Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

THERE are many persons who analyse and investigate into the nature of divinity, but very few understand it in its true spirit. Those who perceive it are truly fortunate ones. In fact, it is not possible to comprehend divinity in its fullness. However, the man who realizes the same atmic principle in others as he experiences it in himself can understand divinity, irrespective of the fact whether he is a householder or a renunciant. In such a person, divinity is firmly established. He becomes divinity itself.

A millionaire can eat food only and not gold. This is the principle of equality of mankind. God is in everybody. Divinity is immanent in equal measure in everything - good or bad, righteous or unrighteous,

sacred or unsacred. Since ancient times, sages have been trying to investigate this mystery. The Vedic sage declared: Vedahametam Aditya varnam Tamasa Parastat (I know the Cosmic Being who shines with the effulgence of a billion suns and who is beyond darkness). In modern times, scholars investigate into the nature of divinity according to their own perceptions and propound manifold theories.

The universe is subject to three processes: creation, sustenance and destruction or dissolution. None can deny this truth; scientists also cannot negate it. This is a universal truth perceived by everybody. That which is born is sustained and is eventually destroyed. This is the direct proof of divinity. When you enquire into these three fundamental facts, the existence of divinity becomes evident. In daily life also, this divinity is experienced. For example, you have seen the dancing lions from Malaysia (a Malaysian troupe presented their traditional lion dance before Swami’s Discourse in Hill View Stadium on 23 November 2000). However, these are not real lions. But on seeing them, you can surmise that there exist real creatures called lions. In a similar manner, almost every object of daily life points towards divinity. The sweetness in the sugarcane or the hot taste of chillies, the sour taste in tamarind or the bitter taste of neem, all these are indicators of divinity. The stars in the sky, the brightness of the sun, the coolness of the moon and the rise and fall of sea waves are also pointers towards the divine principle. Though all these do not directly show you God per se, they produce positive evidence of the existence of the divine principle.

In society, there are different functionaries like a minister for education, a collector for revenue and the police for law and order, etc., and above all of them is the Prime Minister. In the same way, in the universe, there is Brahma for creation, Vishnu for protection and Shiva for dissolution. But, for all these functions, the supreme head is divinity. The Muslims call this principle, Allah. Every religious denomination has its own name for divinity. The Bharatiyas and Westerners have a common term in English, God. In this word, G stands for generation, i.e., creation, O for organization, i.,e sustenance and D for dissolution. Thus in this word God, all these three aspects, namely, creation, sustenance and dissolution are implied. Taking such evidence, people have been propagating the principle of divinity. Stated or unstated, truth is truth. God exists. Where is He? He is omnipresent. He is in all forms. The divinity present in humanity is self-evident. The very fact that lakhs of you have come here today is the evidence of your love for God. Love is the proof of divinity. You have filled your hearts with love for Bhagawan. There is no greater bliss than this.

Any task undertaken with self-confidence is absolutely essential for every person. If you expect others to respect and love you, you should first respect and love them. Without respecting or loving others, you cannot expect any reciprocal feeling from them. In the same way, if you love God, God loves you. Life consists of reaction, resound and reflection. You get back exactly what you do to others.

What message can I give you for the day? As I see you, My heart overflows with love. When I see so many of you expressing your love for Me, there is no limit to My joy. I have not sent out invitations to any of you. My love has drawn you here. Your love for God and God’s love for you is the true message. What can one say as a message? I give and you receive, and you give and I receive. This exchange is the true relationship between man and God. Be happy and blissful. Increase your spiritual dimensions. Live with the firm conviction that there is one Divinity resident in all.

Why does a Government set up law enforcing agencies like the police and military? It is solely for the sake of protecting the country. The police punishes the guilty. If there is no lawbreaker, there is no need for police at all. In the same manner, your bad actions attract punishment and your good actions, reward. This is the theory of karma. But one blames God, if one is punished. This is a big mistake. Ensure that there is no trace of evil within you. Then you need not worrry about any punishment. The very persons designated for punishing you will come and protect you.

I have said that man is the embodiment of the atma. I have also told you that the atma is imperishable. This eternal entity indicates your eternity. Creation, sustenance, and dissolution are all ordained by God. He manifests in all the elements. With this firm conviction, wherever you go, to whatever country you travel, you will attain success. Spiritual precept insists, “Have faith in yourself.” That is, first of all, know yourself. Everybody asks the question, “Who are you?” There is none to ask, “Who am I?” When the question, “Who are you?” is asked, a reply that you are so and so or you are from such and such place or you are doing such and such job is not the proper answer. “I am the atma,” is the only right answer. The body and the mind are impermanent. To imagine that you are any of these is a serious mistake. Get rid of the feeling that you are the body and the mind and recognise the atma, which alone gives power to both the body and the mind to function. Everyone is a manifestation of the atma. This manifestation has expanded all over. This all-pervading atmic principle is the cosmic principle. You should attempt to recognise this Cosmic Power. You may feel that this is very difficult, but it is extremely simple. Your body attachment is what makes it appear difficult. Sarva Bhuta Namaskaram Kesavam Pratigachchati (salutations to all beings ultimately reach God) because God is present in everyone. In the Bhagavadgita, lord Krishna says, Mamaivamsho Jeevaloke Jeevabhuta Sanathana (the eternal atma in all beings is a part of My Being).

If the bird enters a hall of mirrors, it sees many reflections of its own form. It imagines that there are a multitude of birds and they are its competitors. So, it keeps dashing against the mirrors and the mirrors are broken into pieces. Now, it sees as many birds as there are pieces of mirrors. When the mirrors are all shattered to tiny bits, no image is visible and the bird flies away. This is a state of ignorance. On the contrary, when a man of wisdom enters the room, he recognises that these are all his own images and feels happy.

In the same manner, the one who sees himself in all other persons and looks on them as his own images is a true human being. The manifest principle that is visible in the external world is the same as that which exists in an individual. Names, forms and abilities are cognized as separate, but these are mere reflections. The truth is that I and you are one. Divinity is right inside you and is not separate. Nor is it specially located in a temple or a mosque or any other place of worship. What you try to see in a mosque or a temple is inside you. All sadhana is undertaken to experience this inner reality.

Every man is prone to birth and death. The period between birth and death is man’s life-span. The individual grows and wears away but his inner spirit does not undergo any change. It is only the body which undergoes changes. A child grows up to become an adult and a grandfather. Descriptions are different, but the individual is the same. In the same manner, God has many names and forms but divinity is only one. Ekam Sath Viprah Bahudha Vadanti (truth is one but scholars refer to it by many names). Realising this truth, you should respect and love all and give joy to all. Then you become God yourself. Once you recognise the fact that the divinity in all is the same, there will be no sense of duality. You may think that it is very difficult but is extremely simple. Your inability to recognise this truth is due to the fault of your vision and not the fault of creation. Without correcting your faulty vision, you blame the creation. There are no flaws in creation. There is unity in creation; duality is in your perception.

With self-confidence, any task can be performed successfully; a small example. Abraham Lincoln was born in an extremely poor family in America. His father was a carpenter. His mother Nancy worked hard to educate him. When Lincoln went to school, other children made fun of him for his dress and poverty. Lincoln could not bear this and told his mother, “Mother, I am subjected to a lot of ridicule by fellow-students. Please get me a good dress.” Taking him close, his mother said, “Son, you must see our condition first. We are not well-to-do. Feeding all of us itself is a problem. In this condition, how can you expect fancy clothes? Act according to your condition. Sooner or later, you will reach the level of your deservedness. Don’t be deterred by other people’s taunts. Live with self-confidence. Self-confidence is the source of all success.” Thus, she encouraged him. From that moment, Lincoln became a person of great self-confidence and pursued his studies and activities with honest effort. He was never upset over anything.

Self-confidence was his armour. Devoid of material wealth and comforts, he was endowed with plenty of self-confidence.

His mother passed away after sometime. But her words of wisdom were firmly entrenched in his heart. His father married again. It is quite common amongst Westerners. His stepmother was also quite affectionate towards Lincoln and encouraged him to persevere on the path shown by his mother. Life was difficult for him throughout. He wanted to have some employment. However, he thought that self-reliance was better than serving others and started a business of his own. He conducted his business in the most upright manner. But his difficulties went on increasing and his debts accumulated. Lincoln carried on with the strength of his mother’s advice regardless of all difficulties. He had a severe setback in his business. Ultimately, he had to sell everything. He worked hard to clear all his debts.

Lincoln strictly lived in this manner. Seeing his upright character, some of his friends felt that he could very easily be elected to the state legislature. They advised him to stand for election and promised their help. Lincoln stood for election and won with a thumping majority. By his honesty and hard work, he rose to become the President of the United States of America. At the moment of his success, he recollected his mother’s words. He fully realized the importance of self-confidence.

The slaves were treated in a very harsh manner by the Whites in those days. Abraham Lincoln wanted to ameliorate their condition and secure equal rights for them. He was of the firm conviction that all human beings were equal and any differences on the basis of colour or race were improper. He tirelessly worked for the cause of the slaves. Eventually, he succeeded in the abolition of slavery in the United States. He is still held in high esteem for this noble work.

In the world, there is a constant strife between good and evil. There are many people who are jealous of others and subject them to slander. But one should not attach any importance to such criticism. Praise and abuse are common to mankind. In Bharat also several famous people faced similar difficulties but they overcame these with fortitude. If you live in truth and love, you will not come to harm. The body is bound to fall some time or the other. Merely to safeguard it, one should not take to bad ways. Body is perishable while truth is eternal. Hence, strive for truth. There is nothing greater than truth.

There are some, who turn away from the path of goodness and start opposing God when their desires are not fulfilled. But the mistake lies with them and not with God. There are four kinds of people who oppose God.

The first type of people are atheists, who profess that there is no God. In the second category come those people who speak against God out of jealousy because others are better off than them. The third, those who lament at the high reputation and fame of others which they are unable to achieve themselves. The fourth type are those who are disillusioned when their desires are not fulfilled. They resort to improper and mean ways to attain their ends. They ask, “Swami, I am starting a school or a society and I need so much money.” I tell them the truth, “Son, this is a different country from yours. The currency of this country cannot be carried in your country. If you resort to illegal methods and cheat the Government, I shall never permit such a practice.” Under such circumstances, they go back to their places and make all kinds of false allegations against Me. Whatever others may say, I will never deviate from the path of Truth. Do not pay any attention to praise or slander. Divinity is based on faith. Faith is something which cannot be bestowed on you. Everyone has his own faith.

Each individual’s conscience is his own witness. Do not waste your energy on negative criticism. You should never abandon your faith and your self-confidence. Some people become jealous at the growth and prosperity of others. Jealousy is a dangerous pest. If a pest enters the root of a tree full of leaves, fruits and flowers, the entire tree dies quickly. The pest is not visible to the eye and works insidiously.

A jealous person conceals his jealousy and harms others like a pest. These are evil ways. However, in My view, there are no evil persons. All evil behaviour changes sooner or later. My truth is one. All belong to Me and I belong to all. My only wealth is love. I embrace all with love. Even people who come to Me with hatred in their hearts are dear to Me. I do not search for your faults. I go by the principle of love. All should take note of My equanimity and follow this principle of unity. Purity follows unity and from purity, divinity is attained. To attain divinity, you have to cultivate purity and for purity you should live in harmony with all. Only then will you get positive results.

Today marks the 75th year of the Advent of this body. Age does not concern Me. Welfare of humanity is My only concern. More particularly, I am concerned about the welfare of the distressed and the poor. My primary objective of life is to remove the difficulties of the helpless. Irrespective of any comments, adverse or otherwise, My resolve is the same. You should also make a resolution on these lines.

Have perseverance until your resolve is fulfilled. This is the vow of a bhakta (devotee). This is what can be called as true tapas. Tapas does not mean going to the forest or standing upside down and doing some meditation or the other. Keep your word, adhere to truth, show gratitude where due and stay firm in your self-confidence. These are the true qualities of a good individual. If you adhere to these tenets, you will overcome with ease any obstacle that may come your way. Hold on to your self-confidence and self-respect and be ready for any sacrifice. As I have already reiterated, the atma in everyone is the same. Therefore, do not be swayed by such considerations as somebody being small and somebody being great, etc. Selfconfidence is not related to age. Quantity may vary between individuals, but quality is the same.

If Bharat is to progress in the proper direction,

there should be complete unity amongst all its people. Our great leaders made great sacrifices and secured freedom for us. While we have attained Independence, we have not achieved unity. What is the use of freedom without unity? It is due to lack of unity that people of this country are reduced to a sorry state of affairs. There is hatred everywhere. There are ten factions in one party. People of one house go in four different directions. If this kind of disunity persists, how can freedom be safeguarded? People are not going on the right path. You have to adopt the path of complete unity, so that every Bharatiya must be able to say proudly: “This is my beloved country, this is my mother tongue and my religion.” You should also uphold the reputation and traditions of your family.

People today have lost faith. A man without faith is verily blind. If you do not have faith in others, at least have faith in yourself. Develop faith in yourself and faith in God. This is the secret of greatness. Only then will you be able to experience divinity. God does not have a separate form. ‘I,’ the atma, is God. You must have this kind of faith. Only then can you accomplish spiritual growth.

Bharat is a sacred land. Such sacredness is hardly found anywhere else in the world. That is why many avatars have taken birth in this land: Bharat is like a mother of all other nations. Rama said, “Janani Janma Bhumishcha Swargadapi Gareeyasi” (mother and motherland are greater than even paradise). You must recognise this truth. There are many who chant the Name of Rama, but is there anyone who actually practises the virtues represented by Rama? People are heroes in chanting but zeros in practice.

The Vedas have given four Mahavakyas: Tattwam Asi (That thou art), Prajnanam Brahma (constant integrated awareness is Brahman), Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman) and Ayam Atma Brahma (this Atma is Brahman). You are constantly chanting these words but are not putting them into practice. Mere chanting without action is pure exhibitionism. While saying all are Brahman, you hate others. This is sheer hypocrisy. If you have aversion to any individual, quietly keep away from him. Do not hate him; try to develop love for him. Do not criticize or hate anybody. This is My message today. This is the course to be adopted by you. I love everybody. I have no dislike for anybody. All are My devotees, friends and children. For Me, all are one. This universe is a big book. Antaratma (conscience) is your Guru. God is your friend. Time is also the very form of God. Therefore, do not waste time. Time wasted is life wasted. To make your time pure is true sadhana.

The love in you and the love in Me are one and the same. But your love is contaminated by desires for material things. I have no desire for any material wealth. My love is the purest. The love immanent in you turns negative because of the contamination of desires. There is no negative quality in Me, it is entirely positive. So, combine the negative ‘I’ in you with the positive in Me and attain unity. With this understanding, you will be able to experience indescribable bliss. What sort of bliss? That is Brahmananda. When you experience this Brahmananda, you become one with Brahman. In this state, there is no need for any sadhana on your part. All the sadhanas that you do are for your mental satisfaction. Consider all as one and love all. That is the true sadhana. Ek Prabhu Ke Anek Nam (God has many names but He is One). While performing the Sahasranama Archana (chanting 1000 names of God), you repeat the various names, Keshava, Madhava, Narayana, Govinda, but it is to the same form that you make your offerings.

While doing Anga Puja, you place the flower on your eye and then offer the flower to the deity in front with the Mantra,“Nethra Pushpam Samarpayami” (I offer the flower of my eye). Symbolically, you are offering a flower in place of the eye. You say eye, but offer a flower. This amounts to cheating God Himself. What is the point of offering to God what has been provided by God Himself? You should pray, “O God, everything is Yours, this whole body is Yours, all the limbs and organs are Yours. I am Yours and You are mine.” When this kind of identity is established, there is no further need for any external form of worship. But, for those who have not yet reached this exalted state, these various physical forms of sadhana such as japa, tapa and dhyana are suitable. All these require constant practice. Gradually remove all negative thoughts and inculcate positive thoughts. Transform negative thoughts into positive ones.

If anybody abuses you, take no note, for the abuser is abusing only the body and not your Self. If somebody calls you a bad man, do you become a bad man by the mere calling? If, in fact, you have something bad in you, try to destroy it. There are a large number of people in this Kali Yuga who abuse God because their wishes are not fulfilled. This is a universal habit common to all countries. You should not succumb to such mean and unholy feelings. Thyagaraja, for example, says that God will reveal Himself to you only to the extent and manner in which you approach Him. Whichever way you think of Him, God assumes the same form. If your feelings are good, you will get good results.

I have no desire to have such elaborate Birthday celebrations, not in the least. I go through all these because it pleases My devotees. I am not particularly enamoured of anything. The happiness of the devotees is My happiness. Dedicate your life to divine love.

Hatred, jealousy and ostentation have become widespread these days. Get rid of all these and adopt the path of love. Whether your desires are fulfilled or not, think that all that happens is for your good. When you encounter difficulties, always think that better days are ahead. Good and bad always go together. Therefore, take both of them with the same attitude. The Gita says, “Sukhadukhe Samekruthwa Labhalabhau Jayajayau” (treat happiness and sorrow, loss and gain, victory and defeat with complete equanimity). Pleasure is an interval between two pains. Reduce your worldly desires. Develop desire for God. Inculcate love for God and thereby increase your happiness. If desires increase, your suffering also increases, and happiness too decreases proportionately.

You cannot attain God by your wealth. He is to be attained only through devotion. Sathyabhama in her pride hoped to possess Krishna all for herself by her wealth. She wanted to weigh Him against the huge amount of gold she possessed. But she failed. Narada made her realize her folly by showing that a single leaf of Tulasi (basil) offered by Rukmini with real devotion exceeded all the wealth of Sathyabhama. Sathyabhama symbolises desire while Rukmini represents devotion. Krishna says that He is pleased with the offering of a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water. Do not take this literally. The body is the leaf; the flower, the flower of your heart; your mind, the fruit; and the tears of joy, the water, which is the acceptable offering to God.

You will have everything in life if you have love in you. Do not hate anybody. This should be the main ideal of your life. This is My message for you. Love is My only wealth. All these magnificent edifices are not Mine; they all belong to the devotees. The only property I own is unbounded love for all of you. I am ready to sacrifice even my very body for the sake of my devotees. You live happily and spend your life in a state of bliss. I want only your love. Your love makes me happy. My love is your greatest wealth and good fortune. This is My greatest gift for you. Take good care of this precious gift. This is My blessing to you on this day. May you all have steady devotion, and sacred, long, happy life! May you have all this! May all your difficulties be removed! May you experience unalloyed bliss!