! Students should try to know this. Unfortunately, they do not know what culture is.

Eliot did a lot of research on culture and ultimately declared, “Culture is a way of life.” What does the way of life mean? This is the way that leads us to the goal of human life. It is our divine and sacred heritage.

Why are the Bharatiyas (Indians), who have got such rich cultural heritage, going astray? At least from today onward, make efforts to uphold your cultural heritage. That is possible only through love.