Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

This ancient fort is a reminder of the evanescence of earthly glory and the essential futility of all efforts to achieve worldly glory and conquests. These walls and bastions were once the symbols of power and wealth; now, they are symbols of the fickleness of fortune. They have themselves become pathetic ruins, teaching you that Time is the greatest conqueror. Everything material undergoes change; nothing can remain the same. Today merges into tomorrow; it is itself the consequence of yesterday. It is a constant flux, samsara, the flow of Time, the flood of change. Really speaking, this Fort built centuries ago for purposes of defence and aggrandizement has realised its goal today, when this vast gathering of eager seekers meets under the shadow of the walls to hear from Me the message of Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi and Prema. The kings of Pithapuram have clone many meritorious acts of charity, encouraging the study of the Vedas,Shasthras and scriptures, constructing and maintaining houses of worship and temples. Acts such as these will never go unrewarded; good seeds sown must sprout and yield. Many scholars have flourished here and I must reveal to you that I came here today primarily because of the Prema that Varanasi Subrahmanya Shastri bears towards Me and that I bear towards him. The fact that in spite of the very short notice of My arrival at this place on my way to Yelamanchilli, you have come here in thousands, is to be ascribed to your yearning for the higher life and your earnestness to contact the Divine. I know this already. This too is a reason for my stopping here for some hours.

The beaming joy on the faces of this vast multitude is the food that I live upon; I am refreshed when you are happy and content. My thirst is quenched by the joy which lights up your eyes. Your ananda is My ahara (food). I do not feel like talking to you at all, for I desire only to communicate to you My Joy and to get into communion with your Joy. This mutual fulfilment is the essential thing; talking and listening are subsidiary. Moreover, this visit was thought of just while we were starting from Kakinada and you have all gathered at this late hour of night; so, I am not quite pleased at this hurried affair. I shall certainly come again and be with you longer and confer on you more Joy.

I shall leave one message for you to ruminate upon, that is the message of Prema. Love is God, God is Love. Where there is Love, there God is certainly evident. Love more and more people, love them more and more intensely; transform the love into service, transform the service into worship; that is the highest sadhana. There is no living being without the spark of love; even a mad man loves something or somebody intensely. But, you must recognise this love as but a reflection of the Premaswaruupa, (the embodiment of Love) that is your reality, to the God who is residing in your heart. Without that spring of Love that bubbles in your heart, you will not be prompted to love at all. Recognise that spring, rely on it more and more, develop its possibilities, try to irrigate the whole world with it, discard all touch of self from it, do not seek anything in return for it from those to whom you extend it. In your daily affairs, do not create factions, or revel in harted. See the good in others and the faults in yourselves. Revere others as having God installed in them; revere yourself also as the seat of God. Make your heart pure so He can reside therein.

The consequence of karma can be wiped out only through karma, as a thorn can be removed only by means of another. Do good karma to assuage the pain of the bad karma which you have done and from which you suffer now. The best and the simplest karma is the repetition of the Name of the Lord; be ever engaged in it. It will keep out evil tendencies and wicked thoughts. It will help you radiate love all round you. The sages of ancient times divided karma into vikarma (that is intentionally done) and akarma (that is done without any intention to gain the consequence). Follow the latter and you will save yourselves from suffering. All other activities - the earning of wealth, of reputation, of fame and publicity - result in suffering. Gain internal peace, internal joy; that can be done only when you act without an eye on the gain. The act must be its own reward; or rather, the act must be according to the prompting of the God within, so that its consequence is left to Him. Practise this attitude consistently and you will find great Peace welling within you and around you.