Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

A TEMPLE is a reminder to the people around of the goal of life; it is a guide to greater spiritual endeavour; it is a step towards the Almighty; it is a warning against the vain pursuit after sensual pleasures. They reveal the path by which man can fulfil his destiny, realise the purpose for which he has been endowed with the human body with all its unique treasures of discrimination, imagination, intuition and capacity to keep aloof from material attractions. So, you must be appreciated for your efforts to have a temple in your village and inaugurate it today. Embodiments of Love! Man is a bundle of bones clothed in muscle and fitted with communication nerves. As a base of this gross body, he has a subtle body too. It has its own hunger and thirst and life cannot be happy unless these too are fulfilled - the hunger to return to the Source, a thirst for the nectar that confers immortality. In the search for something to allay this hunger and this thirst, man meets with countless obstacles, for, he does not know the road and is easily misled by his own senses which profess to show him the road. It is only when some disaster or distress overpowers him that he becomes aware of the true path. The true path is the path that reveals the Atma within.

Just as a branch is part of the tree and is able to exist as the part, so each one of you is a part of Brahman (Supreme Being), the Paramatma (Universal Self). Each one is part of the One and shines because of the same Divine current that flows in and through. Villagers are leading lives and spending their days without the awareness of this unity of one with all. So, there are factions and groups in every village, which prevent welfare and prosperity, peace and harmony. Villagers must recapture and develop mutual cooperation; they must preserve unity and cultivate love and joy. Spend some time each day together in bhajan (devotional songs sung in groups) and sathsang (good company) in this temple. Then, the day will be brighter, the conversation will be sweeter and life will be more full of harmony and happiness. Trusting in God strengthens your faith in your fellow men. You will love them more, suffer their faults and failings with greater sympathy and you will share in activities that serve the poor and the disabled. You will come to know-that God loves those who love His children and He will shower grace on those who serve the weak, the meek and the ignorant. Not only is this building in which the image of God has been installed, but the body of living being is a temple, for, God has installed Himself therein and is waiting for recognition and reverential worship. That recognition will confer on us unbounded Bliss - far more than any worldly possession can give, far purer than any victory can confer. To recognise it, your minds have to be cleansed through good words, good thoughts and good deeds. Where can a fish find the greatest happiness - in water, in a full flooded river or the sea? Place it in a gem,set golden plate; can it derive any joy from that good fortune? No. So too, man can be happy only when he is merged in thoughts of the God from whom he has come, by whom he lives and into whom he merges.

From dawn to dusk you toil for eking out a livelihood; I am asking you to devote at least ten minutes a day to join in Sathsang, to meditate on the glory of God who watches over us and to decide, in consultation with our brothers, the best way to promote prosperity and unity. This day, you have achieved a task; you have completed the construction of a temple. But, why should this achievement be appreciated? For, just as a heart is essential for a living body, a temple is essential for a living village. The heart purifies the blood and pumps strength to all parts of the body. The temple calls all to the Feet of God, corrects their faults, and purifies the minds, of every one who worships the God installed therein. I advise you to gather here in the evening, after the day's toil, sing some bhajan songs and enjoy yourselves in Namasmarana. That is the best and easiest sadhana in this age of anxiety and fear, this Kali Yuga (Iron Age) of wickedness and vice.

Do not run to the officers of Government for every little petty problem. Try to be as self-reliant as possible; endeavour to stand on your own feet. Be industrious. Be efficient and enthusiastic in the work that has come to you as your share in life. God has provided two hands for every stomach. If those hands work assiduously and intelligently, they can, without doubt, fill that little stomach. The trouble is: we are loath to work. We welcome every chance to talk and teach. But, speech cannot fill the hungry stomach. Work, work, dedicated work, intelligent work - that is what is needed. Work unitedly. Our villagers are broken into factions and parties. They are not aware of the vast possibilities of unity. If you meditate every day on God as the inner core, the real flame of love, power and wisdom, in each inhabitant of the village - man, woman and child, high and low, rich and poor, learned and illiterate - then you will not emphasise the differences and quarrel. Then anger, envy and hatred cannot enter your broad heart. Love will be the only quality welcomed therein and emanating therefrom. I advise you therefore to ignore and destroy any such divisive tendencies in your heart. The Name of God is the overhanging branch which a mankind failing down a precipice can hold on to in order to be saved. So, in each part of the village, have these Sathsangs and carry on Bhajan in this temple every day in the evening hours. This day should mark a new era in this village. Welcome all improvements and facilities that may accrue to your village but more than all, develop mutual trust, mutual cooperation and joint effort based on love and reverence to all. Be assured that the more you cultivate these qualities, the greater the shower of grace that the Omnipresent God will bless you with.