Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

Message of Bhagavan Baba repudiating certain reports circulated in various countries attributing to Him predictions of various disasters facing the world in the following years. SAI will never do or suggest anything harmful to anyone. Some persons in overseas countries as well as some people within India have been distributing pamphlets in which they have published that Swami has stated that in a short while the world will be deluged by a great flood and that large areas will get submerged and that other disasters will overtake the world and many countries will suffer very much. Such thoughts have never occurred to Swami and will never occur. These are the fancies of some idle minds. Do not give any credence to them. In some of these pamphlets, it is stated that parts of this country will get submerged and that Swami will send 12 students for rescuing people and listing a number of points in the pamphlets. Some devotees appear to have been taken in by these pamphlets which are being distributed by mischievous elements. In no circumstance should devotees believe in such stories. Nor should they give them currency by passing them on by word of mouth. You should not lend your ears to such ridiculous reports. It is a sign of weakness to listen to such stories or discuss them.

No disaster is imminent for the world. Over the vast globe, there may be some mishaps here and there, from time to time. The Iran-Iraq conflict lasted ten years. You should not consider it a major war. Even in India, terrorist activities have been going on in the Punjab. Is it a major struggle? Some disgruntled individuals have been resorting to these methods. Whether it is Bharat or any other country, its security lies in the promoting of right attitudes. Who are our friends and who are our enemies? Our own good thoughts are our friends. Our evil thoughts accompany us like shadows. When our thoughts are purified, our lives will be transformed into ideal ones.

The mind is a bundle of thoughts. Actions ensue from thoughts. From actions flow the fruits thereof. Hence thoughts are the seeds which ultimately yield fruits in the form of good fortune and misfortune. Man is thus the architect of his own life. As thoughts determine actions, it is essential to cultivate good thoughts. Even bad men have been transformed by the influence of good and godly men. Ratnakara is an example of such transformation. Contact with sages turned him into the immortal author of the Ramayana. When the mind is turned towards God the entire life becomes purified. What is needed is control over the senses through devotion and steadfastness.

I congratulate the students, boys and girls, on the way they had maintained the singing of bhajans all through the night. However, there was not full accord between the boys and girls sections in singing, the bhajans together. While the girls did not join the bhajans when the lead singer was from the boys section, the boys did not respond to the bhajans when the lead singer was from the girls side. There should be no room for such differences in singing the Lord's name. The observance of Sivarathri is for purifying the heart by contemplation on God. When the heart is purified, the entire life becomes sanctified. There will be no need for elaborate social reconstruction if people develop good qualities and act righteously. Young people should, get rid of bad thoughts and bad habits. The spiritual quest cannot be put off to old age. The time to start seeking the Divine is now itself. Dear students! Strive from now on to purify your thoughts and actions. In most educational institutions elsewhere, you cannot find students, boys and girls, chanting the Lord's name, Only in the Sathya Sai Institute do you find the entire student community filled with sacred thoughts. You must constantly endeavour to develop this purity and sacredness.

Remember that there is nothing in this world as powerful as the Lord's name to protect it. It is not arms and bombs that will save the world. Only God's grace should protect the world. It is man's foremost duty to pray for God's grace. Prayer is of supreme importance. Together with melody and rhythm, you have to impart feeling to your singing to make the bhajan a sacred offering to the Divine. A ragam (tune) without bhavam (feeling) is a rogam (an infliction). Giving up conceit and exhibitionism, you must sing the bhajans in a spirit of humility and devotion. That is the right way to perform bhajans. Thyagaraja in one of his songs adjured the mind to chant Rama's name with full awareness of the power of the name. In daily life also awareness is needed at every step and in every prayer When all the participants in a bhajan sing in unison, what sacred vibrations are produced and what Divine energies are released! When these vibrations fill the world, what changes cannot they bring about! When one sings alone, the heart is merged in the song. But when many sing together, it acquires a Divine power. That was the reason why Guru Nanak commended community singing.