Have love and ananda (Divine bliss) in your heart. Ananda comes from pure sight, pure hearing, pure speech, and pure actions. The day you establish yourselves in this ananda, that day will be My Birthday for you. The Avatar (Divine Incarnation) is the Atma-shakti (power of the Supreme Soul) that has put on the raiment of kriya-shakti and yoga-shakti (power of action and power of Divine communion). Generally, Avataraṇa (the process of incarnation) is described as a ‘coming down’ from a higher status to a lower one. But, no! When the baby in the cradle weeps, wails, and clamors for help, the mother stoops and takes it up in her arms. Her stoop is not to be described as a ‘coming down’. If you earn the necessary credentials, the Incarnation will come and save you. If, on the other hand, you multiply your demerits and descend lower and lower, how can you be saved? – Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1978

In truth, this Kali era is the most beneficent of the four, for you have now amidst you the eternal embodiment of Ananda (bliss) in a form which you can approach, adore, and learn from. You are singing with Me, conversing with Me, and filling your eyes, ears, and hearts with My utterances and activities. This is not a mere physical body composed of the five elements, nor this day My Birthday, though you may call it thus. This body might have a birthday, but I have no birth. You ascribe an age to Me, but I have no age which can be counted. The Eternal, with neither entrance nor exit; The One who neither Was nor Is nor Will be; The Immortal Person free from birth and death – That Ever-effulgent Atma is Sai forever. Feel with the mind, plan with the intelligence, and use the body to serve those who are in need of service. Offer that act of service to God; worship Him with that flower. Put into daily practice the ideals that Sathya Sai has been propagating and make them known all over the world by standing forth as living examples of their greatness. – Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1979

Acquire big degrees, achieve fame. No harm. Go abroad, earn money and reputation; nothing wrong in that. But never forget your own culture. Don’t criticise others’ culture. Wherever you are, make your life an ideal for others. Speak pleasantly. Do good deeds. Then you will be a good person. Do not strive to acquire the status of a great man. Always strive to become a good man. Great men may do many evil deeds, but the acts of a good man always stand out as ideals for others. Ravana was a great man. Rama is the example par excellence of a good man. Both had mastered the same studies; but how different were their natures! Ravana, though endowed with extraordinary learning, was himself destroyed and caused the destruction of his entire clan, because of one bad quality of desire. Hiranyakashipu, master of all the five elements, was ruined by his evil quality of anger. Duryodhana was ruined by greed. He refused to give even five villages to the Pandavas. All these persons not only destroyed themselves, they caused the utter destruction of their entire clans. Even one evil trait is enough to cause ruin! Then imagine the fate of one who has all six evil qualities of lust, anger, greed, pride, envy and hatred? – Divine Discourse, Nov 22, 1999

It is a custom that when you approach the Lord, you take something with you; this is an act which people do when they go for the fulfilment of some desire, or the grant of Grace for realising some wish. They take patram, pushpam, phalam, toyam (leaf, flower, fruit, water), as the Gita says. The attitude is “I am jiva (individual); He is Deva (Lord)”. But, this is as bad a trick as some men do: bring one cow when we ask them for milk, and milk another to give us the milk. They give the Lord the leaf, flower and fruit grown on some tree, and then the reward of Grace goes to the tree, not to them! Give the leaf, flower, fruit that has grown on the tree of your life; the fragrant leaves of your mental resolves and plans, the sweet, juicy fruits of your own activities and thoughts. I know the relative value of these two; I require something that is your very own, not something bought in the bazar or grown on some tree or produced by someone’s intelligence or devotion and steadiness. God has given you ‘the heart’ to use in life; return it to Him as clean and as pure as when He gave it, after using it for storing love, peace, righteousness, and truth, and for distributing them to all who come in contact with you. – Divine Discourse, Oct 03, 1965

Do not go about proclaiming that you are a sect distinct and separate from those who adore God in other forms and names. Thereby, you are limiting the very God whom you are extolling. Do not proclaim in your enthusiasm: “We want only Sai; we are not concerned with the rest.” You must convince yourselves that all forms are Sai’s; all names are Sai’s. There is no ‘rest’; all are He. You must have noticed that I do not speak about Sai in My discourses, nor do I sing of Sai during the bhajan with which I usually conclude My discourses. And you must have wondered why. Let me tell you the reason. I do not want the impression to gain ground that I desire this Name and this Form to be publicised. I have not come to set afoot a new cult; I do not want people to be misled on this point. I affirm that this Sai form is the form of all the various names that man uses for the adoration of the Divine. So, I am teaching that no distinction should be made between the names Rama, Krishna, Easwara, Sai — for they are all My names. – Divine Discourse, May 17, 1968

Embodiments of Love! In this infinite universe, among the myriads of living beings, humanity is eminent. Among human beings, it is a privilege to be born as a woman. There are many examples to demonstrate the preeminence of women. Was not Rama born as a Divine incarnation in Kausalya’s womb? Did not Lava and Kusha (the twins) become great because they were born to Sita? Was it not Jijibai’s loving care which made Shivaji great? Was it not Putlibai’s piety which made Gandhi a Mahatma? All the greater sages and saints, heroes and warriors were born to women who made them great. Woman is the Goddess of Nature. Gayatri, which enshrines the essence of the Vedas, is a goddess, venerated as Veda Mata (the mother of the Vedas). It is obvious that feminine birth is estimable, adorable, and sublime. The Veda also adores the feminine principle in various ways. Vedic rituals and practices accord a high place to women. – Divine Discourse, Nov 19, 1995

Embodiments of Love! Through love, you can achieve anything. A man without love is as good as dead. Serve all with love. The Divine is both the lover and the beloved. He is the director of the play, and He is also the actor. “He will bring tears to your eyes; He will wipe away your tears.” How does He do it? When you are immersed in worldly affairs, He brings tears to your eyes. When you are immersed in spirituality, He wipes away your grief. “He will drive you crazy. He will drive away your madness; He is Satchitananda Sai Rama.” He makes the devotee crazy about Swami and makes him cry – “Swami! Swami! Swami!” He rescues the devotee from the crazy attachment to the world. “He will make the jogi into a bhogi; He will make the bhogi into a jogi” – A pleasure seeker is transformed into a spiritual seeker, and a spiritual seeker is turned into the enjoyer of bliss. When a man of affluence (bhogi) becomes a mendicant (jogi), he will start the contemplation on God. – Divine Discourse, Mar 07, 1997

The blemish that affects the mind is illusion. It is like a fierce dog that will not allow anyone to approach the Master. You can manage to bypass it only by assuming the rupam or form of the Master, which is called sarupyam, or by calling out for the Master so loudly that He comes down and accompanies you into the house, that is to say, by winning His Grace, samipya (proximity). Illusion is His pet, and so, it will not harm you if He orders it to desist from harming you. The Master comes to save not one good man from illusion, but the whole of mankind. Of course, He has to come assuming a form that man can love, revere, and appreciate. He can give joy and courage, only if He speaks the language of human conversation. Many are afraid to approach Me, for they know I am aware of their innermost thoughts and deepest desires. But let Me tell you, only helpless animals have fear. Man, who is the child of immortality, should have no fear. People pray before stone images of the snake god, but when the actual snake appears in answer to their prayers, they run away, terror-stricken from the shrine! The Lord manifests Himself only to shower Grace, never to strike terror. – Divine Discourse, Jan 01, 1964

You must learn to explore how you can deserve God’s grace and distinguish good from bad. I am hoping that you will have all these capacities and earn God’s grace. It is not enough if you have devotion to Swami. Your prema (love) towards Swami is not necessarily going to result in Swami’s prema on you. Unless you find ways and means by which you can earn Swami’s grace, your effort is useless. You should follow a path by which you will be able to experience and enjoy prema. To know the path by which you will receive prema is more important than simply saying that you have prema. Your prema alone is simply like one-way traffic. If your prema results in your receiving prema from the other side, then it becomes two-way traffic. It is give and take. If you have good ideas, develop good thoughts, and adopt good practices, then you do not have to ask for God’s grace. God by Himself will shower His grace and prema as a reward for your good conduct. – Summer Showers, Jun 17, 1974

Three things are most essential today. Morality in business, politics with principles and education with character. Wherever you turn, there is disorder, misery, and fear. How are these diseases to be got rid of? Love is the only means. Love is God. Live in love. When love is developed, hatred will have no place. Injustice will be out of bounds. People will not indulge in falsehood. They will not resort to wicked ways. People will follow the right path. Therefore, deem love as God. Buddha declared: “Ahimsa is the foremost virtue.” Sathya Sai declares: “Love alone is the form of the Divine.” Love all. Love is God’s only property. It does not belong to man. It is not a purchasable commodity. It issues from the heart. It alone can be said to be Divine. Divine love is different from human attachments. It is timeless. It is omnipresent. Make it your sole ideal. It is inherent in you. Manifest it in the proper way. – Divine Discourse, Mar 07, 1997

Young children are pure at heart. Only due to faults in the education system, they seek destructive paths. Students are selfless and sacred. Parents at home and teachers in schools lead them astray. It is natural for parents to have love for their children, but it should be within limits. Parents must always be watchful of their children’s behaviour. Today’s parents themselves do not know what is right conduct. How can they guide children? There is too much freedom. Yes, freedom is desirable. What kind of freedom? ‘The end of wisdom is freedom. The end of culture is perfection. The end of knowledge is love. The end of education is character.’ Yes, this kind of freedom is definitely worth pursuing. But by giving children the liberty to act as they please, by letting them return home at 1 a.m. or 2 a.m., by not questioning their whereabouts, parents totally ruin them. Students have no manners and discipline. However, this is not entirely their fault. It is because of the bad ideals set by parents. The excessive love they show is leading children to take the wrong path. – Summer Showers, May 20, 1991

What is the connection between the Spirit within and the external world? Bhagawan explains by giving a beautiful example today.

Understand the true relationship between the external phenomenal world and the world of Spirit inside. The external world is a reflection of the inner being. All happiness that you seek from external objects is within yourself. Take the example of the ocean. The water that turns into vapour from the ocean assumes a different form and quality. It acquires purity and sweetness and returns to the ocean in another form. Look at the changes it goes through in this process. Going up as vapour, becoming a cloud, coming down as rain, flowing as rivulets, it joins the ocean as a river. The change into vapour is Sathya (truth). The formation of the cloud is Dharma (right conduct). Coming down as raindrops corresponds to Prema (drops of love). When the drops join to become a river, there is the flow of Ananda (bliss). This stream of bliss merges in the ocean of Grace. Sometime or other, what has come from the Divine has to merge in the Divine. This is the natural destiny of all living beings – taking birth as a manava (man), leading a life of a jivi (individual being), again returning to the form of Madhava (divine nature), and ultimately merging in the Divine.

– Divine Discourse, Mar 07, 1997



Man should express love more and more to make the inner divine light in the body shine more brilliantly. – BABA

What should we do to draw Swami towards ourselves and secure His grace? Bhagawan most lovingly reminds and reassures us today.


Many people who have some questions regarding Swami do not realise the ways of the Divine. They look at all things from the worldly point of view. They should look at things from the Divine point of view. Change the angle of your vision. When you practise seeing the world from the point of view of the omnipresence of the Divine, you will get transformed. You will experience the power of the Divine in everything in creation. You cannot hide anything from God. Many imagine that Swami does not see what they are doing. They do not realise that Swami has a myriad eyes. Even your eyes are divine. But you are not aware of your true nature. When you have faith in yourself, you will have faith in God. Realise that there is nothing beyond the power of God. Love God with that supreme faith. Then you will be drawn towards God. It needs purity. A magnet cannot attract a piece of iron covered with rust. Similarly, God will not draw to Himself an impure person. Hence, change your feelings and thoughts and develop the conviction that God is everything. God will not give you up when you have this conviction.

– Divine Discourse, Feb 27, 1995



Consider all work as God’s work and develop love. When love grows, faith will also grow more. – BABA

Names and forms are momentary. The form of the tiger is momentary. The form of the snake is momentary. As names and forms are momentary, take them as such. However, the principle of non-dualism should not be misconstrued. In your pocket, you have a pen. The other man also has a pen in his pocket. You cannot take another man’s pen from his pocket. Is it proper? No! At the worldly level, your pen belongs to you, My pen belongs to Me. If you slip, you sustain a fracture of your leg. Then you may have a bandage. Your mother has intense love for you. Your mother may feel sad because you are suffering. But it is not possible for her to have the bandage on her leg. Individuals are different, but the pain may be the same for both. You will have the pain of a fracture; your mother will have the pain that you are suffering. But the mother is not having pain of the fractured leg. Mother is feeling sad because of the suffering of the son, not of the fracture. So, you can follow non-dualism in feeling, but not in action. – Divine Discourse, Apr 26, 1993.

If your thoughts centre round the body, you will have worries about pains and illnesses, real or imaginary; if they are centred on riches, you will be worried about profit and loss, tax and exemptions, investment and insolvency; if they roam round fame, then, you are bound to suffer from the ups and downs of scandal, calumny and jealousy. So, let them centre round the seat of power and love which deserves willing submission and let your whole being surrender to it. Then, you will be happy forever. For the sages of the Vedic culture, the rishis, the Name of the Lord was the very breath; they lived on the sustenance inherent in the contemplation of the glory of the Lord. When the milky ocean of the Vedas was churned with intelligence as the rod and devotion as the rope, the butter of the three great classics – the Ramayana, the Mahabharata, the Srimad Bhagavata emerged, for spreading the message of the Namasmarana (chanting of the divine name) way to peace and joy. It is to revive this message and to restore faith in the Name that this Avatar has come into the world, in the Kali Yuga. – Divine Discourse, Oct 3, 1965

You may undertake any number of spiritual practices, but never forget God’s name even for a moment. Only then will you be protected. Never do anything that will take you away from God. You can achieve anything through prayer. You need not pray loudly; it is enough if you pray mentally. Some people have a mistaken notion that God will not come to their rescue if they do not pray loudly. God resides in your heart. He listens to your prayers. If you aspire to attain His grace, you have to contemplate on Him incessantly. Worldly difficulties come and go. One should not attach much importance to them. However, through prayer one can overcome any difficulties. Only God’s grace is true and everlasting. One should strive to attain it. Embodiments of Love! Chant the name of God day in and day out. That alone will protect you at all times. Just as air is all-pervasive, God is present in you, with you, around you, below you, above you. Hence, you should be in constant communion with divinity. – Divine Discourse, Jul 21, 2005

Namasmarana saved Prahlada from the agony of torture. He repeated it and imbibed its nectarous taste. Even when the enraged elephant rushed towards him, he did not cry out, “O Father,” or “O Mother,” to persuade his physical parents to rescue him; he had no consciousness of their existence at all; he called on Narayana and no one else. Narayana is the source of strength for the weak and the strong; He is the supreme power; so, elephants turned back from the boy, fire could not burn even his hair; wind could not lift him; cliffs could not fell him; and poison could not affect him. The Name was his armour, his shield, his breath, his life. Anjaneya too demonstrates the might of the Name. With the Name imprinted on his heart and rolling on his tongue, he leapt across the sea; temptations called on him to halt on the way; terrors pleaded with him to turn back; but the Name urged him on and carried him forward, through space, to distant Lanka, where Sita was. He had no space in his mind for anything other than the Name of his master. – Divine Discourse, Oct 3, 1965

Selfless service (Nishkama Seva) will ennoble man and raise his stature. It endows man with the intelligence and the skills required to refine human nature. Doing one’s duty diligently is not enough. Men have to cultivate other qualities like love, sympathy, fairness, compassion, and forgiveness. Without these qualities, man will not be able to perform Nishkama Karma (selfless actions). The joys and sorrows, likes and dislikes experienced by man, and the impressions related to sensual objects that get accumulated are all a result of mental disturbances. And it is the sense of dualism of “mine” and “thine” that is the cause for these disturbances. This dualism is rooted in selfishness, which makes one think that as long as he is all right, it does not matter what happens to the world. Such a self-centred person, who regards his body, his wealth, and his family as all that matters to him, looks upon truth as untruth and the false as true. To get rid of this deep-seated malaise, men have to engage themselves in service. They have to realise that the body has been given not to serve one’s own interests but to serve others. – Divine Discourse, Nov 21, 1988

A life without love is sterile and barren. Whatever be one’s difficulties or troubles, one should try to help others to the extent possible. Selfless, loving service to others, is the highest form of sadhana. It represents true devotion or bhakti. Such bhakti is not affected by the reverse of fortune or changes in circumstances. One should not be concerned only about one’s own welfare, career and prosperity. It is not for the enjoyment of personal possessions and comforts that man has taken birth. He has a greater goal to achieve, something more permanent and lasting. It is the realisation of oneness with the divine, which alone can give lasting bliss. Even while being engaged in the activities of the secular world, we should strive to sanctify all actions by dedicating them to the divine. – Divine Discourse, Feb 02, 1985

Peace and bliss are not to be found in external objects. You possess all worldly objects to cater to your needs and to provide all comforts and conveniences to you. Isn’t it? If these external objects could give you peace and bliss, then how is it that you do not experience peace and bliss despite possessing all these? Similarly, all your near and dear ones are with you. But they also do not give you peace and bliss. You should try to understand that bliss is not to be found in persons and material objects. Bliss comes only from within you; you yourself are the source of peace and bliss. Therefore, there is no need for you to make efforts to search for them here and there. Bliss is not to be searched; it has to be manifested from within. It is to be known and not to be looked out. Try to know this eternal principle of truth that is within you. You think that someone or the other will give you bliss. But that is your bhrama (delusion). So long as you have bhrama, you cannot attain Brahma (God). Therefore, get rid of this bhrama. Then Brahma will become manifest from within you. God is no different from you. You and God are one. – Divine Discourse, Jun 24, 1996.

In order to drive away the evil qualities of attachment, hatred and jealousy, you should develop pure and selfless love devoid of ego. This is real devotion. All other spiritual practices like worship, japa (recitation of a Divine Name) and dhyana (meditation) are merely the steps towards controlling the wavering of your mind. When you want to go on the terrace of your house, you use a ladder. The ladder rests on the ground. But its upper end is supported by the wall. The support of the ground at the lower end of the ladder is faith, and the support of the wall at the upper end of the ladder is love. Therefore, with the help of both love and faith, you can reach any height. Without these two, you cannot climb at all. It is impossible. You should have the support of both. You should have deep faith and sacred love. When you develop these two, there is no need to perform any spiritual practices like japa and dhyana. – Divine Discourse, Jun 20, 1996

Devotion and faith ensure the gift of knowledge of the Spirit, the great prize for the adventure of birth, life, and death. When the mind weds pravritti (worldly activity), the progeny is bondage; when it weds nivritti (spiritual renunciation), the progeny is freedom. Nivritti confers fearlessness, even while you accept a little of it. It gives strength and courage, for it is desire that weakens man and makes him cringe before those in authority and with influence. Detachment endows you with self-respect and the capacity to stand up to slander and calumny. There are some who weep at the slightest sign of defeat or disappointment. This is despicable behaviour. Why should you have fear or sorrow, with the Lord installed in the altar of your heart? Do you not know He is there, guarding you and guiding you? He is in all beings, at all times. Endeavour to remember this fact, whatever you may be doing, whoever you may be contacting, in whatever manner. You will succeed in this, provided you do not give up the recitation of His Name. – Divine Discourse, Oct 24, 1965

Society today is racked by jealousy and hatred. Jealousy is a disease which gives rise to hatred. Develop forbearance and goodwill. That is the cure for jealousy. I have often declared: “My life is My message.” Often, many have extolled Me or derided Me. I do not get elated by praise or depressed by criticism. I treat everything alike. Samatwam yogam uchyate – Equal-mindedness is yoga. What do I lose when someone criticises Me? That is his opinion. It does not affect Me. Those who criticise Baba are suffering from a disease, like those who reject a sweet because they suffer from diabetes. The fault lies not in the sweet but in the person who is unable to relish it. They know that Baba is engaged in beneficial activities, and they want Him. But because some of their selfish interests are not served, they turn against Swami. That is a malady. When you see the facts in this light, you will realise the truth. Today, you have to cultivate a serene equanimity that rises above these trifles. – Divine Discourse, Nov 18, 1995

Youth is the stage when one gets excited about many things. It is necessary to control these passions and excitements by recitation of God’s Name. Tell yourself, “Such unsacred thoughts are not good and proper for me. These are just passing clouds; they will come and go. My life is eternal, and these thoughts are ephemeral like passing clouds.” The heart is like the sky, the mind is the moon and the intellect, the sun. Clouds of thoughts come in the sky of the heart and cover the sun and the moon. Sometimes, very thick clouds of thoughts come during our young age. Then, one cannot see the sun or the moon. But how long will the sun or the moon remain invisible? Just for a few moments because these thoughts are like passing clouds. Be patient, and the clouds will move away by themselves. Hold on to patience firmly. Do not make haste. Haste makes waste. Waste makes worry. So, do not be in a hurry. Haste is not good, particularly at this age; maintain Shantam (peace). There is no well-being other than this Shantam. That’s why Tyagaraja said, “One may be a danti (ascetic) or a vedanti (philosopher), but one cannot attain happiness without shantam”. Peace is very essential in life, both at the level of the body and the mind. – Divine Discourse, Jun 24, 1996

The significance of the three letters in Sai should be understood. “S” stands for Service. “A” stands for Adoration. “I” stands for Illumination. These three represent Karma, Bhakti and Jnana, respectively. Sai teaches these three. All three concepts are equally important. Sai is a combination of the three spiritual paths of Action, Devotion and Wisdom. Just as the Pranava sound is made up of the three letters “A”, “U”, “M” (OM), Sai stands for the triple forms of spiritual sadhana. In the Sai organisation, this threefold exercise has to be properly understood. Sai sevaks have to develop the love in them, share it with others and fill the whole world with love. True love should be distinguished from attachments of various kinds. That love is a synonym for God. Love is God. Live in love. The love of God comes from the depths of the heart. Sai Sevaks should understand this love and render service in the right spirit to all mankind. – Divine Discourse, Nov 18, 1995

The cosmic vision can be acquired either by watching the Universe or one’s inner Cosmos. Man has only to discover himself. In the citadel of the body, there is the lotus temple of the heart, with subtle akasha (space) within. In it are contained heaven and earth, fire and air, sun and moon, stars and planets—all that is in the visible world and all that sustains it and all into which it submerges. Instead of rotating around the earth in the higher realms of space and planning to land on the moon or Mars, if only man plans and prepares himself to travel into his inner realm, what sublime joy and peace he can attain! His attainments at present in the vast silence of outer space are all prompted by fear and spread only further fear. The victory won through weapons and guarded by armour is not something to be glad about; it is flimsy and fragile. It is fraught with danger and may topple at the slightest gust. But the victory won through love and sympathy transforms the defeated and makes him a comrade forever. – Divine Discourse, Oct 24, 1965

It may be asked what is the karma that accounts for the advent of Avatars. For Divine incarnations, karma is not the cause. The evil deeds of the wicked and the good deeds and yearning of the righteous are responsible for the advent of Avatars. The Narasimha Avatar (the Divine incarnating as half-man and half-lion) was due to the great devotion of Prahlada and the bad qualities of Hiranyakashipu (Prahlada’s father). The descent of the Divine is in response to the yearnings and actions of people and not because of any karma of the Divine. This may be understood from a simple illustration. Crops grown on the ground look up to the skies for rain. They cannot reach up to the clouds. The clouds come down in the form of rain to provide water to the crops. To cite another example: There is a child on the floor. It wants its mother. It cannot jump up to the mother. The mother has to bend down, take the child and fondle it. In the same manner, to offer relief to devotees, to protect them and foster them, the Divine comes in the human form. This is described as Avatarana (the descent of God as an incarnation). God comes down from His high level to give joy to His devotees. – Divine Discourse, Sep 15, 1988

All the festivals of Bharat have an inner divine significance. In Bharat, the festivals are celebrated to prove the immanent Divinity in humanity. Deepavali also teaches a sacred inner meaning to humanity. No other element in this world is as significant as light. It is the light that shows us the way by dispelling darkness. It is because of the light that man is able to attend to his daily duties. The flame of a lamp has two significant qualities. One is to banish darkness; the other is a continuous upward movement. Even if a lamp is kept in a pit, the flame is directed upwards. The ancients have taught that the upward movement of the flame denotes the path of wisdom and Divinity. However, the external light can dispel only the external darkness, but not the darkness of ignorance in man. When Hanuman set Lanka ablaze, though there was light all around, Ravana’s heart was filled with darkness. Ignorance is the cause of birth and death. One with ignorance is born again and again—Punarapi Jananam Punarapi Maranam. But the one with wisdom has neither birth nor death. – Divine Discourse, Oct 19, 1998

In this world, speech carries more value than the currency note. In ancient times, people used to give immense importance to speech. With the help of speech, they were able to become rich and prosperous; they could even win kingdoms. Man becomes virtuous only when his speech is good; he becomes evil when his speech is bad. The speech promotes friendship. It also brings about differences between friends. The speech promotes affinity among relatives. It also creates discord. Effects of speech are not confined to ephemeral and worldly matters only; speech affects our spiritual progress also. Speech may even cause death. Speech can save one’s life, too. Sweet speech brings you name and fame. As man today has lost his pleasant speech and sweet temper, he is subjected to innumerable ordeals and sufferings. That is why I tell the students now and then, you cannot always oblige, but you can always speak obligingly. When the speech is good, a man becomes a hero. But, man will become zero if the speech is not good. – Divine Discourse, Apr 26, 1999

Someone outside is abusing you; so long as the abuse is beyond the range of your sense organs, you are not in any way affected by it. But once the abusive words reach your ears, you become enraged and excited beyond control. What is the reason for your being upset like that? To take a contrasting example: someone outside is praising you, extolling your admirable qualities. So long as you have not heard his words of praise, you derive no joy, nor do you entertain a feeling of endearment towards him. But once his words of praise have reached your ears, you rejoice in them and develop great love for the speaker. What is the reason for the hatred in the first example and for the love in the second one? It is only the contact between the senses and their objects. Thus, it becomes clear that the senses can enjoy peace only when they do not come in contact with sense objects. Or, one should be able to maintain equanimity in spite of the contact between his senses and their objects and irrespective of whether the outcome of such a contact is pleasant or otherwise. It should, however, be recognised that it is neither easy nor always possible to prevent the senses and their objects from coming into mutual contact. On the contrary, it is possible, with some effort, to develop an attitude of equipoise. – Summer Showers, May 23, 1990

Devotion should not be confined to the four walls of the shrine-room or the few minutes you perform Dhyana (meditation). It is a full-time Sadhana (spiritual discipline). Your devotion has to be expressed as worship of everyone, as a living embodiment of Divinity. See God in everyone, even in persons whom you regard as your enemies. Practise that broad and inclusive type of Love. How can you derive happiness by showing love and reverence to a stone idol that does not respond or reflect the feelings? Living beings will return appreciation and gratitude and wish you well. You can see joy growing in their faces. That will confer satisfaction on you. If you cannot educate yourself to love your fellow man, how can you follow the path of dedication to God? Find out the difficulties and troubles burdening others and help them, to the extent you can, to tide over them, and to lead their lives so that they may not recur. Learn to live with other men; share your joys and sorrows with others; be forbearing, not overbearing. – Divine Discourse, Mar 16, 1973

If you enquire deeply, you will find in this world that the same thing assumes different names and forms and is put to use in myriad ways. Seed is one, from which emerge the trunk, branches, sub-branches, leaves, flowers and fruits of the tree. All these have different names and forms and are put to use in different ways. Ekoham Bahusyam (the One willed to become many). Though God is one, He assumes many names and forms. Here, you have to enquire into the two types of causes: one is Nimitta Karana (instrumental cause) and the other is Upadana Karana (primary cause). For a pot, the potter is the Nimitta Karana, and clay is the Upadana Karana. Pots may break and lose their form, but the clay remains changeless. The potter makes different types of pots from the same clay. Just because the pots are broken, the clay does not undergo any change. You may change the ornaments into different names and forms, but gold remains the same. God, who is the Upadana Karana of the universe, also assumes the role of Nimitta Karana, Creator, and creates objects and beings with different names and forms! – Divine Discourse, Sep 6, 1996

Who is Manava (man)? Manava is the one with Manas (mind). What is meant by mind? Mind is just a bundle of thoughts and desires. Man becomes a genuine human being when all thoughts are bound to Truth. Humanness manifests in such a person as good and noble conduct. Today, truthful thoughts are conspicuous by their absence. If we fill our lives with thoughts based on falsehood, the whole world then becomes filled with untruth. Hence, eliminate all bad qualities within you; develop good qualities, and endeavour to experience Divinity – this is true sadhana (spiritual practice). What is the real meaning of sadhana? Transforming the bad into good is sadhana. What is the point in claiming that you are doing sadhana, if this important principle is not observed? In the name of doing sadhana, you close your eyes and roll the rosary beads, but the mind is wandering all over the place! This is not sadhana! We have to expel bad thoughts, bad feelings, and bad tendencies, and replace all these with good thoughts, noble feelings, and sacred habits. Purging out the bad and replacing it with good is what sadhana is all about. – Summer Showers, May 27, 2000

The Scriptures (Shrutis) direct that man must earn just enough for his upkeep by honest means and use the rest of his time and skill for the general good, Dharma-artha. Earn artha (wealth) through Dharma (right conduct). Then, one will certainly have plenty of Divine Grace. Dritarashtra, father of 100 Kauravas who fought against five Pandava cousins, the legitimate claimants to a share of the ancestral patrimony, had neither of these two, though he had abundant riches, superior armies and greater military skill and strategy, had to witness the total extinction of his dynasty and kingdom! Most men like Dritarashtra pursue falsehoods and ignore truth; they amass the trivial and ignore the crucial. They do not realise that death is stalking silently behind them; they do not notice the quick pace of time; they do not know how precious is the chance that the human body, intellect, society, and heritage that it accumulated for him has given him, here and now! They are unaware that the same spark of Divinity that illumines every thought, word, and deed in them is activating every other being too, in the Universe! – Divine Discourse, Mar 24, 1973

It is essential that every boy and girl should learn and practice the basic ethical principles for the blossoming of their true nature. Their primary obligation is to recognise the divinity that is in each of them. In the olden days, students used to pray to the Goddess of knowledge, Saraswati, to make them good, truthful, and sweet-looking. Handsome is that handsome does. Where truth and goodness exist, beauty is present as a natural outcome. Control of the senses and observance of the accepted code of discipline are the hallmarks of a cultured man. In the pilgrimage of life, man has to guide his conduct by certain moral principles known as Niti. Niti is derived from the word ‘nita’, which means what is proper or right. Right conduct is the royal road for man to achieve the highest state in life. When morality declines in a man, or a society, or a nation, that man, society, or nation faces destruction. The loss of morality may even result in the destruction of an entire civilisation built up through centuries. Without morality, people perish. Morality is the life breath of humanity. – Divine Discourse, Aug 21, 1986

Cleanse your instruments of Consciousness, devote yourselves to service so that you might weaken the forces of ego and strengthen the forces of unity and cultivate Japa and Dhyana (repetition of Lord’s Name and meditation), so that you might rise towards Godhood — these are the steps by which you can earn and establish yourselves in Ananda. Engage yourselves in your duties as intelligently and as devotedly as you can; but carry out your duties as if they are acts of worship offered to God, leaving the fruit of those acts to His will, His grace, His compassion. Do not be affected when the results you anticipate are not produced; do not anticipate at all, simply leave it to Him! He gave you the time, the space, the cause, the material, the idea, the skill, the chance, the fortune, and you did but little of your own. So, why should you feel as if you are the doer? Do your duty, as sincere Sadhana! – Divine Discourse, Mar 24, 1973

What is the reason for anger and loss of discrimination? It is only attachment! Yes, you may have an attachment for your wife and children. But keep it within limits. Not only must you limit your attachment, but limit its duration also. Your householder life is only till the age of fifty. By sixty years, you must enter Vanaprastha (the stage after the householder phase). You should snap ties with wife and children and be free of all responsibilities. The age of seventy years is the time for complete renunciation (Sanyasa). Instead of cultivating such sacrifice, men today refuse to renounce attachments till death. Only hell can result for such people. Help your family and others to the extent possible. Discharge your duties towards everyone. And remember that every person is independent, governed by their individual karma. Everyone is responsible for themselves. Don’t cultivate attachment, which is the root cause of sorrow. – Summer Showers, May 25, 1995

We find unrest and agitation in the world today because people have forgotten truth. Satyam Bruyat, Priyam Bruyat, Na Bruyat Satyam Apriyam (Speak the truth, speak pleasantly, do not speak unpalatable truth). Only truth and righteousness can confer peace and prosperity in the world. Satyam vada; Dharmam Chara (speak truth; practice righteousness). This is the most important principle of Indian culture. Once you develop truth and righteousness, peace and love will automatically follow. Righteousness is the head of Indian culture and Truth its feet. But today, people have severed the head and feet of our culture. They are clinging on to the trunk of Artha and Kama (wealth and desire). What is the use of a mere trunk without a head and feet? People are striving to protect the country. If you protect and practice truth and righteousness, they will, in turn, protect the country! You need not make any special efforts to protect the country. It’s enough if you protect truth and righteousness. The entire world is based on these two principles. – Divine Discourse, Apr 14, 2003

The second way of experiencing Ananda (the height of happiness), after the Satvika way,  is the Rajasika way. In the early stages, this path is nectarous, but later, it slides into misery, for the happiness is derived through the senses from objects of the external world. The pleasure soon reveals itself as unreal, false and exhausting. Once the process starts, it drags on with no facility for rest. Man becomes too weak to pursue the goals of Dharma (righteousness), Artha (prosperity), Kama (wish-fulfilment) and Moksha (liberation), which are laid down for him. His intellect, imaginative skill, and intuitive faculty — all are rendered lame. Man can even lose his humanness. The blind pursuit of objective sensual pleasure has today resulted in this very calamity. Lastly, we have the Tamasika path. People who prefer this way of life are unconcerned with the problems of the world; they sleep away their lives, deriving joy in sloth and darkness. Of these three paths towards the goal of Ananda, man must accept the Satvika road, whatever the hardship, the loss, the misery, the anxiety and the labour. He must attain the awareness of Divinity, the experience of Godhead and be established in the Ananda. – Divine Discourse, Apr 05, 1981

Man struggles variously to attain Ananda. Ananda is the height of happiness, becoming the embodiment of joy. It is sought in three different ways, according to the innate quality of the seeker – the Satvika, the Rajasika and the Tamasika. The Satvika path is bitter in the early stages and nectar while coming to fruition. It involves firm control and regulation of the senses, of cognition and action. This will be very hard to accomplish. But as one progresses in practice, the joy increases, and bliss is attained. How can such a goal be secured without undergoing hardship? The scriptures say, “Happiness cannot be won through happiness”; Na sukhat labhyate sukham. Happiness can be won only through misery. Pleasure is but an interval between two pains. To achieve the Satvika happiness that is positive and permanent, man must perforce take on trials and tribulations, loss and pain. – Divine Discourse, Apr 05, 1981

Like Vivekananda and Nag Mahasaya (both disciples of Ramakrishna Paramahamsa), people must be urged by the thirst to know the Creator behind Creation, the person behind the puppets. Nag Mahasaya started from the attitude of Dasoham (I am the servant), and he made himself so small by shrinking his individuality that he was able to wriggle out of the shackles of delusion and escape into the Universal Eternal Truth. Vivekananda, on the other hand, started from the attitude of Soham (I am He); he made himself so vast and grand that he broke the shackles and merged with the Supreme Sovereign Truth. When you have earned that Jnana (wisdom) of the identity of your reality with the reality behind the Universe, maya (illusion) cannot affect you. The fly sits on all objects, fair and foul, but it does not sit on fire, for it will be scorched to death. – Divine Discourse, Oct 04, 1965

A few minutes of investigation will convince anyone that he is not the body which he carries about with him, as the snail carries its home; he is not the eye or ear or tongue; he is not the mind or intelligence for, he refers to them as “my mind is not in it” etc., meaning that he is separate from his mind; “my intelligence failed me”, meaning that he is different from his intelligence. He is a witness; it is the body that dies; he survives; he is reborn when he takes on a new body. Physical beauty is just a matter of health; a couple of days of fever or purging makes an angel a scarecrow. Insanity pounces upon a genius someday and reduces his talk to unintelligent blabber. When the mind is deranged, the eyes see strange sights that are not there; the ears hear eerie noises that never were. It is only when man discovers the ultimate unchanging base that he can derive permanent peace; until then, he too will have to swing and sway in the changing world, between joy and grief. – Divine Discourse, Oct 04, 1965

The discourses of the Pandits during the session of the Vidwan Mahasabha are only reminders; they have to kindle the thought-process (vicharana shakti) in the listeners; then only they can be considered beneficial. In fact, the truth regarding God, man, nature, etc., is so simple that a few minutes of quiet contemplation can reveal it to anyone of ordinary intelligence. Everyone will admit that anything which undergoes change cannot be the truth. Truth must remain as truth, in the past, present, and future. The world and all objects of Nature are constantly being subjected to change — building up or breaking down, evolving or mutating, flowing or festering, growing or dying. How can it be true then? The subjective feelings, attitudes, impulses, beliefs, instincts, intuitions — these too are changing; they are pleasant one moment, unpleasant the next moment; the same thing is welcome at one time, repulsive at another time; malaria makes sweet things turn bitter; jaundice turns all things yellow. So, there must be something stable and permanent and eternal as the background, the base, the foundation, for this changing scene to appear on. Appearance is untrue; reality is eternal. – Divine Discourse, Oct 04, 1965

The Vedas and the Shastras provide illumination to guide the steps of man, but to the blind, it is always dark, however bright the illumination; for those who have lost faith, faltering along, stumbling and falling is the only course. The Shastras and the Vedas point out the means of securing the secret of lasting joy, but man is attempting to earn shadowy joys, fleeting pleasures, pleasures fraught with evil and harm. He is trying to draw water with a pot full of holes. The senses leak out the joy he draws. They are wild, untutored servants who dictate to their master, the mind. The mind has to be brought under your grip; then, the servants will be subservient. The mind is the monarch; the senses are the soldiers; the soldiers are now ruling the king, because he lends his ears to them and not to Buddhi (intellect), who is the Prime Minister. Let Buddhi take charge; in a moment, the senses will be forced back into camp, and the mind can save itself. – Divine Discourse, Sep 28, 1965

The Lord has to be realised through sadhana. Sadhana does not mean adoring God in a particular place or in a particular form. It means thinking of God in all that you do, wherever you may be. It may be asked whether this is possible. The answer is that it is possible by dedicating every action to God. During Navaratri, there is a form of worship called Angarpana puja. In this form of worship, all the limbs of the body are offered to the Divine in a spirit of surrender, Sharanagati. Surrender means offering everything to the Divine and giving up the idea of separation between oneself and the Divine. There can be no true surrender if there is a sense of separation. Mantras like Netram samarpayami are intended to indicate that one is using his eyes only to see God. The real significance of the mantra is that you think of the divine in whatever you see or do. Therefore, the true meaning of the Angarpana puja is to declare that you offer all your limbs in the service of the Lord. This means that whatever work you do should be done as an offering to God. – Divine Discourse, Oct 06, 1992

In the waking state, there are four aspects – kala, karma, karana, and kartavya. Suppose you have decided to go to Bangalore by car to participate in a programme. You start at 5 a.m. and reach at 8 a.m. Here, kala (time) is three hours, karma (action) is travelling by car, karana (reason) is the programme, and kartavya (duty) is participating in it. All these four aspects are present in the waking state. Now consider that at 10 o’clock at night you had a dream. In the dream, you went to Bangalore and participated in a programme. When did you start? How did you travel? When did you reach? What was the reason? You do not know. This only means that the above four aspects do not exist in the dreaming state. In the sushupti (deep sleep state), there is no time, no reason, no duty and nothing that you do; you only experience bliss. In the waking state, you undertake different tasks with your body. In the dream state, you create everything, including your own self. In deep sleep, you enjoy bliss. You are one and the same in all three states. On this basis, it can be said that the individual is changeless in all three periods of time and experiences bliss directly or indirectly. He experiences oneness in all three periods of time. When once he understands this spirit of oneness, there will be no scope for differences and conflicts. So long as you identify yourself with the body, you find only multiplicity. – Divine Discourse, Sep 26, 1998

The true celebration of the Navaratri festival lies in contemplating on Satya-svarupa (the embodiment of Truth). Respect one and all, for the Divine Atma is present in all. To respect all is true worship. If you want to be respected, you should respect others in the first instance. Understand the principle of oneness that is Divinity. The Vedas declare, Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudha Vadanti (Truth is one, but the wise refer to it by various names). You may call Him by any name, but God is one. This principle of unity should be firmly installed in your heart. God is present in everyone in the form of love. Wherever you go, He is with you. He is the eternal witness. Share your love with others and receive their love in turn. Love is your greatest virtue. Love confers the ultimate joy and bliss. God resides in the heart filled with love. Hence, it is essential that you fill your heart with love. Where there is love, there is God. You don’t need to search for Him. He is always in you, with you, around you, above you, and below you. Adhere to the principle of love. Never hate anyone. Hatred is your worst enemy. Once you develop love in you, hatred will naturally vanish. – Divine Discourse, Oct 05, 2003

Just as there are four stages in the life of everyone — childhood, youth, middle age, and old age — there are four stages in one’s acquisition of Jnana (knowledge of the Supreme), quite similar to these stages. The first stage is the apprentice stage: being trained by parents, teachers, elders; being led, guided, regulated, warned, and reprimanded. The second stage is the junior craftsman stage: eager to establish happiness and justice in society, eager to know the world and its worth and values. The third is the craftsman stage: pouring out energies to reform, reconstruct, remake the human community. The fourth stage is the master stage, realisation that the world is beyond redemption by human effort, that one can at best save oneself by trying to reform the world, that it is all His Will, His Handiwork, His World, Himself. Along with this dawn of Jnana, there must also dawn the will to direct all activity in the light of that vision. When you realise that He is the innermost reality of all, you can worship one another, with as much fervour as you now employ when you worship an idol. – Divine Discourse, Sep 27, 1965

Navaratri means nine nights. That which is associated with darkness is night. What is this darkness? Ignorance is darkness. Man suffers from nine types of darkness. The purpose of the Navaratri celebration is to enable man to get rid of the nine types of darkness which have taken hold of him. When a reference is made to Devi, it signifies the unified form of Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. The three together represent Shakti. Shakti is the energy that accounts for all the phenomena of Prakriti (Nature). Prakriti is energy and the controller of that energy is the Paramatma, the Lord. Prakriti is made up of the three qualities, Sattva, Rajas, and Tamas. As Prakriti is made up of these three qualities, to get control over Nature, man has been offering worship to Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati.  These are not goddesses but deified symbols of the three qualities. To acquire the grace of the Lord, man has to offer worship at the outset to Prakriti. – Divine Discourse, Sep 27, 1992

A tree that has roots deep in the ground cannot be destroyed when its branches or leaves are cut off. Only when you uproot the tree will it be destroyed. Likewise, when evil qualities like hatred and envy have struck deep roots in the tree of life, they cannot be got rid of by striking at some branches. By suppressing bad thoughts intermittently, these evils cannot be eradicated. Since the mind is made up of these thoughts, only when we make the effort to uproot the mind altogether can we achieve real peace. As long as there is the ocean, there will be the waves. When the ocean ceases to exist, the waves vanish too. Similarly, in the ocean of the mind, the waves of the sankalpas (thoughts) continue to appear. Each sankalpa has to be removed. Every bad thought must be rooted out the moment it arises in the mind. The war against bad thoughts is like the war against enemy hordes who attempt to get behind a fort through a subterranean tunnel. As each one of the enemy emerges from the tunnel, he should be struck down. So too, each bad thought that tries to enter the heart must be struck down right away. – Divine Discourse, Jul 31, 1986

These days, it can be noted that instead of sanctifying time, people defile it more. Through excessive talk, we waste time. When you switch on the radio and listen to programmes such as the news or music for half an hour, a few units of electricity are used up. The body is like a radio receiver. Our speaking and singing are like tunes played on the radio, and all these consume energy. It is ok to use one’s energy for good things. But by indulging in bad thoughts, words and deeds, we waste our energy and thereby face dangerous consequences too. Though we have goodness latent within us, we don’t make use of it. The reason is that the qualities such as truth and love are on the decline. By practising the ideals of Sathya and Dharma (truth and righteousness) you can sanctify your life and avoid wastage of the precious energy that you are endowed with. Instead of preaching about these ideals, you should put them into practice. Propagation is ‘quantity’ while practising is ‘quality’. – Divine Discourse, Jul 18, 1997

Remember that nothing in this world is as powerful as the Lord’s name to protect it. It is not arms and bombs that will save the world. Only God’s grace will protect the world. It is man’s foremost duty to pray for God’s grace. Prayer is of supreme importance. Together with melody and rhythm, you must impart feeling to your singing to make the bhajan a sacred offering to the Divine. A ragam (tune) without bhavam (feeling) is a rogam (disease). Giving up conceit and exhibitionism, sing bhajans in a spirit of humility and devotion. That is the right way to sing bhajans. Tyagaraja, in one of his songs, urged the mind to chant Rama’s name with full awareness of the power of the name. In daily life also awareness is needed at every step and in every prayer. When all participants in a bhajan sing in unison, imagine the sacred vibrations that are produced and the divine energies that are released! When these vibrations fill the world, what changes can they not bring about! – Divine Discourse, Feb 13, 1991

Where there is care and where there is a desire to learn with attention, wisdom will appear. Only when we are able to absorb the fire of wisdom into our heart will it be possible for us to quickly burn away our distracting desires. The fire always tries to rise higher and higher. Even if you put the fire in a low ditch, it will try and rise higher. Water, on the other hand, will rush down even if you pour it on a higher level. Water cannot go higher up on its own. Our sensory desires relating to the material world are like water. On the other hand, our thoughts of the Lord are like fire. Once we understand and appreciate what is true and what is permanent, then these transient things will not give us any trouble whatsoever. If you want to establish one truth, it is possible to do so only by following and practising other related truths. Just as we have to use a thorn to remove another thorn and a diamond to cut another diamond, so also, if you want to remove the effect of bad actions, you can remove them only by good actions. A good action is needed to remove a bad action. – Divine Discourse, Jun 13, 1974

There are two categories of Ananda (bliss) in the world: Sadhana-Janya Ananda (Acquired bliss) and Swatah-Siddha Ananda (Self-generating bliss). Acquired bliss is associated with sensory objects. It arises and vanishes from time to time. It does not endure. For instance, when hunger is appeased, there is happiness for the moment. But it ceases after a time. This applies to all objects in the world. This type of joy has been described as acquired or derived happiness. As it is got and lost by human effort, it is not true bliss. Man, however, seeks lasting Ananda. He is, in fact, filled with Ananda and is the embodiment of Ananda. Ananda constitutes his very nature and being. Why then does he not experience it? This is because, unaware of his true nature, he is obsessed with the external world and fails to experience the bliss within. He imagines that the source of joy lies in the phenomenal world. But, as in the case of butter that is present in every drop of milk, but which can be seen only after the milk is curdled and the buttermilk is churned, this inner bliss can be experienced only after the right effort is made. The mind is filled with various kinds of joy. It is only when the appropriate enquiry is made and one’s true nature is ascertained that the Divine Sat-Chit-Ananda inherent in one will be manifested. – Divine Discourse, Feb 12, 1989.

If only you can listen to the good words of the elders and follow the straight path contained in the words of your elders, there is every chance of you becoming wise. Therefore, you must make an attempt to sanctify all the limbs of your body and engage them to undertake the right type of work. Simply because God has given you hands, if you use them to do wrong things, even the hands will dry up and become like dry wood and useless. It is in this context that Prahlada said that if you cannot use your hands for praying to God, they are useless. If you cannot use your mouth to sing the praise of the Lord, then your mouth will be useless. If you are born in such a way that you neither use your hands nor your mouth in praise to the Lord, your birth itself is a burden to your parents. No useful purpose will be served by your being born as a human being. Divyatma Swarupas! For a moment, think of the good fortune of your birth as a human being. Youth of today should remember the sacredness of a human being and also bear in mind the prosperity they can bring to the society of which they are a part. They should think of the welfare of the country. – Summer Showers, Jun 13, 1974.

Once, a party consisting of ten fools happened to cross a river. After crossing the river, one of them wanted to verify whether all ten had reached the bank safely. He counted all the others, forgetting himself, and began weeping, telling them that one member of the group was lost in the river. The other fools in turn, also made the same mistake by repeating the counting in a similar manner. As a result, they all began making a hue and cry. In the meanwhile, a clever passerby, who noticed their miserable plight, approached them and asked them the reason for their piteous lamentation. When they told him that one of the ten members of their group was washed away in the river while crossing, the passerby understood their ignorance and asked them to stand in a row. Then, he counted them aloud one by one, thereby convincing them that all ten of them were intact and that their wrong conclusion about the loss of one man was due to the fact that everybody forgot himself while counting. One who has forgotten himself cannot recognise the truth proper. When you are yourself the Atma, how can you recognise it by praying to some other being or doing such other sadhana? – Summer Showers, May 29, 1990.

First is the stage of a student, and second is the stage when he works as an officer. The third stage is when he would have retired from all work. Here we should recognise that a retired officer does not go to work in any institution, he stays at home and involves himself in activities that interest him. Looking at him, if a young boy in the house says he will also not go to college because the older person is not going, it is not correct. This retired officer would have attended college, done everything needed to learn in a college and thereafter attended his office and performed duties prescribed for him and then retired. Without being a student first and then fulfilling your duty as an officer, you cannot become an officer deserving a pension and rest. So too, you must first learn the education relating to the Atma; thereafter, involve yourself in work that is ordained and then take rest and enjoy the bliss that is given by the knowledge of the Atma. Without working, it is not possible for us to understand the aspect of Dharma. Without knowing the full meaning of Dharma or right conduct, one cannot reach Brahman. – Summer Showers, Jun 13, 1974.

Acquire the love that draws all into the One. Through this, you can put down the fears and anxieties, the greed and envy, the hatred and haughtiness that are today infecting the peoples of the world and establish an era of peace and joy. Let all the worlds be happy – this is the prayer that comes naturally from every human heart. This is the goal to which Sanatana Dharma leads. Everyone must sing of this goal, live in the melody of that song, and merge, through that melody, in the Paramatma (supreme Divine self). Do not seek to find differences between one person and another. Seek rather ways and means to strengthen the bonds of kinship through love. Factions and fighting emerge among the followers of the same family because they have not learned to love. From the self-same mind, many conflicting feelings emerge, why? Because love has not been nursed and grown therein. You have to sow love and grow love and destroy the weeds of fear and hatred that have spread over the world. Make the world a happy home of Love. – Divine Discourse, Nov 19, 1980

What we need today is not a new system of education. Nor do we need a new social system. Such changes will not serve to solve the problems we face. We need today men and women who are pure in mind and heart. In a society lacking in purity of mind and integrity of character, noble-minded human beings will be few. Without spirituality, there will be neither purity, nor morality, nor integrity. Where there are no men and women of noble character, the state will not flourish. No country in the world has so many races, creeds, and languages as the sacred land of Bharat. Bharat shines forth as a garden with its many races, creeds, languages, and cultures. The varied manners and cultures contribute to the multi-faceted brilliance of the nation. The magnificence of this diversity is beyond description. Bharat is the home of people who cherished Love as the way of the Spirit and Truth as the breath of their life. Unfortunately, lost in the pursuit of worldly, physical, and material objects, people have forgotten their basic divinity as human beings. It is in this context that the educational system has to be examined. – Divine Discourse, Jul 19, 1994

You are trying through various means to live and spread the ideals of Sai and the principle of love of Sai. How far have these efforts succeeded? How much good has it done to the world? How much has it helped in recognising the humanness in man? Along with the process of listening to the exposition of the ideals and of the message, they must be practiced in daily life. Only then can you declare that you grasped the meaning and purpose of ideals of Sai. Everyone must become the embodiment of love. The principle of love can be promoted only through love. The absence of love is at the root of the anarchy that stalks the world today. Unchecked self-interest, misdirected activity, the wild antics of the ego, pompous living and the feeling of envy have caused this monstrous situation. Do not allow even a trace of ego, pomp, or immorality to pollute your actions. These three qualities strengthen the feeling of selfishness. Peace and prosperity can dawn on the world only when you move in society with love, that is free from the taint of selfishness. – Divine Discourse, Nov 19, 1980

To realise the Divine, the only easy method is chanting the Name. There are, of course, many great ones who chant the name of the Lord incessantly. There are many others who recite the Name for days, months, and years, but this affects no change in them. What is the reason for this? All their sense organs function with the feeling: “I am the body”. Those who utter the name of the Lord while being immersed in the body consciousness cannot realise the Divine, however long their penance may last. People belonging to different faiths and cultures pursue various spiritual practices according to their different backgrounds. When they find that these practices have not produced the results they expected, out of frustration or disappointment, they go after a different form of worship or a different faith. Spiritual change cannot come merely by chanting a different name or even adopting a different creed. Divine grace is not secured by a change of faith. It is the mati (mind) that has to undergo a change, not one’s matam (religion). By merely changing the garments you wear, you cannot acquire divine qualities. Virtues have to be cultivated. Only the person who transforms his character can sublimate himself. – Divine Discourse, Jun 21, 1989.

If someone comes in the way of your sacrifice, whoever he may be, you should disown him. Emperor Bali noticed Vamana entering the Yajnashala. He welcomed him, offered him a seat with respect and said, “Swami, what is your desire that I can fulfill?” Vamana replied, “I don’t want anything else, I just want three steps of land.” Emperor Bali said, “What is this? Do you need to come all the way just for three steps of land which anybody else would have given you?” Vamana said, “I want three steps of land only from you.” Bali’s preceptor Sukracharya who was standing behind, cautioned him, “Oh king! He is not an ordinary man. Do not make the mistake of granting his request.” Then Bali said, “Is there a greater mistake than going back on one’s promise? I have already given him my word. I can disobey even my Guru, but I cannot go back on my promise.” Accordingly, Emperor Bali fulfilled his promise to Vamana. He was the embodiment of truth. He was the one who would never go back on his word. That is why the people of Kerala enshrine his memory in their heart and celebrate the festival of Onam every year. – Divine Discourse, Aug 27, 1996

Generally, all take food of some or other kind for the body five times a day: an early cup of bed coffee, breakfast two hours later, heavy lunch at noon, tea at four, and fat dinner at night. Islam prescribes food for spiritual nature of man and directs that it be taken five times a day, as prayer. For the arousal of Atmic consciousness, for earning spiritual joy and for promoting manifestation of Atmic illumination, prayer is prescribed five times a day, from the dawn of discretion up to the moment of death! Prayer, in Islam, is also a congregational activity. Prayer in a group produces beneficial vibrations. Islam promises a greater flow of ecstasy when God is adored by a huge concourse of yearning hearts. All of them bow low at the sight of the Masjid. They sit in rows on their bended knees and lean forward until their palms and foreheads touch the ground in humble submission to God’s Will. Thus Islam emphasises the One in the many, the urge for God who manifests in various degrees in various minds. – Divine Discourse, Jul 12, 1983

This is a chance for service for which you must feel extremely delighted, for here you can transmute your devotion and faith into positive acts of service for the benefit of your brothers and sisters. And, since I am with you in all that you do, you do not have to worry about the success of the undertakings. You have only to be ‘instruments’; you need not devise devious ways or roundabout tactics. Doing your duties as members, you have the need to preserve and develop trust in Sai too. This is Sai work, which you are invited to enjoy. This is elevating work that brings you nearer to the heart of the Divine. The conscious hand must have the inert pickaxe in order to break the hard sod; so too, the Divine Consciousness must have the Prakriti (Nature) to carry out His plan. For this, you have to yourselves lead exemplary lives. Your nitya jivitam (daily living) must be transformed into live prayers and live sadhana. Calculate within yourselves the benefit that would accrue to you from this sadhana into which you are initiated now, and prepare for shouldering the task assigned to you—to be instruments dedicated for advancing the mission for which the Divine has come. – Divine Discourse, Jun 20, 1974

Ravana was the mightiest monarch of his day, as Valmiki describes him. His capital city was an impregnable fortress, filled with rare treasures. He was the master of the four Vedas and the six spiritual sciences. Duryodhana, the eldest of the Kauravas, was, as Vyasa describes him, unsurpassed in the number and strength of his army and armaments, and in diplomatic skill. Yet, these two have been loathed by young and old for centuries. Why? Because they descended from the human to the bestial level, instead of rising from the human to the divine level. Both had the same flaw – greed. They did not know the secret of contentment. They were afflicted with kama, incessant desire. Rama and kama cannot coexist. The inner shrine of man can accommodate only one Deity, Rama or kama. If you love another person, you will not covet lordship over him; you will not covet his property; you will have no envy when he prospers, no joy when he suffers. Love is the strongest antidote for greed. This, therefore, is the fundamental spiritual discipline: give love and receive Love. – Divine Discourse, Mar 06, 1970.

The snake gourd is apt to grow crooked if left alone. So, gardeners tie a stone to its end, and the weight pulls it straight, as it grows longer and longer. The minds of children and youth too are apt to grow crooked under the influence of sensuous films, hollow hypocritical atmosphere created by elders, the lure of the glitter and glamour, and of a false sense of adventure and fame. So, schools have to attach the stone of discipline and make them grow straight and true. The stone should not be too heavy, lest it snap the gourd in two! Disciplinary rules have to be well thought out and adapted to the age group they wish to correct. The atmosphere must be so charged that obedience to discipline comes automatically, with a full heart. Such discipline will shape good leaders for the nation. They also have to be good followers; fine soldiers make fine generals. Young apprentices of peace become pillars of peace, they grow into champions of peace. Regulate the food habits of the children; food determines, to a large extent, the health and intelligence, emotion and impulse. Set limits to the quality and quantity of food, as well as to the number of times it is consumed and the timings. Recreation too has to be moral and elevating, in the company of the righteous and God-fearing. – Divine Discourse, Mar 02, 1970

Ganapati is not only the lord of various activities but is the presiding deity for all auspicious functions. He can make even inauspicious occasions auspicious. He is always engaged in conferring boons on all. He is the river of prosperity and intelligence. With the grace of Ganapati, any desire can be realised. In praying to Ganapati, you should not ask for trivial things like passing in examinations or getting jobs. You should only pray: “Oh, Vighneshwara! Please see that there are no obstacles in what I want to accomplish. I am worshipping you for this purpose.” Today, few persons understand the true spirit of the Ganapati Tattva (Principle). They are concerned about the outer forms and ignore the inner esoteric meaning. This applies to the way many festivals are celebrated. The birthday of Rama is celebrated without understanding the qualities represented by Rama. To be real devotees of Rama, people should cultivate His qualities. To be a true devotee of Krishna, you must be ever in bliss like Krishna. If you want to be a devotee of Sai, you must be full of love. Love all, serve all! – Divine Discourse, Aug 25, 1998

The body is transient. The Dehi (indweller) is eternal and real. The Dehi is known as such not because it is just in a body (Deha). The entire Cosmos is the body of the Divine, and therefore the term Dehi applies to this Cosmic Consciousness. To realise the nature of this all-pervading Atma (soul), which is the unchanging reality, it is not enough to seek authority from the Shastras (ancient scriptures) alone. The Atma is not realised through the Shastras. The realisation of the Self has to be obtained on the basis of the authority of the Shastras, but through one’s own earnest Sadhana (spiritual efforts). The Vedas, Upanishads, Shastras and Puranas (ancient scriptures of spiritual wisdom, metaphysical treatises and mythological legends) all serve as signposts. They indicate the direction one should take. They show the goal that should be sought, but the journey has to be made by ourselves. – Divine Discourse, Sep 06, 1984

Parameshwara invited His two sons, Vinayaka and Subramanya, to go around the world and said that whoever completed the trip first would get a fruit immediately. Subramanya mounted his peacock and set out on the race with zest. Ganapati, who was cast in a big mould and had as his vehicle a mouse, was no match for his younger brother. How could he hope to go around the world? A little while later, seeing Subramanya approaching the place, Ganapati circumambulated his parents and, sitting before them, claimed that he had gone round the world. Parvati asked him, “Without going round the world, how can you claim you have done so merely by going round us?” Ganesh replied: “Oh, Mother, the whole earth is permeated by both of you. If I go round you, is it not equal to going round the whole world? You are Omnipresent, and to go round you is equivalent to circling the Universe.” Parameshwara presented a fruit to Vinayaka and said: “Because you have a keen intellect, you shall be the master of all the spirits.” It is for this reason that Vigneshwara is worshipped by one and all before performing any auspicious function, whether it is entering a new house or performing a marriage ceremony or any other religious function. – Divine Discourse, Sep 10, 1984

Some argue that man is born just for the gratification of his senses. Some think that they should amass food and wealth for the sake of joy and happiness only. If man simply consumes food like the other animals, how does man differ from them? Is it necessary to be born as a man to amass food? The bird, which is hungry and has not stored food, just goes straight to the food to satisfy its hunger. On the other hand, man stores food for the sake of future gratification. Man is not born to go in quest of food. He is born to go in quest of the Atma. We should develop our intelligence because our intelligence enables us to know good from bad through the process of constant thought and discrimination. We should not stuff our heads with all worldly matters. We must implement the good principles, which we have stored in our minds. The discourses of elders and the messages of great books point out the great principles of finding unity in diversity. But this principle remains only theoretical if it is not implemented in our daily lives. – Ch 21, Summer Showers 1972

Scientists, especially those belonging to the geological department, know this very well. When they prospect for gold, they find out the spot where gold is, then dig deep into the earth and find impure lumps of raw gold mixed with other elements. In this natural state, gold is found to be in the company of other impurities. At a later stage, they purify the impure mass and get pure gold from it. All natural laws will be like this. It is a natural law to answer calls of nature, to sleep, to feed, and so on. But by just following these laws of nature, we will not be able to go anywhere or reach any higher destinations. From the same heart, we find two emotions, one anger and the other mercy. Thus, we find it difficult to understand this nature, by which two contradicting emotions emanate from the same heart. Because the heart is the source of both good and evil, it is the bounden duty of students to understand how our ancestors were able to constantly focus their attention on good alone. – Ch 21, Summer Showers 1972

A heart that is full of love for God is truly the heart of a human being. Those who wish to develop such a heart of love should be careful with regard to their food and drink. Of the food you consume, the gross part is excreted; the part which is intermediate in nature (between gross and subtle) becomes bones, muscles, and blood; and the subtlest part of food becomes the mind. Therefore, food is responsible for the good and bad nature of the mind. As is the food, so is the mind. Hence, it is necessary to eat satwic, sacred, and good food in moderation. In days of yore, sages and saints, giving up the villages and towns, lived peacefully in forests, eating only fruits and tubers to sustain themselves. You may not be aware how beneficial such satwic food can be. How blissful were Sita, Rama and Lakshmana living in the forest and eating fruits and tubers during their exile! Happiness lies in proper food and habits. Not only food, but also drinking water should be pure. – Divine Discourse, Sep 02, 1996

Nature is not merely an embodiment of the five elements, nor is it an embodiment of the five life principles, or five sheaths, or five senses. Nature is the very embodiment of Divinity. Man is making every effort to attract and control this beautiful Nature. Plato described and taught that Nature is Truth, Goodness, and Beauty. However, where did this beauty and elegance come from? God is Beauty! Hence, Nature is also beautiful. Therefore, it is God’s form that is reflected in Nature. In trying to acquire such Nature without God’s permission, man experiences failure and hardship, which leads to troubles, obstacles, and sorrows. This truth is propounded in the Ramayana. Forgetting Rama, who is God, adoring Nature, Ravana tried to acquire Sita, who is the personification of Nature. Who can hope to win over Nature, which is God’s property? It is an exhibition of ignorance to dream of winning over Nature. What was Ravana’s situation at the end? He was the cause of the destruction of his family, brothers, sons, and the kingdom itself. Hence, prior to acquiring Nature, one must secure God’s Grace. – Summer Showers, May 28, 1996

Prior to the commencement of this meeting, the jyoti (sacred lamp) was lit by Swami. No other thing signifies divinity as this sacred, effulgent flame. It always goes upward. It can be kept anywhere. Everywhere it is lit, it dispels darkness. Since ancient times, the people of Bharat have been observing the sacred custom of lighting a lamp at the commencement of any auspicious ceremony. They have been worshipping the jyoti as it dispels darkness and is a symbol of the effulgence of wisdom. Such a sacred custom, which is an immemorial part of Indian culture, is ignored today. People indulge in practices which are contrary to such traditions. If you understand the significance of this custom and the spirit behind the lighting of the lamp, you can understand Divinity. In order to light the jyoti, you need four things—a container, oil, a wick and a matchstick (fire) to light it. Similarly, for dispelling the darkness within you, you need the jyoti of Wisdom. Only by the light of the Divine lamp inside can you blossom as a worthwhile person. Inner purity is the greatest wealth that one can acquire. The inner purity is the wick in the container of the heart. Devotion is the oil, and Divine Grace is the fire with which the lamp of wisdom can be lit. The prime requisite for achieving Divine Grace is to have harmony in thought, word and deed. – Divine Discourse, Jul 08, 1995

Every Avatar has two causes: the prayers of devotees and the atrocities of wicked people. The unity of these two is essential for an Avatar. Here is a small example. Prahlada remembered the name of Hari without interruption. He was one who had devotion to Hari. But Hiranyakashipu, his father, was a hater of Hari. Prahlada’s love and Hiranyakashipu’s hatred combined to result in Narasimha-Avatar. Good and bad had to come together. As long as Prahlada chanted ‘Om Namo Narayanaya’, the Lord protected him. Why was he protected? In what situations was he protected? When he could not endure the atrocities of his father, he was protected. Thus, the trouble given by the father itself became the protection given to Prahlada! Hiranya’s hatred made it possible for Prahlada to acquire proximity to the Lord. These two factors must be present for every Avatar’s advent: wickedness and devotion. In this way, in matters of Divinity, there are many subtle secrets. – Summer Showers, May 21, 1995

All the Gopikas came to Yashoda and complained, “Mother! Your son Krishna comes stealthily into our houses, breaks our pots and steals butter and milk.” This was a daily occurrence! Yashoda caught Krishna and scolded, “You don’t eat what I serve. You go to other houses and steal. You are ruining our reputation. Why don’t you eat the butter I give? Is the butter in our house not tasty?” What is the inner significance of this incident? The mother serves with motherly affection. But the Gopikas served the same food with pure love and divine feelings! It was not the butter that attracted Krishna, but the purity of their hearts. Butter symbolises the hearts of the Gopikas, which were filled with purity, one-pointedness and selflessness. Yashoda’s butter was attachment, while the Gopikas’ was pure love. This is the difference between love and attachment. Attachment is born of body-consciousness. That which is related to the heart is Love. Gopikas were full of love! – Divine Discourse, May 21, 1995.

There can be no joy where there is no love. The Gopikas were filled with such love that they saw Krishna in all that they did. When you fill your hearts with love, you have no ill will towards anyone. Cultivate the faith that the Divine is in everyone. Surrender to the Divine in a spirit of dedication. The symbolic meaning in the relations between Krishna and the Gopikas is this: The heart is the Brindavan (in each person). One’s thoughts are like the Gopikas. The Atma is Krishna. Bliss is the sport of Krishna. Everyone must convert their heart into a Brindavan and consider the indwelling Atma as Krishna. Every action should be regarded as a Leela of Krishna. Gokulashtami is celebrated by offering to Krishna Paramannam (rice cooked with jaggery). The real meaning of Paramannam is Annam (food) relating to Param (Supreme). Paramannam is sweet. Your love must be sweet. What you offer to God must be your sweet love. Your love must be all-embracing. This is the foremost message of the Avatar. – Divine Discourse, Sep 03, 1988.

When the Divine comes down as Avatar, whether it be Rama or Krishna, Matsya (fish), Varaha (boar) or Vamana (dwarf), it is only for one purpose! You recognise only momentary results of the advent. But you should note that the Divine comes as Avatar only to teach mankind the truth about love. “Oh man, it is because you lack love and are filled with selfishness that the world is plunging into so much conflict and chaos. It is only when you develop love and the spirit of sacrifice that you will realise the divinity that is in the human.” The man who has no spirit of tyaga (sacrifice) will be a prey to all ills. A man without love is a living corpse. It is love and sacrifice which make man divine. Love alone is the fruit of love. Love is its own witness. There is no trace of self-interest in it. Because love exists for its own sake, it has no fear. It is to teach humanity the way of love that Avatars come into the world. – Divine Discourse, Sep 3, 1988

Man today wants limitless freedom. What exactly is freedom? The end of wisdom is freedom. The end of culture is perfection. The end of knowledge is love. The end of education is character. Man’s humanness is on the decline because he is losing all these four qualities day by day. Real freedom lies in considering happiness and sorrow equally. The same truth is propounded in the Bhagavad-gita: Sukha Duhkhe Samekritva Labhaalabhau Jayajayau (one should remain equal-minded in happiness and sorrow, gain and loss, victory and defeat). Suppose you have invited a friend to your house. Can you allow only his face, and ask his feet to get out? Humanness lies in equality of both. Welcome both good and bad, success and failure, fame and disrepute with equanimity. This is the right way of experiencing Svechchha.
– Divine discourse May 8, 1997

What is our true identity, and why do we forget it? Bhagawan explains with a practical example.

If anybody accosts a person and asks him, “Who are you?”, out of his identification with the body, he gives his name in reply. In answer to further questions, he introduces himself as a doctor, a farmer, a student, or the like. When the enquiry goes further, he identifies himself with his nationality as an American, an Indian, a Pakistani, and so on. When you examine these answers deeply, you will find that none of them gives the truth. He got his name from his parents. It did not belong to him at birth. His identification with one or other of his professions is not true because he is not the profession. What then is the truth about him? “I am the Atma. That is my true Self.” That is the truth. But people identify themselves with their names, professions, and nationality and do not base their lives on the Atma. No driver of a car identifies with the car. Likewise, the body is a car, and the Atma is the driver. Forgetting one’s true role as a driver, one identifies one’s self with the body, which is only a vehicle.

– Divine Discourse, Aug 23, 1995



It is only when one dissociates himself from name and form that he can discover his true divine self. – BABA

Why have you come such long distances, braving all the expenses and troubles of the journey? To be in My presence and to win My Grace, isn’t it? Why then do you seek other contacts and others’ favour once you have reached this place? Why fall into grooves that deny you My presence and grace? Forget all else, and stick to the orders that I give; I want only to initiate you into the spiritual path of seva and love. Do not be ashamed that you have been asked to watch a heap of sandals, or carry water to the thirsty, or stand at the gate. The privilege and pleasure consist in the use to which you put your skill and time for helping others. You long to serve Me. Let Me tell you, serving those who serve Me gives Me as much satisfaction as serving Me. Serving anyone is serving Me, for I am in all. The relief and joy that you give to the sick and the sad reach Me, for I am in their hearts, and I am the One they call out for. God has no need of your service; does He suffer from pain in the legs, or ache in the stomach? Try to serve the godly; be a dasanudasa — servant of the servants of the Lord. The service of man is the only means by which you can serve God.
– Divine Discourse, Mar 04, 1970

You know the chaotic condition the world is in today. Disorder and violence are rampant everywhere. Peace and security are not to be found anywhere. Where is peace to be found? It is within us. Security is also within us. How is insecurity to be removed and security secured? By giving up desires. In the language of ancient Bharatiyas, this was termed Vairagya (giving up attachment). This does not mean giving up home and family and retiring to the forest. It is simply a reduction of wants. As a householder, limit your desires to the needs of the family! As a student, stick to your studies. As a professional, adhere to the duties of your profession. Man is raked by numerous troubles because he has no confidence in the Self. Aspirants on the spiritual path are bound to face troubles caused by six enemies – lust, anger, greed, infatuation, pride, and envy. One must overcome them. – Divine Discourse, Aug 23, 1995

In this world, there are sons who disrespect their parents. They do not recognise that parents gave them birth and brought them up with many sacrifices and discomfort. They hurt their parents on one hand and pray to God on the other. This cannot be called true devotion at all. Can they attain liberation with this type of devotion? What is liberation? Fools think that merging with God after death is liberation. But it is not so. Eliminating all worries and being happy thereby is true liberation. It is satisfying the hunger of the poor and giving succour to the needy. Mukti (liberation) is to cast away one’s difficulties, sorrows, worries, attachments and secure happiness, comfort, peace and bliss. It is not any separate destination to reach. To remove the anxiety of everyone and fill their hearts with supreme peace is mukti. To be freed from one’s worries is mukti. Mukti, which is so simple, subtle and within the reach of everyone, is being ignored by man. He craves for mukti after death. But mukti should be experienced when one is still alive. – Divine Discourse, Oct 02, 2000

Gayatri is pervading everywhere. It consists of three deities – Gayatri, Savitri and Saraswati. Of these, the first one is the master of the senses. The second is the teacher of truth, and the third is the master of speech. Hence, it is the Trinity of the senses, the mind and speech. Gayatri is hailed as Chandasam mata (the Mother of all Vedas). Gayatri has five faces and is the embodiment of all deities – Sarva devata swarupam. Stotra (description of the glory), dhyana (meditation) and prarthana (prayer) are all contained in the Gayatri Mantra. When does a prayer become meaningful? It is only when you stabilise your mind and turn it towards God. The basis for this is to meditate, pray and experience. It is essential to achieve harmony in thought, word and deed. Gayatri is teaching this great lesson. Every small word or phrase in a mantra has immense inner meaning. It cannot be dismissed as superstition. – Divine Discourse, May 06, 1995

One day, Sathyabhama, Rukmini, and Draupadi saw blood oozing out of Krishna’s finger. They could see this as they were all very near Krishna. The servants could not see as they were all very far.
Sathyabhama immediately asked the maidservant to get a piece of cloth to tie around Krishna’s finger, while Rukmini herself ran inside to get a piece of cloth. Draupadi at once tore the loose end of her sari and tied it around Krishna’s finger. When Sathyabhama and Rukmini saw this, they looked at each other to admire the devotion of Draupadi. They felt mortified and thought to themselves, “We don’t have the love, devotion, and discretion that Draupadi has. We are only attached to Krishna’s physical form but do not really understand His needs”. When Draupadi prayed to Krishna for help, in time of trouble, Krishna remembered this incident and decided immediately that the time had come to reward her for the act of service she had performed on that day.
In this physical world, if you want to have something, you have to give something else in return. When you want to buy a handkerchief, you go to a shop, give the shopkeeper ten rupees or so and he gives you the handkerchief. You must offer something to God also to earn His grace. Even for your little offering, God will give you bountiful reward. Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. (Divine Discourse, Jue 30th, 1996).

Good conduct, good qualities and an exemplary character are the most valuable riches one can possess. But men today have given up these three and are seeking worldly goods and, immersed in their own concerns, are imagining that they are leading pious lives. The Divine cannot be attained through such delusions. All the teachings one listens to, the books one studies, and the education one receives are only serving to nourish these delusions and not helping men to seek the Divine. To realise the Divine, one has to get rid of these delusions. All education today aims only at preparing students for worldly purposes. Think of the great sages and renowned men of the past who did not have this education but who led such exemplary lives! What great things are you going to achieve by pursuing these studies during all your waking hours, merely for earning a living, while forgetting God? – Divine Discourse, May 29, 1988

Discipline is most essential for students. From the moment you wake up, you have to carry out your morning ablutions, meditate on God, and then do your prescribed duties in an orderly manner without deviating from the regular routine. Variations in the routine are undesirable. You should not wake up at one hour on one day and at a different time on another day. The day’s activities should be regulated by the same schedule. Immediately after finishing the chores, in the calm and serene atmosphere of the morning, one should devote at least a few minutes to the loving meditation on God. The human state is based upon regulation and self-control. These have to be strictly adhered to in daily life.
Then comes Discrimination. The world is a mixture of good and bad, of joy and sorrow, right and wrong, victory and defeat. In a world replete with such opposites, man has to make constantly the choice between what is right and proper and what is wrong and undesirable. Man should not let himself be guided by the mind. He should follow the directions of the Buddhi (Intelligence). Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba. (Divine Discourse, Jan 16th, 1988).

The flower symbolises the heart. Flowers are offered only to the Lord or those whom you revere. The flower of the heart is subject to infestation by two evil creatures: One is ahamkara (self-conceit); the other is asuya (envy). Self-conceit is based on eight different factors: wealth, physical prowess, birth, scholarship, beauty, power, youth and penance. Of these, the arrogance born of wealth is to be despised most. As long as this ahamkara is predominant, it is impossible to recognise the Divine or one’s spiritual reality. Self-conceit is a great barrier between the individual and God. It has to be utterly demolished. All forms of pride, based on birth, wealth, power, scholarship and so on, have to be totally given up. Only when egoistic pride is offered as a sacrifice at the altar of the Divine can man discover his true nature. This is the dedication that is called for as the first step in the spiritual journey. – Divine Discourse, Jan 16, 1988

Recognize the workings of your mind. Man is called manishi. One with a mind (manas) is manishi. Man creates the world of his experiences with his mind. What is the mind? Only a bundle of thoughts. What are thoughts? They are actions of day-to-day life.
Therefore, the progress or decline of the world is dependent on the intentions and actions of individuals. The world is not inherently evil. In fact, evil does not exist in the world! The world does not have any sorrow! All sorrow and evil are created by us alone. We invite misery by entertaining bad desires. Maintain a pure mind all the time. As soon as you find amoral intentions surfacing, contemplate on God to nullify their effect. Do not recollect degraded feelings repeatedly and strengthen them, like you grow plants with water and fertilizer! Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Divine Discourse, June 1st 1991.

Vyasa taught the essence of the Vedas in just two sentences: Paropakaraya Punyaya, Papaya Para Peedanam – Helping others is meritorious. Hurting others is sin. The word Paropakara consists of three syllables – Para, Upa and Kara. Para means the Supreme or the Highest Abode; Upa means nearness, and Kara means to do or to go. Paropakara, therefore, means that one should do good and help others in order to go near God. This is the proper spiritual path, the essence of Upanishads! The significance of the word Upanishad is that a disciple must sit down at the Feet of God (Guru), who is on a higher level. All the spiritual texts teach how to go near God. Just as one goes near an air conditioner to get coolness and comfort when it is hot, similarly, when one goes near God, one develops Divine qualities. This is Sadhana. What is papam (sin)? Harming others is sin; classifying and diversifying and forgetting unity is a sin. Names and forms may vary, but the Spirit is only one. God and Nature are in union where God is the cause and Nature is the effect. There cannot be an effect without a cause. To consider unity as diversity is a sin.
– Divine Discourse, Apr 08, 1996

In the world, the good takes birth from the bad. Without the bad, the good cannot exist. For example, when you nurture a desire, there is an accompanying dissatisfaction which prods you to seek the desire. Man’s life is a series of desires and disappointments (asha and nirasha), sankalpas and vikalpas (resolves and doubts), samyoga and viyoga (union and separation). When our sages were asked about the nature of the world, they described it as a vast ocean of union and separation. While swimming in this ocean, we encounter the gems of troubles and sorrows. Only when we face obstacles can we attain a Divine state. If you are frightened at every step, if you do not proceed forward, life is wasted. Life is full of hurdles. Sorrow and troubles alone lend value to life. Kaste phali – Worthwhile results are obtained only through difficulties. In this world, everything can be attained with sadhana. Sadhana means transforming bad into good, sorrow into joy. Mind is important in this pursuit.
– Divine Discourse, Jun 01, 1991

You must expand your love to as wide a circle as possible. That is how kulabhimanam, matabhimanam and desabhimanam, that is affection for the community, the religion and the country, becomes desirable and commendable. If, instead of love, these create hatred of other communities, other religions and other countries, then they become poisonous. Love your religion, so that you may practise it with greater faith; and, when each one practises their religion with faith, there can be no hatred in the world, for all religions are built on universal love. Love your country, so that it may become strong, happy and prosperous, an arena for the exercise of all the higher faculties of man. Feel that Delhi or Calcutta is as much a part of yourself as your own town or village; any pain in the toe is as much a matter of concern for you as a pain on the top of the head. Strive to make India strong and happy so that it may not be a drag on other countries, or even a temptation; she was once the Guru of Humanity. Let her assume that role again.
– Divine Discourse, Oct 02, 1965

Sadhana is not only japa, rituals, bhajans, etc. The essence of all Sadhana is to obey God’s command. In God’s treasury, there are many gems and valuables. What is God’s nature? It is to give more than you can understand, but if you ask, your prayer may not be fulfilled. “Do not ask, oh mind, do not ask. The more you ask, the more you will be neglected. God will certainly grant you what you deserve without your asking. Did He not grant the wish of Sabari, who never asked? Did He not redeem Jatayu, who never asked but sacrificed his life for His cause?” (Telugu Poem) God gives more than you could ever ask when you follow His command, worship Him wholeheartedly and with full surrender. That is true Sadhana.
– Divine Discourse, Apr 08, 1996

Like the poor villager who jumped into the flood to salvage a bundle of rugs which was really a bear being carried along by the raging waters, and found that the bundle caught hold of him so tight that he could not escape, man too jumps in, to retrieve what he considers a treasure, but is himself caught and bound. That is why the saints of this land have been teaching the people that they are children of immortality, repositories of peace and joy, of truth and justice, and masters of their senses. Of course, man can have some desires, some eagerness to achieve comfort, some attempt to earn content, but it must be like the diseased man craving for medicine. Food and drink, housing and clothing must be subsidiary to the needs of the spirit, the education of the emotions, passions and impulses. They must take the place that salt and pepper take on the dining table today; uppu must be subsidiary to pappu, that is, you cannot have more salt than the quantity of dal, not even as much. So too, efforts to achieve health, comfort, etc., must be just enough for the purpose of sustaining the sadhana, not more, not less.
– Divine Discourse, Oct 02, 1965

Man fails to appreciate the power and capacities of the mind. The mind is the root cause of all joys and sorrows. The divine power latent in the mind is beyond description. The nature of the mind is beyond words. It can go anywhere in an instant or stop in an instant. Mano-mulam idam jagat – The world is based on the mind. We know that the food we eat becomes nourishment for the body. No, no. It is not the food which gives nourishment, but the mind alone! If the mind is not enthusiastic and joyous during meals, food can even prove poisonous! The mind alone lends Divinity to human nature. Whatever we see, speak, think or do, we must make it sacred. Without the mind’s prompting we cannot even put a foot forward. Man foolishly gloats over physical prowess, intelligence, riches and power. But he does not enquire into the demon of ego which misleads him. Summer Showers, June 1, 1991.

Realisation of oneness is true knowledge. However, It is not easy to attain Self-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 with continuous practice. Even the neem fruit tastes sweet when you keep chewing it. Sandalwood makes a groove on the sandstone when you rub it unceasingly. The more you cut a diamond, the more its value. Anything can be achieved by constant practice. Walking, reading, talking, eating, writing – all require practice. How much you need to practice if you want to ride a motorcycle? You may fall any number of times, but do you give up practising? Unfortunately, you give up your resolve at your first failure on the path of spirituality. In all other endeavours, despite all obstacles, you do not stop your effort. In fact, you should show the same resolve and more on the path of spirituality. Why? Because spirituality leads you to the goal of your life. That is the purpose of human birth!
– Divine Discourse, Sep 01, 1996

What is meant by life? What is its goal? What is its secret? What is its aim? We must ruminate on these aspects. “What for did we come to this world? What is liberation? Really what is freedom?” Liberation is “to reach.” One joining the other. One mingling with the other. This is known as liberation. Take the case of a river. It flows incessantly finding its way unmindful of any obstructions on the path. When obstructed by a rock it breaks itself into two streams around it, and merges subsequently into the sea. The river never forgets its goal. Our life is like the flow of a river. What is the goal of the river called life? Definitely, the goal is not wasting life and forgetting our duties. Therefore, our life should flow towards its goal of grace of God with perseverance of practice. This is what all religions teach.
– Divine Discourse, 1 Aug 1978

Gopikas w ere devotees with equal-mindedness. They had sacred hearts. They had no attachments at all. They had no ego in them. They were practicing dharma in daily life and their lives were ideal for others. Today, we are trying to live like the gopikas and the gopalas. Such things can only be experienced, but not described. Our life is full of desires. On the day when the desires disappear, we will have a sacred heart. Jealousy and ego occupy a very important position. So long as we are filled with jealousy and ego, we cannot understand the sacred aspects of Krishna. Today, you must develop such single-minded devotion, that you think of God as the only one reality. We should not make an attempt to get the grace of God for purely selfish reasons. We must make an attempt to recognize divinity in all and God’s omnipresence. Our life must be dedicated to recognizing divinity in everyone and to earning the grace of the Lord.
– Summer Showers, C. 13, 1978

How can we recognise the inherent oneness in creation? Bhagawan lovingly coaches us, describing a three-fold practice.

The Atma is the Truth, and you are the Atma. It is when this truth is experienced that man can realise the transcendental unity that subsumes everything. For this purpose, an enquiry has to be made into Advaita trayam (three aspects of nondualism). These three are: Bhava-advaitam, Kriya-advaitam and Padartha-advaitam. Bhava-advaitam is the enquiry which leads to recognition of the common basis of different objects like cloth and thread, namely, cotton. To recognise the One that underlies the Many is Bhava-advaitam. This involves recognition of the one indwelling Spirit which is common to all beings. Kriya-advaitam relates to the performance of actions, with purity of mind, speech and body, in a spirit of dedication to God. Padartha-advaitam calls for recognition of the elements that are common to all objects and all living things. The Pancha-pranas (five vital airs) and the Pancha-bhutas (five basic elements—earth, water, fire, air and ether) are to be found in all beings. The understanding of these three aspects of oneness will lead to a realisation of the basic unity of the cosmos.

– Divine Discourse, Jul 23, 1987



The Atma that is the Reality in everyone is, in truth, the One manifesting as the Many. – BABA

23.jul.25
What can we do to enjoy and lead a life of peace and happiness? Bhagawan explains, reminding us of what we can learn from the ancients of this land.

People of yore enjoyed peace and happiness a thousand-fold compared to the present generation. They were selfless, egoless, and simple. They always had liberation as the goal of their lives. To enjoy the same kind of peace and joy, we must strive to foster humanism first. Mind plays a prominent role in the life of man. Mind keeps on playing tricks with humanity. It can do good and bad. It is the cause for sorrow as well as happiness. Mind is both negative and positive. The principle of the mind is the most important thing that man must know about. It is the needle-like thorn that gives pain; and it is the same needle that removes the thorn. It is fire that dispels darkness and cooks food. It is the same fire that burns and destroys things. Mana eva manushyanam karanam bandha mokshayoh (The mind alone is responsible for both bondage and liberation). It is the mind that is responsible for all our joys, sorrows, sins, merits, good or bad. We must try to understand the traits of the mind, and we must strive to take hold of it.

– Divine Discourse, Jan 12, 1984

Riches and pomp are ephemeral, like passing clouds. Virtues are our real wealth. To forget virtues is not a symbol of civilised life! – BABA

22.jul.25
Why should youth take to service actively? How should we ascribe success or failure in any action we take? Bhagawan lovingly answers both these questions for us today.

The age span, 16-30 years, is crucial, for that is the period when life adds sweetness to itself, when talents, skills, and attitudes are accumulated, sublimated and sanctified. If the tonic of unselfish seva (service) is administered to the mind during this period, life’s mission is fulfilled, for the process of sublimation and sanctification will be accelerated by this tonic. Do not serve for the sake of reward, attracting attention, or earning gratitude, or from a sense of pride at your own superiority in skill, wealth, status or authority. Serve because you are urged by love. When you succeed, ascribe the success to the grace of God, who urged you on, as Love within you. When you fail, ascribe the failure to your own inadequacy, insincerity or ignorance. Examine the springs of action, disinfect them from all traces of ego. Do not throw the blame on the recipients of the seva, or on your collaborators and coworkers, or on God.

– Divine Discourse, May 19, 1969

Man should serve and worship God when he is walking on two feet; he should not postpone it to old age when he is virtually walking on three feet. – BABA

21.jul.25
For any spiritual aspirant, what is the importance of love and service? Bhagawan reminds us today, so that we may draw benefit from this opportunity.

Greater than all other forms of worship is Seva (service to one’s fellow men) done in an unselfish and dedicated spirit. There is an element of selfishness in forms of worship like recitation, meditation, etc. But when service is done spontaneously, it is its own reward. It must be done as an offering to God. Seva is a small word filled with immense spiritual significance. Hanuman is the supreme exemplar of the ideal of service. When the rakshasas (demons) asked Hanuman, during his search for Sita in Lanka, who he was, he replied simply: Dasoham Kosalendrasya. He was content to describe himself as a humble servant of Rama. Seva must be viewed as the highest form of Sadhana. Serving the poor in villages is the best form of sadhana. In the various forms of worship of the Divine, culminating in atma nivedanam (complete surrender to the Divine), Seva comes before atma nivedanam. God’s grace will come when seva is done without expectation of reward or recognition. Sometimes, ahamkaram (ego) and abhimanam (attachment) raise their heads during seva. These should be eliminated altogether.

– Divine Discourse, Jan 25, 1985

Every Seva done with sympathy and skill to anyone in distress, anywhere in this world is Sathya Sai Seva. – BABA

20.jul.25
For any spiritual aspirant, what is the importance of love and service? Bhagawan reminds us today, so that we may draw benefit from this opportunity.

Greater than all other forms of worship is Seva (service to one’s fellow men) done in an unselfish and dedicated spirit. There is an element of selfishness in forms of worship like recitation, meditation, etc. But when service is done spontaneously, it is its own reward. It must be done as an offering to God. Seva is a small word filled with immense spiritual significance. Hanuman is the supreme exemplar of the ideal of service. When the rakshasas (demons) asked Hanuman, during his search for Sita in Lanka, who he was, he replied simply: Dasoham Kosalendrasya. He was content to describe himself as a humble servant of Rama. Seva must be viewed as the highest form of Sadhana. Serving the poor in villages is the best form of sadhana. In the various forms of worship of the Divine, culminating in atma nivedanam (complete surrender to the Divine), Seva comes before atma nivedanam. God’s grace will come when seva is done without expectation of reward or recognition. Sometimes, ahamkaram (ego) and abhimanam (attachment) raise their heads during seva. These should be eliminated altogether.

– Divine Discourse, Jan 25, 1985

Every Seva done with sympathy and skill to anyone in distress, anywhere in this world is Sathya Sai Seva. – BABA

20.jul.25
What is the attitude with which we must take up the Sadhana of service? Bhagawan gives us a beautiful message today.

Just think for a moment: Are you serving God? Or is God serving you? When a pilgrim stands waist-deep in the Ganges, takes in his palms the sacred water and, reciting an invocatory formula, pours the water as an offering to the Deity, or arpanam as he calls it, what he has done is only pour Ganga into Ganga! When you offer milk to a hungry child, or a blanket to a shivering brother on the pavement, you are doing nothing but placing a gift of God into the hands of another as a gift of God! You are reposing the gift of God in a repository of the divine principle! God serves; He allows you to claim that you have served! Without His Will, not a single blade of grass can quiver in the breeze. Fill every moment with gratitude to the giver and the recipient of all gifts. Nurture the will to ‘give’, to renounce the little for the big, the momentary for the sake of the momentous!

– Divine Discourse, May 19, 1969

In whatever activity you are involved in society, do it with a spirit of service. There is no one in the world who is not a servant. – BABA

19.jul.25
What should we do to ensure our life is a pilgrimage to God? Bhagawan lovingly reminds us today of the basic essentials, so that we may practice and benefit from them.


For want of the five human values, mankind is in the throes of distress and disaster. The morning newspaper is full of murder, massacre, arson, and dacoity. The brain and the mind have been polluted to a dangerous extent. Education aims only at providing information and promoting skills. It has not tackled the problem of moral degeneration, of the sublimation of low desires, of sense control, and the development of spiritual insight. Man is converting himself into a brute with a human form. Vali, the monkey, is said to have argued that Rama wounded it with his mortal arrow, despite the fact that the sin it had committed was pardonable and even proper among monkeys. But, Rama replied that Vali was only a monkey in appearance; it knew both right and wrong, and so deserved punishment. Man, today, is a beast in human garb. When he develops and demonstrates human values, he would have to discard the beast in him and become man, the pilgrim to God.

– Divine Discourse, Mar 07, 1986

For peace and happiness, human values are most important. Bereft of human values, man can never be at peace. – BABA

18.jul.25
What is the nature of our mind, and how can we deal with it? Bhagawan, our Loving Lord, guides us with an important message.


The mind flits fast from one idea to another; it fondles for a moment and forsakes it the very next moment. You may manage to keep your mouth shut, but it is next to impossible to keep the mind shut. The mind is of that nature; it is woven so, out of the yarn of desire. Its characteristic is to flutter and flit, hither and thither, through the outlets of senses, into the external world of colour, sound, taste, smell, and touch. But it can be tamed and put to good use by man. If we keep it engaged in good pursuits and good adventures, particularly in the contemplation of the Universal, the Absolute, the Eternal, that is to say, God, then it will not go astray and land man in ruin; for God is the source of undying strength, of everlasting joy and unfathomable wisdom.

– Divine Discourse, May 19, 1969

The body is like a water bubble, the mind is like a monkey; don’t follow the body or the mind, follow the conscience. – BABA

17.jul.25
Why is service to be considered the very basic nature of human society? Bhagawan, our loving Lord, clearly explains to us today.

Society is the coming together of people. Cooperation among people in a society, motivated by spontaneity and by pure intentions, is the hallmark of seva (service). Seva can be identified with two basic characteristics: compassion and willingness to sacrifice. History informs us that in all countries and in every age, man is a social animal. Man is born in society, he grows through society, and his life ends in society itself. Man’s songs and speech, his duties and diversions, are all determined by society. Society for man is like water for fish: if society rejects him or neglects him, he cannot survive. What a single individual cannot accomplish, a well-knit group or society can achieve. A man walking alone will feel tired and miserable at the end of five miles; but walking with ten others as a group, he would find the five miles a jaunt. He arrives refreshed and strong!

– Divine Discourse, Nov 19, 1981

When service is done spontaneously, it is its own reward. – BABA