Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

One should first of all develop physical, mental, and spiritual powers in order to sustain humanness and illumine one’s divinity. Human birth is not meant to enjoy physical, materialistic, and worldly life. Birds, beasts, and animals also enjoy the same type of physical happiness that you aspire for.

What is the speciality of human birth? Of all living beings, human birth is the rest (Jantunam nara janma durlabham). What makes human birth rare and unique? Animals also eat food like you and develop relations with their kith and kin like you. They also have desires like you. If you also lead a life of animals and beasts, what is all your education for? What isecular knowledge (vijnana), spiritual knowledge (sujnana), and constant integrated awareness (prajnana) have you acquired in your studies? Is all your education only meant to fill your belly?

This is not the sign of humanness; this is not the goal of human life. One should realise one’s true Self and the source from which one has come.

People in the world are bound by action (Karmanubandheeni manushya loke). Even birds and animals perform actions. So, one should perform actions that are associated with righteousness. All the action (karma) that one performs should be associated with dharma.

One should use their intelligence and power of discrimination and enter the field of action wholeheartedly. Before performing any task, enquire whether that particular action is befitting for a human being or an animal. Infinite and immeasurable Divinity is immanent in humanity. Having such sacred and divine human birth, it is a shame to lead a life of birds and animals.

Brahman is all-pervasive. From this principle of Brahman, ether (akasa), with sound as its attribute, has emerged. Wind comes from ether, fire comes from wind, water comes from fire, and earth comes from water. Crops grow on earth, food comes from crops, and from food, humans have originated.

Human life is a journey from food (anna) to bliss (ananda). It begins with food, and its ultimate goal is to attain bliss. There is an intimate relationship between food, Brahman, and Bliss. In fact, Bliss is the principle of Brahman. That is why Divinity is described as: God is the embodiment of divine bliss, supreme happiness, wisdom absolute (Brahmanandam, parama sukhadam, kevalam jnanamurtim).

What is the source of Bliss of Brahma (Brahmanandam? What is Brahmanandam like? It is the state of supreme happiness. Where does this supreme happiness come from? It comes from wisdom absolute. The Bliss that originates from wisdom is the basis of human life in this world.

But people today are unable to realise what true Bliss (Ananda) is. They do not know what true happiness is. They consider material and worldly happiness as true happiness. How long does the worldly happiness last? It is like passing clouds. Is this the happiness that you should aspire for? I have said this many times. Adi Sankara also taught the same truth.

Some of you may think Swami is repeating the same things again and again. I want to ask you a question. Why do you fill the same belly again and again? Is it not to fill the same belly that you eat three times a day? How many bags of rice you have consumed so far, and how many more you will consume? You yourself do not know.

You have consumed innumerable bags of rice. Still, your belly is not full. Therefore, listen to the same teachings again and again, ingest their essence, put them into practice, and experience bliss.

Adi Sankara said: Do not be proud of your wealth, progeny, and youth; the tide of time may destroy them in a moment (Ma kuru dhana jana yauvana garvam, Harathi nimeshath kalah sarvam).

You spend your entire life in worldly pursuits. You study so many subjects, read so many books, and acquire many degrees, but what is the use? How far have you put into practice the knowledge that you have acquired? Nothing at all.

If the food served in the plate has to reach your stomach, you have to put your hands and mouth to work. In the same manner, you have to put into practice at least a little of what you have studied and learnt to experience happiness. What is the use of education that is not put into practice? Such people are a burden on earth. This is not how you should lead your life.

You should serve society and put a check on the chaotic situation prevailing in society today. People can acquire the capacity to do so only through education. Only students are capable of solving the problems of society. But they are becoming incapable because of their selfishness and self-interest. In fact, they are leading the life like animals. This is not the purpose of education.

Having attained human birth, set an ideal to society. What sort of ideal? It is an ideal befitting for a human being.

What is the purpose of life? I mentioned this yesterday. Even a dead rabbit has some value but not the dead body of a human being. Even sandals are permitted in a house but not a dead body. Is this the value of a person? No, no.

Try to enquire where you came from. Realise your true Self ,and reach the source of your origin. This is what you are supposed to know. To know this truth, Divinity should manifest in you. Not only should you realise your Divinity; you should see Divinity everywhere.

In fact, the entire world is divine and full of bliss. There is no existence of sorrow at all. Such being the case, how is it that you experience sorrow and misery? How is it that you are obsessed by petty worldly desires? Your body attachment is responsible for this. A person who is supposed to be a lover of Self (Atmabhimani) has become a lover of physical body (dehabhimani) today.

The body is made up of five elements and is bound to perish sooner or later, but the indweller has neither birth nor death.

Why is the body given to people? The sacred human body has been given to put it on the path of righteousness, entertain noble thoughts, and join good company. This is what Gargi told Sage Yajnavalkya during a debate in the court of King Janaka.

Once, Janaka held a big congregation of scholars and sages in his court and conducted a debate as to what is eternal and what is ephemeral, what is a field (kshetra) and who is the knower of the field (kshetrajna). This debate went on for 21 days.

At the end, Yajnavalkya got up and said that he was prepared to answer any question that one might pose in the assembly. Gargi got up and asked him, “What is meant by wisdom (jnana)?” Yajnavalkya said, “Experience of non-dualism is wisdom (Advaita darshanam jnanam).

Gargi said, “Yes, I accept what you said. A person who observes differences cannot be a person of wisdom (jnani). A true person of wisdom is one with a feeling of oneness (ekatma bhava). Only such a person is a true scholar. A pandit is one who is equal-minded (Pandita samadarshina).” Gargi was a great scholar, and nobody could match her in knowledge. In fact, knowledge is the true ornament for a person.

On the 21st day, when the debate concluded, someone from the assembly of scholars and sages had to be chosen to honour King Janaka. Janaka was known as Videha, since he was totally devoid of body attachment. In view of her deep knowledge and supreme wisdom, Gargi was considered the most deserving person to honour King Janaka. In such a great assembly of eminent scholars and sages, King Janaka decided to receive the honour from the hands of Gargi.

Men and women are different only in form, but knowledge is common to all. God is one and the same for everyone, and so is the goal. There is no difference between men, women, children, youth and aged persons with respect to knowledge, nor is there any difference on the basis of clan and various stages of life. Knowledge is one. Truth is one, but the wise refer to it by various names (Ekam sath viprah bahudha vadanti).

Realisation of oneness is true knowledge. However, it is not easy to attain this realisation. Yet, you should make efforts to experience it. You will reach the goal when you proceed on the prescribed path. You can become a good singer by continuous practice. Even neem fruit tastes sweet when you keep chewing it. Sandalwood makes a groove on the sandstone when you keep on rubbing on it. The more you cut a diamond, the more will be its value.

Anything can be achieved by constant practice. Walking, reading, talking, eating, writing - all require practice. How much do you need to practise to ride a motorcycle? You may fall any number of times, but do you give up practising?

Unfortunately, on the path of spirituality, you give up your resolve at your first failure. In all other endeavours, in spite of all obstacles, you do not leave your effort. In fact, you should show the same resolve - and much more - on the path of spirituality. Why? Because spirituality leads you to the goal of your life. That is the purpose of human birth.

Human birth becomes worthwhile only when you attain the goal of life. Having attained human birth, you should strive for its fulfilment and win the appreciation of all. You feel dejected when you face failures and feel elated when you meet with success. Where is the need to become dejected in times of difficulties and elated in times of happiness? Happiness has no value if there are no difficulties.

Is this humanness? This is against the laws of Nature. As the seed, so is the fruit. If you want to enjoy sweet fruits, sow good seeds.

People seek happiness in worldly life. Initially, it may look very pleasant, but the happiness diminishes with the passage of time.

I have told the students many times. When a newly-married couple goes for a stroll in a public park and the husband notices a thorn in front of them, he at once pulls his wife aside saying, “Come back, there is a thorn!” At that time, he considers wife is life. After six months, if the same situation arises, the husband merely cautions his wife, “Be careful, there is a thorn.” After another six months, if the same situation were to arise, he would shout at her, “Can’t you see, there is a thorn?” Worldly love goes on decreasing in this manner day by day. Only divine love goes on increasing continuously.

Going up and sliding down depends on one’s actions. Some boys say, “What to do when all the elders put pressure on me to get married”? This is a big stunt. If one is really not interested, what can the people in the house do? If someone forces you to drink poison, will you drink it? Your desires are responsible for your suffering. Your own thoughts are responsible for your happiness as well as sorrow. Your happiness is verily the heaven and your misery is the hell.

Therefore, try to put a check on your thoughts. Develop only noble thoughts. Only then will humanness blossom and shine forth in you.

Today, the world is in a state of utter chaos. Wherever you look, unrest and agitation are on the rise in all countries. Propagate the glory of the Divine Name to drive away unrest (asanthi) and bring in supreme peace (prasanthi).

Every street and every inch of space should reverberate with the chanting of the divine Name. Only then can there be peace and serenity in the world.

When you do devotional singing (bhajans), the sacred vibrations are carried to all corners of the world by the sound waves. There is no room for doubt in this regard. When someone gives a talk on Delhi Radio Station, how are you able to listen to it in Prasanthi Nilayam? The sound is brought to us by the electromagnetic waves in the atmosphere. When the divine Name is chanted, the sacred vibrations thus generated spread everywhere and drive away the evil and negative vibrations in the atmosphere. When you breathe in such sacred vibrations, you develop sacred feelings.

If you pollute the atmosphere with evil vibrations, you will have to breathe in only evil vibrations in turn. Whatever type of vibrations you breathe in, you develop similar thoughts.

I have said this earlier: As is the fire, so is the smoke; as is the smoke, so is the cloud; as is the cloud, so is the rain; as is the rain, so is the crop; as is the crop, so is the food; as is the food, so is the head.

You should understand the relationship that exists between food, head, and God. In order to enjoy good health, eat only good food.

Observe proper care with regard to your food habits. Do not eat anything and everything. People talk of pure (sathwic) food. They say milk, fruits, vegetables constitute sathwic food. But even these become stale/dull/ depressing (thamasic) if you consume them in excess.

First of all, if you want to develop pure (sathwic) feelings, have your bath between five and six in the morning. This is called a divine bath (daiva snana), that between six and seven is a human bath (manava snanam) and that beyond seven is called a demonic bath (rakshasa snanam). Your entire life will be sanctified if you purify your heart in “God’s hour” (Brahma Muhurtha, the time generally about 1.5 hours before sunrise for 48 minutes) by developing sacred feelings.

Eat only fresh food. Do not eat stale food that has been prepared on the previous day. Oil is necessary for preparing food. Doctors say that excess oil in the food will give rise to cholesterol. However, cholesterol is also required in the body to some extent. Therefore, do not eat food that is totally devoid of oil. Eat balanced food.

What is meant by pure (sathwic) food? If the food is tasty, people overeat. This type of overeating is very common when people attend feasts on occasions like marriages. This is not a sathwic tendency.

After eating food, you should be able to get up as light as you sat for eating. This is the sathwic way of eating. When you sit for food, you are very active and agile, but after eating food, you find it difficult even to get up because of overloading of the stomach. That is a slothful (thamasic) tendency. Stop eating when you feel you can still eat a little more.

Vegetables constitute pure (sathwic) food. Green leaves are very good for health. Many new varieties of vegetables are coming in the market these days. Vegetables that are grown using harmful chemicals and pesticides are responsible for many of the diseases that afflict humanity today. If I explain to you all this in detail, you may even develop aversion to vegetables.

In olden days, chillies used to be quite small, yet one chilly was sufficient for five-six members of the family because it was very spicy. But today, big size chillies are grown using chemical manures. Even if you eat the whole chilly, you do not find it spicy at all.

Also enquire where these vegetables are grown. In Bengaluru city, you find a variety of vegetables. Cauliflower is so big, and so is cabbage. But how are they grown? They are grown using city drainage water. Many diseases are caused by eating such vegetables. The government should check these bad practices.

Also, many types of insecticides are sprayed on the vegetables. People from towns and cities are aware of this and wash the vegetables before cutting and cooking them, but village people become victim of diseases because they don’t wash the vegetables, being unaware of the harmful chemicals sprayed on them. As a result, the insecticides meant to kill insects are actually killing people by causing deadly diseases like cancer and heart atack. Not only that, even the mind of man is getting polluted due to such polluted food.

People who are supposed to be leading a very pure life are leading an unsacred life because of the wrong food they eat. They are developing negative feelings in their heart instead of good feelings. Milk is considered a pure (sathwic) food. However, one should not drink thick milk because it gives rise to slothful/dull (thamasic) feelings. Anyway, nowadays thick milk is not available anywhere. Milk vendors themselves dilute it by mixing a lot of water in it. In that sense, they are doing something good to us. Thick milk gives you more fat and strength, but it develops mental dullness also.

You need to develop physical strength, for which balanced food is necessary. You can eat rice and chapati. You should develop mental strength to drive away negative thoughts. When you have mental strength, you can remain unperturbed in the face of difficulties and sorrows.

Do not take it otherwise when I say meat eating is very bad. When you eat animal flesh, you develop animal qualities and also develop many diseases.

Not only this, smoking is a very harmful habit. It causes great harm to your lungs. With the help of oxygen, lungs purify the blood, which heart supplies to all parts of the body. Both heart and lungs are very important parts of the human body. That is why, when doctors perform heart surgery, they take the help of aheart-lung machine.

The veins that carry blood become hard due to smoking. As a result, the heart is subjected to more pressure. You would have seen advertisements in papers about cigarettes. They put a big advertisement, but at the bottom they write in small letters, “Smoking is injurious to health”. Unfortunately, the government does not put a ban on smoking because it earns a lot of revenue by way of tax on cigarettes. They are seeing only the income but not the loss of many lives that is caused by smoking.

How can you understand the bad effects of smoking? Here is a small example. Put a white cloth near the mouth of a man who smokes. When he exhales, it creates a yellow patch on the white cloth. If a white cloth becomes dirty by the smoke, you can imagine how much damage smoking will cause to all parts of the body. Tobacco contains nicotine which is very dangerous to health.

Students should consume only pure (sathwic) food and develop physical and mental strength. When you develop physical and mental strength, your spiritual strength will also improve. When you follow the path of spirituality, you will be free from all doubts and delusions.

It is the wrong food that gives rise to evil tendencies like anger, lust, and tension and causes all problems. Therefore, it is necessary that you should always eat only pure (sathwic) food.

In My view, you should attain the state of health wherein you require no medicines. This body is about to enter the 71st year in another two months. Believe it or not, so far I have not taken a single pill. Yet I have no health problem at all. I can face any situation. I am not using any divine powers to maintain My body. From the physical point of view, My body is the same as yours. Then how am I able to maintain good health? It is only due to moderation in food and habits.

Some students have some undesirable habits, which ruin their health. They should totally get rid of them. If any bad feeling arises in you, remind yourself ten times, “I am not an animal, I am a human.” Say that you are a human being with full conviction. Then your animal thoughts will immediately vanish. This is an easy way of controlling your evil thoughts.

You should reach exalted heights in spirituality and propagate the path of spirituality in the world. Only then will the unrest, fear, and wickedness prevailing in the world be subdued.

Do not consider yourself a mere human being. You are God, you are God. If someone asks you, where is Brahman, you should declare, “I am Brahman (Aham Brahmasmi).” You should say, “I am Brahman,” with courage and conviction. This is what the Vedas teach. When you constantly remind yourself, “I am Brahman,” you will certainly be rid of Bhrama (delusion).