Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

EMBODIMENTS of the Divine Atma! Forgetting his true nature man spends his life in the pursuit and enjoyment of meretricious and evanescent sensuous pleasures and mundane desires. Does man secure peace, however much he may succeed in indulging in worldly pleasures? No. Ultimately he ends his life in discontent and despair. Ignoring the pure, eternal, infinite Divine Truth in him, man fosters animal and demonic traits. What is the reason for this betrayal of his true nature, which renders his life meaningless? It is because he neglects the code governing life based on restraints and righteousness. The old saying is: "Dharma (righteousness) is at the root of everything. It is the highest virtue." Morality is the corollary to Dharma. Morality does not merely mean the observance of certain rules in the worka- day world. Morality means adherence to the straight and sacred path of fight conduct. Morality is the blossoming of good conduct. It is the royal road to the acme of human achievement. The honour of the community rests upon morality. Without morals a community decays. Morality alone makes or mars the community.

Only in an individual who is morally strong does the human personality find its best expression. The term personality can be applied only to one who manifests the hidden unmanifested divinity within him by his conduct. Mere human form does not make one a human personality. It is the behaviour that counts. Only those who lead well-regulated lives can be regarded as real human beings manifesting their true divine nature. Such great historical personages as Manu, Nala, Raghu, Bali and Harischandra were examples of the highest expressions of human excellence. Jesus was also one such personality who manifested the perfection man is capable of Prophet Mohammed was another historic figure who led a rigorous life of righteousness and spiritual endeavour.

Love is another name for Dhama. True Love is priceless. It has no trace of selfishness in it. It does not change. It is pure and unsullied. It always grows and never diminishes. It is spontaneous. The love of God is of -such a nature: it is spontaneous, free from selfishness, unwavering, and always full. Ordinary human love is motivated by selfish considerations. It is liable to change owing to changes in time and circumstance. For persons immersed in such love, it is difficult to comprehend or realise the greatness of Divine Love. The English philosopher Bacon has pointed out how the love of God is all-encompassing and unchanging and how it can grow into Universal love.

Love wears the mantle of Truth. And one wedded to Truth is ever young and vigorous. The Upanishaths have declared that the votary of truth will not know old age. The Bible also declares that the body gets fortified by adherence to truth. Truth should not be confined to speech. It must express itself in action. Only the one who is truthful in word and deed can be esteemed as a genuine human being, according to Prophet Mohammed. Buddhism also lays down that everyone, irrespective of sex or country, must live up to truth. You may believe in it or not. I must tell you that total adherence to truth, absolute selflessness, universality and spontaneous outpouring of love are to be seen only in Sai and nowhere else. Sai has not an iota of self-interest. Sai is motiveless. Sai deals with sadhaks (spiritual aspirants) according to their deserts. Sai will continue to love even those who revile Him. Sai will not forget anyone, even if he forgets Sai. But occasionally, Sai will appear to ignore those who may have forgotten Sai, acted against His injunctions, set at naught Sai ideals or traduced Sai. From this, some persons may imagine that Swami is angry with some person or dissatisfied with some others. It is not without reason that Sai avoids meeting or talking to some persons. I do not wish to waste My words on persons, who do not respect Sai's directives or follow Sai's ideals. I do not wish to speak to those who have no regard for My words. That does not mean I have no love towards them.

Love will not submit to the forces of envy or hatred however powerful they may be. Love will prevail over them. Once when Buddha was travelling, he was confronted by a demoness with a sword in hand. "Oh Buddha! Your Love must submit today to my envy. Your life will end today." Buddha answered her, with a smile: "I will not submit to envy or hatred. I am not affected by praise or blame or ridicule. I love even you who bear such ill will towards Me." When the demoness heard these words, she turned into a dove and vanished. Those who hate others are ultimately consumed by their own hatred. Those filled with envy ultimately meet their end in it. Richard, a character in one of Shakespeare's plays was filled with envy and could not bear to see any one superior or better looking than himself. In the end, he was a victim of his own envy and died miserably. Similar examples can be found in the Indian epics. Bhasmasura, who got a boon from Shiva that any one on whom he placed his palm should be reduced to ashes, was himself reduced to ashes when he placed his palm over his head. In the pursuit of the good and godly life, one may encounter many difficulties and disturbances. Many doubts and questions crop up. It is only when these difficulties are faced squarely and the troubles are borne with patience and fortitude that we can understand the true nature of Reality. You should not allow 'yourselves to be overwhelmed in any way by difficulties and sorrows, doubts and disappointments. You must have faith. Have confidence in yourself and strive to understand well the nature of God's love. To secure that love is the sacred goal of human life. The transforming power of Love is boundless. St.Paul, who was originally an inveterate critic of Jesus, was transformed by Christ's love into the greatest apostle of Jesus.

The animosity which some persons show towards good and godly people can be traced to one or other of three factors. In the first category are those who have no faith in God or goodness and hence oppose anything that is good or godly. In the second category are those who turn against God because their desires or ambitions have not been fulfilled. The third category are those who are envious by nature and cannot tolerate anything good. Other than these three types, there is a fourth type composed of persons who think of God or seek God's favour when they are in trouble or difficulties and who forget God immediately after their troubles are over or their desires have been fulfilled.

It is unfortunate that man, who is inherently Divine in his origin and in whom the Atma resides as the indwelling witness, is. caught up today in unrighteous and evil actions and is bringing discredit to the human species. In the Dark Ages, when men indulged in wicked and cruel actions and behaved like demons or wild beasts, there might be some excuse. But in the present age, when such great advances have been made in science and technology and when people call themselves civilised, if inhuman practices are predominant and wickedness and ingratitude are the rule, one is compelled to ask whether these persons are human beings or demons! The irony of the present situation is that, on the one side, governments are piling up monstrous lethal weapons, indulging in demonical actions and promoting conflicts among nations, while at international gatherings they proclaim their desire for peace. Is there any meaning in this? Why should those who crave for peace encourage conflicts? If they genuinely desire peace, they should pursue policies which will be conducive to the promotion of peace.

The foremost need today is for everyone to realise that God is One. This is what Jesus and Mohammed proclaimed. The word "Allah" really means the One Supreme which contains everything in the Universe. This is the primary message of the Vedas (ancient sacred scriptures):

The essential truth of all religions is that God is one. Jesus proclaimed the Fatherhood of God and the Brotherhood of Man. One can have only one father not two.

When Jesus was born three wise men followed a star to reach his place of birth. Seeing the new-born babe they bowed to the divine child in their hearts. Before leaving, each of them spoke about the child as follows to the parents. One sage told Mary: "He loveth God." The second sage said: "God loveth him." The third man said: "He is God." What is the inner significance of these three pronouncements about Jesus? The first statement that "He loveth God" contains the implication that Jesus is a messenger of God. A messenger can love his master, but the master may not so easily love his messenger. The second statement declared that "God loves him (Jesus)." Why? Because he is the son of God. The third statement "He is God" bears out what Jesus said: "I and my Father are One." It means that as the Son of God he is entitled to acquire his Father's place. The unity of Father and Son was proclaimed by the third sage.

The inner meaning of all this is that every human being in the world is a massenger of God. What does this signify? What is the message that the human being is expected to convey? That he is a "messenger of God," not of the devil. A messenger of God must propagate the divine teachings of God to the world. You have no fight to call yourselves messengers of God if your actions are bad, your thoughts are evil and you preach wrong ideas. Such persons can only be called agents of the Devil.

From today, "as messengers of God," you have to demonstrate to the world the purity, the Truth and the Love that the Divine symbolises. When you lead a life of purity and morality, you are entitled to regard yourselves as "Sons of God." God is the embodiment of Love and you should not do anything which is contrary to the love that God represents. You should develop those good qualities which can make you worthy "sons of God." In the Bible it is recorded that Jesus washed the feet of His disciples. When they asked him why He was doing so, Jesus answered: "I am washing your feet as your servant, so that you may learn to serve the world."

Every man is, to begin with, a messenger of God. When he fulfills his duties as a messenger, he realises that he is a son of God and then achieves oneness with the Divine. God's love is boundless and Universal, unlike human love, which is narrow and selfish. Swami's love is "beyond reason." It is unlimited and unchanging. I am promoting love all around through My love. Those of you who have been nourished by this love should not deprive-yourselves of its beneficence. I do not seek anything. I impose no hardships on anyone. In such a situation, if you understand the real nature of Swami's love and utilise that love to transform yourselves into embodiments of love, you will be setting an example to the world.