Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

Having been born in this vast universe, it is a matter of great shame that man should have a narrow mind. This universe is the form of God. As God is immanent in everyone, one’s heart should be as expansive as the universe itself. Since people today have forgotten God and are enmeshed in worldly life, they have become narrow-minded. If one contemplates on all-pervasive God, the mind will also become broad and expansive. In this way, people should broaden their heart.

Instead of spreading noble ideals in society, people today are promoting narrowmindedness. Every act should promote divinity, sacredness and broad-mindedness. Therefore, it is said,

A person is the repository of great powers and spiritual wealth. But one is not realising one’s infinite powers. One can set a great ideal to society only when one realises that one is a part of infinite Divinity. This infinite divine power is present in each and every human being.

There are three aspects of this Divinity: paramarthika, vyavaharika, and pratibhasika (absolutely real, empirical and illusory). These three are not different from each other. The same Divinity is present in all three. There can be no waves without water, and there can be no froth without waves. The waves are the basis of froth, and water is the basis of waves. Water is the same in all the three - ocean, waves and froth. Similarly, the same Divinity is present in paramarthika, vyavaharika, and pratibhasika.

One should make spirituality the basis of all worldly activities. But, unfortunately, people today consider paramarthika and vyavaharika (absolutely real and empirical) as separate from each other. People say there is no relationship between spirituality and worldly life. This is a great mistake. It is not possible for the world to exist without the foundation of spirituality. In fact, spirituality is inherent in worldliness. Therefore, the Vedas demonstrated the truth that the same Divinity is present in paramarthika, vyavaharika, and pratibhasika.

From generation to generation, Bharat (India) has been sharing its spiritual wealth with other countries and thereby promoting peace and security in the world. Since ancient times, Bharat has been spreading the broad feelings contained in the Vedic dictum, Samasta lokah sukhino bhavantu (May all the beings of all the worlds be happy)! Kings, sages, and seers have been safeguarding the spiritual wealth of Bharat by propagating such sacred ideals. The entire world would be ruined if Bharat lost its spiritual wealth. Spirituality is the fundamental basis for all nations.

Everyone has ultimately to take to the path of spirituality one day or the other. Our ancient kings, sages, seers, and women of chastity displayed great sense of sacrifice in upholding this great ideal. In fact, all Bharatiyas (Indians) were united in spreading this ideal.

But today everybody has their own way; there is no unity at all. When there is no unity in the heart, enmity creeps into it. Therefore, see to it that you do not give room to enmity. Today the heart of man is devoid of unity and divinity. People are leading an artificial life. In fact, they are making their life worthless by harbouring narrow communal feelings.

You cannot find anyone who is free from thirst. Similarly, there is none who does not have desires. But one should develop only sacred desires. Only contemplation on God can quench the worldly and spiritual thirst. It is the water of spirituality that can free one from the thirst of desires.

Today there is lack of moral, spiritual, and social values in society. Power and wealth have become the only objectives these days. In what way should one spend one’s money? There is nothing wrong in earning money, but it should be put to proper use. Modern society is in turmoil because people do not spend their money in a proper way.

One should realise one’s innate Divinity and perform sacred actions. What is it that has lost its value today? The value of vegetables and even firewood is on the rise. In fact, the value of everything has gone up; only the value of a person has declined. What is the reason? People have lost their value because of lack of human values in them.

In this world, birds, animals, and even insects safeguard their values by performing their respective duties. But humanity alone is destroying human values by acting contrary to humanness. In fact, one is not able to realise one’s value. One questions the very existence of human values. Values come into existence from the very birth of a person. But people have forgotten such values, which are with them right from the time of birth. People are running after the shadow of worldliness and leading an artificial life. Their value will increase manifold when they develop human values in themselves.

What is meant by srishti (creation)? It is an expression of Divine Will. Prakriti (nature) is another name for creation. One is born to safeguard the Divinity of nature. One has assumed human body to redeem oneself by developing physical, mental, and spiritual powers and fostering human values. One should first of all make efforts to uphold one’s human values.

Love is the foremost quality of a person. It is only because of this quality of love that man is denoted by the term mankind. Kindness is very essential for mankind. Bereft of kindness, love, truth, and righteousness, one is not a human being at all. In fact, one is no better than a living corpse.

People talk about Brahmacharya. What does it mean? Is it to remain without getting married? No, no. Dwelling constantly on the principle of Brahman is true Brahmacharya. Focus your mind on Brahman at all times, at all places and under all circumstances.

A brahmachari is one who is always immersed in the feelings of Brahman (Divinity). This is at the level of spirituality. You should follow this principle at the worldly level also. Your conduct should be proper, your manners should be sacred, and your speech should be truthful. Even people leading a worldly life can be called brahmacharis if they lead a sacred life. God is the Father, and all the men and women of this world are His children. Therefore, all should live like brothers and sisters. When they imbibe such feelings, they can realise this truth at worldly level also. Just as coolness is common for froth, waves, and ocean, likewise one should experience divinity in all the three aspects of his life, namely, paramarthika, vyavaharika, and pratibhasika.

Man’s antahkarana (inner instrument) comprises manas (mind), buddhi (intellect), chitta (mind-stuff) and ahamkara (ego sense). Only when you associate the mind, intellect, mindstuff, and ego sense with the divine principle of Atma that you can realise your humanness.

Today, one’s heart is devoid of compassion and kindness. The heart has become so hard that one is ready to inflict pain on others to any extent and does not show any sympathy toward those who are in distress. Your heart should melt upon seeing the suffering of others. That is real kindness. Only such a person deserves to be called a human being. Kindness is the hallmark of mankind. Bereft of kindness, the word mankind has no meaning. Our heart should be full of compassion at all times and under all circumstances.

Such sacred principles were practised and propagated in Bharat in ancient times. But now, where does the defect lie? People today only propagate these principles without practising them. Only when you practise can you experience happiness. Unfortunately, hardly anyone is putting these principles into practice. Whatever one learns from reading sacred texts or listening to spiritual discourses should put it into practice first and shared with others. If one is not able to put into practice all the sacred teachings, one should at least practise a few of them.

Here is a small story. Once the captain of a ship had to move away from his place on some urgent work in the course of a battle. He told his son, “Stay here in my place till I come back.” As the enemy guns fired at the ship, it caught fire and all the occupants started jumping into the water with lifeboats to save their lives. Some of them came to this boy and told him to move away from that place to save his life. But the boy replied, “I am ready to give up my life, but I will not disobey my father’s command. My father told me to stay here, and I shall abide by his words.” Though the entire ship was getting engulfed in flames, he did not move from his place and as a result sacrificed his life. Thus, he set an example of implicit obedience to his father’s command. He was none other than Casabianca. He earned a great name by his sacrifice.

The value of humanness will increase only when one puts into practice at least some of the good things one learns. Even when people know that something is good for them, they do not put it into practice. On the other hand, they keep telling others what is good. When they tell others what is good, why don’t they themselves put it into practice? Why should they say something to others that they do not themselves accept wholeheartedly? This type of conduct is artificial, untruthful, and contrary to humanness. Do what you say and say what you think.

Since there is no harmony between thoughts, words, and deeds of people, they are unable to experience peace in spite of the rise in the number of spiritual organisations. Wherefrom can you get peace? Peace is within you; it cannot be acquired from outside. When you follow the truthful and righteous path, you will experience peace.

If you truly have faith in God, that faith will be reflected in you in the form of peace. People today pretend that they have faith in God, but in reality, they have no faith. That is why they are always in the grip of unrest and agitation. They repeat the words, sathya, dharma, santhi, and prema (truth, righteousness, peace and love) like parrots, but do they put into practice even one of these values? What is the use if such people give discourses and sermons on human values? In fact, such people bring bad name to Sai.

Sai will be pleased with you if you practise at least one of these values. It is not difficult to practise these values. How easy is it to speak truth and say things as they are! (Showing His handkerchief) It is easy to say I am holding a handkerchief. On the other hand, how difficult is it to say and convince people that there is a garland in My hand when actually it is a handkerchief! To say such a thing is an utter lie. It is very easy to speak the truth and extremely difficult to tell a lie. But people have forgotten such an easy path and are following the difficult and treacherous path of untruth.

It is a great surprise that people are so narrowminded in spite of having the ever expansive divinity in their hridaya (heart). When I use the word hridaya, I do not mean the physical heart, which is confined to the body made of five elements. Hridaya refers to Divinity. which is all-pervasive, as mentioned in the V edic dictum, Sahasra seersha Purusha sahasraksha sahasra pad (The Cosmic Being has thousands of heads, eyes, and feet). What does this refer to? It refers to the Brahma, who has thousands of heads, eyes, and feet.

What does Brahman connote? It connotes all pervasive and ever expansive divine principle.

It continues to expand all the time. Expansion of love is life, and contraction of love is death. Therefore, have expansion love. Because you are essentially divine and Divinity is all-expansive, your actions should reflect this ever expansive Divinity, and divine feelings should manifest in you. Today, people lack such broad feelings. They have become totally narrow-minded. How can your narrow mind grasp ever expansive divinity?

Divinity is infinite. That is why God is extolled as Ananta Rupaya Namah (salutations to the One who is infinite). In this vast universe, God pervades everything in His allexpansiveness. He permeates everything, sentient and insentient. Since He is present everywhere, He is called omnipresent. This principle of omnipresence is known as Brahman.

You may or may not be able to visualise this Divine Principle; it all depends on your faith and deservedness. If your faith is true and firm, you can visualise God in a moment. God neither descends from heaven nor goes away anywhere. He neither comes nor goes. There is nothing like coming or going for God; He is everywhere.

God is antaryami (indweller). What is meant by antaryami? He is the one who resides in the heart of every being. Antaratma is another name for antaryami.

However, the power of maya (delusion) that arises out of Him covers Him and hides Him from your vision. The clouds that originate from the sun cover it. Does the sun chastise the clouds that cover it? No. Wait for some time with patience. The clouds will move away and the sun will become visible again.

Divinity is the source of everything. God is the cause of creation, sustenance, and dissolution of the universe. Everything is related to God. Therefore, you should consider everything as divine. God wants only two things that God: sathya and dharma. If you have these two, then you will have everything else,

and all other values like compassion and kindness will be added to them. Sathya and dharma are the most important values. All other values are part and parcel of these two. You should have compassion. Compassion is synonymous with love. When you have love in your heart, hatred cannot enter it.

Kama, krodha. and lobha (desire, anger, and greed) are the three enemies that cause immense suffering to man. Desire ruins your good actions, greed ruins your devotion, and anger destroys your wisdom. Since humanity has become the victim of desire, anger, and greed, his karma, upasana, and jnana (actions, devotion, and wisdom) are completely destroyed. Because of desire, greed, and anger, one is unable to imbibe good thoughts and feelings, undertake good actions, participate in devotional activities, and safeguard his wisdom.

Why should you entertain these three evil qualities, which are so harmful? First and foremost, get rid of them. You may have desires, but they should not be unlimited. You should limit your desires. In order to get rid of evil qualities, contemplate on God. In this vast universe, you should have a broad heart. Our heart should be as expansive as an ocean. That is the real Manasarovar (Lake of the mind). One who lacks a broad heart cannot be truly called a human being.

Never give room to narrow feelings. There are defects in everyone, and everyone makes mistakes. Do not pay undue attention to them. Never give up love. When you have love as your guiding principle in life, you can achieve anything. Entertain only noble thoughts and not mean ideas. Follow great ideals and have a broad outlook. Even after death, one’s ideals will continue to live. Noble ideals live forever. Body may perish, but the ideals will never perish. Therefore, man develop sacred ideals.

All of you are repositories of love. But you limit your love. Never do that. Expand your love more and more. Your life will become as much ideal as much as you expand your love and keep it sacred. Among all types of love, love for God is supreme. We love our mother, father, brother, and sister, but this love is at the worldly and physical level. This is like passing clouds, which come in the middle and go. But God’s love is permanent.

What do you gain by developing love? You experience bliss. As you expand your love, your bliss will also expand in the same proportion. As you limit your love, your bliss will also become limited. Therefore, if you want to experience eternal bliss, develop love more and more. The more you develop love for God, the more blissful you become.

Love is non-dual. When you develop love, you imbibe the principle of non-dualism and experience oneness. Sarvatah panipadam T at sarvathokshi siromukham, sarvatah srutimalloke sarvamavruthya tishthati (with hands, feet, eyes, head, mouth, and ears pervading everything, He permeates the entire universe). This One is present everywhere. You should attain that. You may pursue worldly education, which is useful for your existence in the world. But also acquire spiritual education.

Love is the life force of spirituality. Therefore, develop love. When you develop love and compassion, you attain the supreme state of Divinity.