Sri Sathya Sai Baba

The body is impermanent All one's wealth is transient. Children and Wife are shadows. Only one's good deeds are lasting companions. Who realises this truth is a true man.

 

EMBODIMENTS of love! All beings in creation, except man, live according to the laws of nature and carry out their functions. Without any concern for the morrow, they lead their lives, content with whatever they can enjoy. Nature sees to it that they do not lack anything needed for their existence. Man, on the contrary, is never contented, however much he may acquire and whatever comforts he may enjoy. He yearns for various things and looks upon the desire for these objects as love. But if such attachment to objects is fostered, there is no end to the process. He does not realize that such love is based upon self-interest and self-centeredness.

 

It should be clear that what passes for love today in the world is really selfishness and self-interest. In every thought, every word, every action of his, the demon of self-interest is present. Man has become a plaything of selfish impulses. Caught up in the coils of selfishness, his entire life becomes a delusion and a snare. He is prisoner of his selfishness. Such a person can never experience what is real freedom.

True Love Will Remain Unaffected

What, then, is true Prema (love)? Pure, unselfish love towards all living beings, considered as embodiments of the Divine, with no expectation of reward, is true Love. "Adweshta sarvabhootha-nam. Maitrah, Karuna evacha" ("Free from dislike, friendly and compassionate towards all beings"). With this attitude, when one regards divinity as present in all beings, only then he can have true love. Whatever be the vicissitudes one may face, whatever be the personal sorrows and privations one may undergo, true love will remain unaffected. Today, when any difficulty arises or when some trouble crops up, love turns into hatred. True love is the sweet fruit that grows out of the fragrant flower of good deeds. Love rules without recourse to the sword. It binds without laws.

 

Only one who has such true love can be described as human. The man without such love is only human in form. Like the lotus which blooms when the sun rises, the heart of man blossoms when love enters it. Like the glow of the flame in a fire, like the rays of the sun, like waves in the ocean, divine love is the basic quality of a true human being. It is only when one is filled with pure, unselfish love that he can be called a human being.

                                                                                    Sri Sathya Sai Speaks Vol. 18

                                                                                    May 06, 1985

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

 

Truth Is The Lamp That Dispels Darkness

 

What Avatars re-established on firm foundations is Sathya (Truth). For, as the Vedhas (sacred scriptures) announce, there is no Dharma higher than Truth. Truth gets hidden, appears distorted, is declared as failing, so, the Avathar (divine incarnation) asserts its validity and value, once again.

 

God wears Truth; the good seek Truth; the bad are rescued by Truth. Truth liberates; Truth is power; Truth is freedom. It is the lamp that illumines the heart and dispels doubt and darkness. The effulgence of God is Truth. Welcome God in your heart. Install Him there as a result of Yearning. Be always concerned with Brahman; then, you are entitled to be known as a Brahmin; if you are concerned with the skin and all that it contains, that entitles you only to be known as a Chandala, who works on leather and skin!

 

There was Kanaka, born in a low caste. He was an ardent devotee, yearning in unbearable anguish to see Krishna. So, he went to Udipi, where there is a famous Krishna Temple, established by the great sage, Madhwacharya himself. Being of low birth, he could not enter the temple and see the charming idol of Krishna. He stood before the outer door, but the idol was hidden by the Flag- post in front of the shrine. He went round the outer wall and sought some crevice amidst the stones through which he could earn a faint glimpse. He saw a stone was loose: with his fingers, he scooped out the mortar and he made a narrow chink, and when he looked eagerly through it, he saw only the back of the idol. But he was overcome with delight! He danced in ecstasy, singing the glory of Krishna. Just at the moment, the idol turned towards him and Krishna granted him the full vision of His Charm and majesty.

 

Yearning was rewarded with Grace. Yearning leads to surrender, and surrender gives the highest joy. Leave everything to His Will, accept whatever happens, whether pleasant or painful.

 

 

Divine Discourse

29 July 1969

Sri Sathya Sai Baba

 

The Rama Principle Is the Atma, Source of All Joy The Name Rama was once indicated by Rama Himself (the son of Dasharatha, hero of the Ramayana, the incarnation of the Lord in the Thretha Yuga) as a potent liberator.

When Rama was passing through the forests with Sita and Lakshmana, the hermits who recognised Him as Divine gathered around Him with a prayer that they be initiated by Him and be given some mantra (sacred formula) that they could repeat for spiritual uplift and victory. Rama replied that He was a prince in exile wandering in the forests and so He could not presume any authority to initiate hermits into a spiritual path. He moved on along the jungle tracks.

Watching Him walking fast, with Sita immediately behind Him and Lakshmana following behind, an aged hermit exclaimed, “Friends! See! Rama is initiating us! He is awarding us the mantra! God is leading. Nature (His constant companion, His shadow) is following; the jeevi (individual), part of the Lord, the wave of the ocean, is in the rear; he can see the Lord only if the deluding Nature is propitiated or by-passed. This is indeed a silent lesson in sadhana (spiritual discipline). Ra is God; ma is the individual, who has fallen behind. Aa is Prakrithi (Nature); Rama, Rama is the mantra He is vouchsafing so graciously. Take it and save yourselves. For me, there is no other course.”

 I am emphasising Rama-Nama (the name Rama) because the Rama principle is the Atma. Rama means that which is pleasant and which pleases. Now, the Atma is the source of all joy; its nature is bliss. Moreover, as Thyagaraja discovered, Rama is the Name that worshippers of both Narayana (Vishnu) and Shiva can adopt. The syllable Ra is the key syllable of the Narayana mantra (Om Namo Narayanaya) and the syllable ma is the key syllable of the Shiva mantra (Om Namashivaya).

                                                                                                                                Divine Discourse

                                                                                                       World Conference of Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organisations

                                                                                                        May 17, 1968