There are in the world various kinds of subjects for which knowledge is available – knowledge of music, literature, art, sculpture, economics, politics, and the like. All these are only components of worldly knowledge, knowledge relating to the phenomenal world. All worldly knowledge can help to increase one’s comforts but will not contribute to his mukti (liberation). However much we may acquire control over material conditions, this will not serve to produce peace of mind or the bliss of the soul. In a sense, the more the worldly knowledge, the less likely one is to have mental peace. Worldly knowledge is no doubt necessary. But it is not the be-all and end-all. Many great kings in the past, who had ruled over vast empires and enjoyed every kind of pleasure, chose at the close of their lives to renounce everything for the sake of realising spiritual peace. Yaddhrushyam tannashyati – “Whatever is perceptible is perishable.” In the pursuit of fleeting and impermanent pleasures, we are throwing away the permanent, the unchanging and the real elements in human life. – Divine Discourse, Mar 17, 1983.

While taking our food, if we use exciting words, ideas related to those exciting words will sprout in us. The lesson that we should learn is that when we take our bath, when we sit for meditation or when we take our food, we should not think of other activities and other ideas. Too much talk while we take our food will also cause harm to us. We should not give room to any kind of talk when we take our food. With a happy heart and with a sacred word, we must undertake to utter the food prayer (Brahmarpanam mantra) and then take our food. In this way, whatever has been offered to Brahman will become the prasad, which comes to us as a gift of Brahman. The meaning of the verse (aham vaishvanaro… ) is that God Himself, who is in a human form in you, is taking the food. Therefore, this changes our food into food for God. While taking food, we should not be excited, and we should not get into passion, but we should eat very peacefully. Even if we cannot perform japa, tapa or yagas, at least if we take care to see that we eat in this manner, we will develop good ideas. – Ch 18, Summer Showers 1977.

The mind moves only towards the right and the pure, of its own accord; but the senses and the outer world drag it towards the wrong and the impure. The white cloth gets dirty, and when the dirt is removed, it regains its whiteness. Note down all the things for which you cried so far. You will find that you have craved only for paltry things, for momentary distinctions, for fleeting fame; you should cry only for God, for your own cleansing and consummation. You should weep, wailing for the six cobras that sheltered themselves in your mind, poisoning it with their venom: Lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride and malice. Quieten them as the snake charmer does with his swaying flute. The music that can tame them is the singing aloud of the Name of God. And when they are too intoxicated to move and harm, catch them by the neck and pull out their fangs as the charmer does. Thereafter, they can be your playthings; you can handle them as you please. When these are laid low, you will gain equanimity. You will be unaffected by honour or dishonour, profit or loss, joy or grief! – Divine Discourse, Mar 26, 1968.

The aspirant must not exult when his happiness is promoted, nor be disheartened when misery becomes his lot. “Thy will, not mine” shall be his constant assertion to himself. Few seekers seek to unravel the intention of God, to tread the path that leads to Him, and to follow the ideals He lays down. They follow their own instincts and judgements and get distress and despair as reward. They are not aware of the sacrilege they commit. They proclaim that God is the inner motivator and that He is present everywhere but behave as if He is absent in places they do not like Him to be. They fritter away precious time in dry discussions and controversies about God. Each one can explore the truth of God and delve into His mystery only as far as their moral, intellectual and mental capacities permit. One can collect from the ocean only as much water as one’s vessel holds. God is immeasurably vast; He is beyond the reach of the most daring imagination! A pupil of a particular standard in school has to study the texts prescribed for pupils of that level of intelligence. – Divine Discourse, Feb 29, 1984.

Do not allow the mind to dwell on the faults and vices of others; it will be contaminated thereby. Fix it on the fairness and virtues of others; it will be sanctified thereby. I know that during moments of emotional frenzy, you set aside your real nature and you indulge in abusing others or wish that they come to harm or exult over their distress. Such evil thoughts get implanted in your own minds and grow wild, leading to distress and dishonour in return in your own life. Why worry about others? Speak to them if you like them. If you do not like them, leave them alone. Why seek faults in them and talk ill of them? To do so is to invite spiritual downfall. Such people lose all the gains they hope to secure by japa, puja, dhyana, or darshan (repetition of the Lord’s Name, ritual worship, meditation and divine vision). They will remain bitter despite all these sadhanas (spiritual disciplines), like the bitter gourd which a pilgrim carried with him, intending to make it sweet by dipping it in holy waters. – Divine Discourse, Feb 29, 1984.

Young people in their tender years tend to follow the inclinations of the mind. They do not rise to the level of their intelligence. Consequently, they are subject to various agitations and frustrations. They have, therefore, to learn to use their powers of discrimination. “I am a human being. In this condition, how should I conduct myself so that I may win the respect and regard of others?” These are the questions which each student must ask himself. He should enquire on every occasion as to what is the right course and what is to be avoided. He should decide on what he should do and where he should go after due enquiry. Having acquired knowledge, he should not behave like an illiterate and uneducated person. His conduct should be in keeping with his learning. Humility is the index of true education. Without humility, scholarship will lack lustre. Discrimination is essential for every student and educated man. – Divine Discourse, Jan 16, 1988.

“Bhaga” means “the One who is the repository of all Divine attributes and is uniquely worthy of adoration.” “Ga” refers to “One who has all the excellences and who creates, sustains and reabsorbs everything.” The letter “Bha” has two meanings: Sam-bharta and Bharta. Sambharta means, “One who is competent to make Nature the instrument of the creative process.” Because He is also competent to sustain what is created, He is called Bharta. “Bha” has other meanings as Shanti (peace), light, effulgence, and illumination. “Ga” means “all-pervasive”. “Van” (Vanthudu in Telugu) means “One who is capable.” Hence the term Bhagawan means “the One who is capable of lighting the Divine effulgence, illuminating wisdom and is the Eternal Inner Light of the Soul.” Can there be anything greater than earning the love of such an omniscient and omnipotent Lord? There is nothing on earth or beyond it which is equal to Divine Love. To make all endeavour to earn that love is the whole purpose and meaning of human existence. – Divine Discourse, Jan 14, 1988.

Body, mind and spirit – these three together make up Man. If only the body were to be considered, it would be akin to the existence of an animal. The Mind raises man to the human state. The spirit or Atma will elevate him to Divinity. The three are intertwined and interdependent. Each promotes the other. Without the mind, the body cannot decide on any step. Mind and body have to subserve the spirit and become aware of the Atma (Divine Self). Health is very important for a fully moral and disciplined life. The senses and the mind have to be controlled and regulated, so that man can experience the fullness of life. The one who can command oneself will alone have the right to command others. Sense control in Sanskrit is called Dama. This Dama must be evident in every aspect of life while studying, eating, sleeping, playing games etc. This is what is called discipline. Without discipline, no activity can attain its fulfilment. – Divine Discourse, Mar 23, 1984.

In order to experience Divinity, understand this example. The very nature of mother is love. Mother has a form, but love has no form. Mother herself is the form of love. Due to the presence of the Atmic Principle, you are able to see its reflection in the form of the world. The whole world is nothing but reflection, reaction, and resound. The Atma is the only reality. But man has forgotten the reality and is seeing only the reflection. You cannot have reaction without action; you cannot have resound without sound. Though the Sound is everywhere, you are not able to hear it. Though the Reality is everywhere, you are not able to see it. How will you be able to see it? With unflinching faith and selfless love, think of God continuously. God will certainly manifest before you. Today, man chants the name of God and desires to see Him. But since he lacks steady faith, he is not able to experience Divinity. Man has become blind having lost the two eyes of faith. Faith is most important. – Divine Discourse, Sep 30, 1998.

When you enter a cinema theatre, you find a white screen. Merely watching the screen does not satisfy you. Once the show commences, you find different scenes projected on the screen. Without the screen, can you see the picture? No. But, when the picture is projected, though the screen exists, it is not seen; it merges itself with the picture. The screen exists all the time – before, during, and after the show. The Vedas declare: “Antar bahischa tat sarva vyapya Narayana stitaha (That all-pervasive God is present within and without).” As the screen is to the picture, so is the Atma to the creation. The screen of Atma is present within and around all beings and is the primordial basis for the entire creation. Therefore, it is said, Sarvam Vishnumayam Jagat (Divinity pervades everywhere). Divinity is present in the “picture”, around the “picture”. So, who can know the form of such a Divinity? On the screen of Love, you find the picture of the universe. This Love is present in the name of Atma in all beings. – Divine Discourse, Sep 30, 1998.

The four goals laid down by Sai, are those laid down by Vedas. They are Satya, Dharma, Shanti and Prema. Mankind must understand the importance of these four goals, accept them, adore them, and practise them in daily life. Only then can Divinity latent in man shine forth in all its glory. Truth (Satya) is the first ideal. It is realised by sadhana of the tongue. The second, Dharma (righteous living), is realised by the sadhana of the body and its components in relation to society which surrounds man and the objective world which affects him and is affected by him. By his right action and right conduct, man can attain the third goal, Shanti – unaffected poise or peace. This can be won by the discipline of the mind. Satya establishes itself on the tongue through satwik sadhana; Dharma is achieved by the exercise of rajasik (active) regulation; Shanti or peace is the consequence of tamasik withdrawal and even inactivity. But, Prema (love), the fourth goal, is beyond these three modes and beyond thought, word and deed! Divine Love is not easily comprehensible. Prema is God. God is Prema. To consider it as a method of speech, an attitude of mind or as physical behaviour is to sorely demean it. Prema has no trace of selfishness; it is not bound by motives. – Divine Discourse, Mar 08, 1981

◊Thousands of you have gathered here from all corners of this world. You have put up with many discomforts, hardships, and inconveniences, in your struggle to earn grace. It has been for each of you a lesson in love, tolerance, fortitude and patience. Your innate quality of love has enabled you to share in joy and peace. Love makes you all theists. You must be labelled an atheist, if you have no love in you, however demonstrative your religiosity may be! If you believe that you can win the grace of God by means of vows, fasts, feasts, recitation of hymns of praise, offering of flowers, etc., you are woefully mistaken. Love alone is the essential condition. The Gita says you must be adhweshta sarva bhutanam – one with non-hatred towards all beings; but that is not enough. A wall has no hatred towards any being. Is that the ideal? No. You must positively love all beings, actively love, and actively engage yourself in acts of love. That alone wins the grace you crave for! – Divine Discourse, Feb 23, 1971.

The mind of man has to undergo transformation. It must promote not bondage but liberation. It must turn Godward and inward, not worldward and outward. Only then can attempts at economic, political and social transformation succeed in uplifting man’s destiny. The mind plays many tricks to please you and give you a great opinion about yourselves. It revels in hypocrisy, riding on two horses at the same time. You may prostrate before Swami and declare that you have surrendered. But, once you are away, you may behave otherwise and allow faith to fade away. Even the thought that you have not benefited from the puja or japam you do, should not pollute your faith. To practise Sadhana is your duty, your innermost urge, your genuine activity. Leave the rest to the Will of God. This must be your resolve on holy Shivaratri! – Divine Discourse, Feb 29, 1984.

Today is Shivaratri, the ratri (night) of Shivam (Goodness, Godliness, Good Fortune). It is an auspicious night because the mind can be made to lose its hold on man by devoting the night to prayer. The Moon is the presiding deity of the mind, according to the scriptures. The mind is kindred to the Moon as the eyes are to the Sun. Shivaratri is prescribed for the fourteenth night of the dark half of the month, the night previous to the new moon when the Moon suffers from total blackout. The Moon and the mind which it rules over are drastically reduced every month on the fourteenth night. When that night is devoted to vigilant adoration of God, the remnant of the wayward mind is overcome and victory is ensured. This month’s Shivaratri is holier than the rest and so, it is called Mahashivaratri. With firm faith and a cleansed heart, the night should be spent in glorifying God. No moment should be wasted in other thoughts. – Divine Discourse, Feb 26, 1987.

The bee hovers around the lotus, it sits upon it, drinks the nectar; while drinking the sweet honey, it is silent, steadfast, concentrated, forgetful of all else! Man too behaves like that when he is in the presence of God. The hum of the bee ceases and is silent when drinking of nectar begins. Man too, sings, extols, argues, asserts, only until he discovers the rasa (sweet essence). That rasa is prema-rasa (the sweetness of love). Where there is love, there can be no fear, no anxiety, no doubt, no ashanti (absence of peace). When you are afflicted with ashanti you can be sure that your love is restricted, your love has some ego mixed in it. The experiencer of the prema (love) is the inner I, which is the reflection of the real ‘I’, the Atma (soul). When the senses are out of action, that ‘I’ will shine in its full glory. The senses are one’s deadly foes; for, they drag your attention away from the source of joy inside you, to objects outside you. When you are convinced that they are at the bottom of this conspiracy to mislead you, you will certainly stop catering to them! – Divine Discourse, Feb 26, 1968.

To make coal white, it is foolish to wash it in milk; the milk too gets black. You have to heat it red-hot, and continue the process until it is transformed into white ash! The white ash remains ash forever. Similarly, the tamasik mind (dull-witted and ignorant, represented by black) has to be transmuted into the rajasik stage (red or active and passionate) and then, to the satwik stage (white or calm and pious), by the process of spiritual discipline or heating. The blackness and the redness are produced by the qualities of greed and lust. Regular treatment with the drug of self-control (nigraha) will cure you of these. Holy days and occasions have been prescribed for inaugurating the treatment. The scriptures extol the drug and lay down the method of administration. The lives of saints encourage you to seek it and save yourself by it. Through these, man can ascend from the animal to the human level and from the human to the Divine! – Divine Discourse, Mar 09, 1967.

Some people say that since God has no form, He does not exist. But, God has form. In this world, there is nothing that exists without form. According to science, the entire world is made up of atoms. They too have form. The Vedas say, Anoraneeyan Mahatomaheeyan (God is smaller than the smallest and bigger than the biggest). The atom is God. Right from the water you drink and the food you eat, everything is pervaded by atoms. It took thousands of years for the scientists to understand this truth. But the same truth was proclaimed by the tiny tot Prahlada ages ago. He said, “Do not have the feeling that God is here and He is not there. In fact, He is everywhere. You can find Him wherever you search for Him.” Bharat has been the birthplace of many noble souls like Prahlada who had experienced the omnipresent Divinity. Since ancient times, the Bharatiyas have worshipped earth, trees, anthills, and mountains because they believed that God is everywhere and in everything. – Divine Discourse, Mar 12, 1999.

It is the Sun God who carries to the deities concerned the offerings made in the yajna. Agni, the God of fire, is an image of the Sun. The flames arising from the fire are the tongues of the Fire-God. The rays coming from the fire are so many heads of the deity. The Agni-Principle is immanent in every person. The inner significance of this is that every person is inherently divine. When the mantras are chanted and offerings are made in the fire to the Lord, the grace of the Lord is showered on the people in the form of peace and plenty. There is a saying: “As is the fire, so is the smoke.” As is the smoke, so are the clouds. As are the clouds, so is the rain. As is the rain, so are the crops. As are the crops, so is the food. As is the food, so is the intellect. As the clouds these days are not formed by the smoke coming from yajnas, the food consumed by the people is not conducive to the growth of intelligence. When the smoke going up from the yajna kunda enters the clouds, you have sacred rain, which helps to purify the crops and sanctify the food that is consumed. As a result, the people are sanctified. – Divine Discourse, Oct 03, 1989.

You must look upon all as limbs of your own body, and just as you try to heal any bruise or wound on any limb as quickly and as efficiently as possible, you must heal the woes and pains of others to the best of your ability and as far as your means allow. The Lord is now worshipped by offering Him all things that you crave for, by treating Him with all the honour you like to be done to yourself. The idol is bathed and washed, bedecked with jewels, fed and fanned, surrounded with fragrance, etc., since these are things you desire. But, the Lord is pleased only when you do things the Lord desires! How else can you win His Grace? How else than by nursing and nourishing, succouring and saving His children? How else than by helping them to realise Him, as their Lord and Guardian, and cultivating faith in Him, through your own straight and sincere living? – Divine Discourse, Feb 19, 1970.

There is a selfish motive even in making offerings to the deity. Something small is offered expecting a big return from the deity. A man prays to the Lord: “Oh Lord! If I win ten lakhs of rupees in a lottery I shall offer ten thousand rupees to you.” What kind of bargain is this? It is a pity that such silly ideas are rampant today. The reason is that people have forgotten the secret of the Vedas. They offer a molehill and crave for a mountain. This is a complete caricature of devotion. Such pseudo-devotees are on the rise today. They are seeking to enter into petty deals with the Divine, all the time. Every prayer, every sadhana is replete with selfishness and self-interest. Everyone seeks benefits, but is not prepared to make any sacrifice. What is the sacrifice that is to be made to God? First of all, your bad qualities. Acquire good qualities. Shed your narrow outlook. Cultivate a broad vision. Today the foremost need is to develop the spirit of sacrifice. You are not expected to give away all your wealth and possessions. What is required is a sense of compassion at the sight of a suffering being. When the heart melts, that itself becomes a sacrifice. You will not carry your wealth with you when you leave the world. Even while life remains, render help to those in need, as much as you can. – Divine Discourse, Oct 03, 1989.

I have come to reform you: I won’t leave you until I do that! Even if you get away before I do that, don’t think you can escape Me; I will hold on to you. I am not worried if you leave Me, for I am not anxious that there should be a huge gathering here, around Me. Who invited you all here? You have come here in thousands. You attach yourselves to Me. I am unattached. I am attached only to the Task for which I have come. But of one thing be assured. Whether you come to Me or not, you are all Mine! This Shiva-mata, this Sai Mata (Divine Mother Sai) has the love of a thousand mothers towards Her children; that is why I do so much lalana and palana (caring and fostering). Whenever I appear to be angry, remember, it is only love in another form. For, I have not even an atom of anger in Me; I just evince My disappointment that you do not shape as I direct! When I direct you along a line of action, reflect on My advice; you have full liberty to do so; I shall be happy if you do so! I do not like slavish obedience. If you feel that it will help you to reach the goal, follow it! If not, go somewhere else! Let Me tell you one thing: Wherever you go, you meet only Me. I am everywhere! – Divine Discourse, Feb 11, 1964.

Sometimes some persons tend to indulge in petty thefts. This is derived from previous lives spent as a cat. Similarly, the vacillating and fickle nature displayed by a person may be attributed to a previous life as a monkey. Fickle-mindedness is characteristic of the monkey. Some persons are incurably ungrateful. They indulge even in harming those who help them. This is not a human trait. How, then, is it present in a man? It is because he must have been a serpent in a previous birth. The serpent is notorious for emitting poison even when fed on milk. So, an ungrateful person must have been a serpent in some previous life. One should offer therefore, at the altar of his mind, as a sacrifice his stubbornness, thieving propensity, ingratitude and pride. This is the Inner Yajna. Unfortunately, instead of performing sacrifices of this kind people treat goats and fowl as offerings. As a result the bad qualities continue to grow in man. It is to eliminate this evil sense of ingratitude that external sacrifices like Yajnas and Yagas have been recommended to man. Yajnas enable us to promote and refine the beneficent qualities in man. – Divine Discourse, Oct 10, 1983.

You have come, most of you, to get from Me tinsel and trash, petty little cures and promotions, joys and comforts. Very few of you desire to get from Me the thing I have come to give, liberation itself — and even among these few, those who stick to the path of spiritual practice and succeed are a handful! Many are drawn away by outer signs of sainthood, long gown, beard, rosaries, and matted hair; they keep track of many such who move about in this land and follow them into the wilderness! It is very difficult to demarcate clearly the manifestation of the Lord, so I am announcing Myself and am Myself describing My mission, the task, characteristics, and qualities that mark out the Avatar from the rest. Do not hunger for comfort or riches; hunger for bliss! If you have faith, and keep the name of Rama as your constant companion, you are in heaven (Vaikunta or Kailas) all the time! Remember, these are not distant regions to be reached by tortuous travel; they are springs of tranquillity that are in your own heart! – Divine Discourse, Feb 04, 1963

To love one form of God and hate another form is not good. You will not be able to fulfil your desire, by doing so. Not only the youth, everyone has to realise and follow this principle. In fact, only Divinity is protecting the world now. The name of God is more powerful than the nuclear bombs. God’s name protects the good and punishes the evil. Hence, if you continue to worship God, surely the world will be protected. This Yajna is being conducted for the welfare of the world. There is a very important aspect of this Yajna. The Ati Rudra Maha Yajna protects and fosters the divine nature in human beings, while rejecting and diminishing the demonic qualities. Thus, it works for the welfare of humanity. This Yajna can be undertaken by anyone interested in the welfare of humanity. – Divine Discourse, Aug 09, 2006.

Welcome all the blows of fate, all the misfortunes and miseries, as gold welcomes the crucible, the hammer, and the anvil, in order to get shaped into a jewel. Or as the cane welcomes the chopper, the crusher, the boiler, the pan, the sprayer and the dryer, so that its sweetness may be preserved and used as sugar by all. The Pandavas never demurred when disasters fell thick upon them. They were happy that they helped them to remember Krishna and call upon Him. Bhishma was in tears on the bed of arrows when he was about to pass away. Arjuna asked him why, and he replied, “I am shedding tears because the miseries undergone by the Pandavas pass through my mind.” Then he said, “This is done in order to teach the Kaliyuga (the era we are now in) a lesson: never seek power, position, or pelf but submit to the Will of God in a completely resigned way, so that you may be ever happy and unmoved.” – Divine Discourse, Sep 08, 1963.

As a drop of water on a lotus leaf disappears in no time, even so, we should know that our life is transient and will disappear very much like that in no time. The world is full of sorrow and the human body is full of disease. Our life is full of turbulent thoughts and is like a dilapidated house. Under these conditions, according to Adi Sankara, it is possible to live in a peaceful manner, only by following the divine path and getting over all our worldly attachments. So long as one does not know who he is, one cannot escape these sorrows. So long as one does not realise the Easwara Tatwa (Principle of Divinity) or the presence of Easwara in everything, one cannot escape this sorrow. So long as one does not understand that to be born, to grow, to live and to die is only for one purpose and that is to understand the nature of Atma, the one imperishable thing, it is not possible for him to escape this sorrow. – Summer Showers, Jun 02, 1973.

Without human values you cannot deliver the fruits of your learning to society. Therefore, human values must be cultivated. Of these, Truth is the most important. Truth is God. Some people went to Buddha and argued about the existence of God. Buddha told them, “All these disputes are a waste of time. Satya, Dharma and Ahimsa (Truth, Righteousness and Nonviolence) are the same as God. Therefore, worship God as the form of Truth first. Speak the truth. Practice Dharma. Observe nonviolence.” Now, what is meant by nonviolence? People consider only hurting and harming others as violence. No, no. Harming yourself is also violence. Talking unnecessarily, eating immoderately, and working too much – these are violence. Meaning, one should lead a life of moderation and balance. Anything done beyond limits is violence. Even writing excessively is violence. Why is it bad to transgress limits? Because it wastes energy. By talking more than necessary, we deplete our intellect. Therefore, nonviolence can be defined as the regulation of human life along moderate and beneficial paths. – Summer Showers, May 30, 1995.

The heart full of purity and poise (Satwa) is the ocean of milk. Steady contemplation of the Divine, either as your own reality or as ideal to be reached, is Mandara mountain placed in it as a churning rod. Vasuki, the serpent wound round the churning rod as a rope, is the group of senses emitting poisonous fumes during the process of churning and nearly frightening the asuras (demons) who held the head. The rope is held by good and bad impulses and both struggle with the churning process, eager for the results which each has set the heart on! Grace of God is the Tortoise incarnation, for the Lord Himself comes to the rescue once He knows that you are earnestly seeking the secret of Immortality! He comes, silently and unobserved, as the tortoise did, holding the reflection (manana) process unimpaired and serving as the steady base of all spiritual practices! Many things emerge from the mind, when churned, but the wise wait patiently for the appearance of the guarantor of immortality, and seize upon it with avidity! That is the lesson of the legend. It is a summary of Atma-vidya! – Divine Discourse, Jan 13, 1965.

All worldly knowledge changes with time and deludes your intellect. For this reason, our ancient sages dedicated their lives to the acquisition of Atma Jnana, which is changeless and illumines the intellect. Some qualities are necessary for earning such wisdom. Sarve Loka Hito Ratah – Desire the welfare of all beings by engaging in actions that benefit others. We should cultivate readiness to serve. Your education should equip you better to render service. Then you will evoke true respect from others. Sarve Jnana Sampannah – Students should excel in all forms of knowledge. This is also called ‘awareness’. You should understand and experience all the angles of a situation. Worldly subjects grant you competence within a narrow scope. Spiritual knowledge is complete and enables one to grasp all fields of knowledge. This is ‘total awareness’. Sarve Samudita Gunaihi – the student must embody every virtue or guna. What is meant by guna? Traditionally, the three qualities of creation are called gunas. Indeed, virtue is the union and balance of these three gunas. In practice, it is very important to disregard the faults of others and to express your own Divinity. This is true guna. – Summer Showers, May 30, 1995.

You may doubt whether such a small word like Rama or Sai or Krishna can take you across the boundless sea of worldly life. People cross vast oceans on a tiny raft; they are able to walk through dark jungles with a tiny lamp in their hands. The Name, even the Pranava (Om) which is smaller, has vast potentialities. The raft need not be as big as the sea. The recitation of the Name is like the operation of boring to tap underground water; it is like the chisel-stroke that will release the image of God imprisoned in the marble. Break the encasement and the Lord will appear; cleave the pillar, as Prahlada asked his father to do, and the Lord who is ever present will manifest Himself. Churn and you bring the butter, latent in the milk, into view. That is the experience of every mother which every daughter learns. In the spiritual field, you learn that spiritual practice from yogis, who have gained and offered that navanitam (fresh butter) to Krishna. – Divine Discourse, Jan 13, 1965.

The universe is full of many powers. An omniscient, omnipotent and omnipresent power pervades all of creation. This divine Force is immanent in every atom, like sugar in syrup. The Upanishads call this Raso Vai Sah or all-pervading sweetness. God is an embodiment of sweetness. Although this sweetness is everywhere, it is not possible to recognise its omnipresence. However, it is possible for all to observe the existence of Divinity. Sweetness in sugarcane, bitterness in neem leaves, burning in chilli, acerbity in lemon and fire in wood – all these are direct proofs of God’s existence. A plant germinates from a seed. A bird emerges from an egg. The newborn infant becomes a mother one day. These are all living proofs of the existence of Divinity. Man experiences exhilaration upon seeing majestic peaks, gurgling rivers, the deep ocean, lush forests and colourful gardens. What is the basis of these phenomena? It is God’s existence alone. It is not given to everyone to grasp the omnipresence of God, but all have the capacity to identify His presence. – Summer Showers, May 30, 1995.

It is a hard job to know about your own Self. Take the case of the food that you eat with your own mouth. You feel it in your stomach and after that, you do not experience what happens to it at each stage. How then can you know, without acquiring the special knowledge about it, the Truth that lies behind the sheaths that encase and enclose you – the Annamaya, Pranamaya, Manomaya, Vijnanamaya and Anandamaya – (sheaths of material, vital energy, mind, intelligence and bliss)? Clear your intellect or intellectual power (dheeshakti) of the cobwebs of ego, the dust of desire, the soot of greed and envy, and it becomes a fit instrument for revealing the Swarupa – the Inner Truth. “Know yourself, know the Inner Motivator, the Antaryamin” – that is the exhortation of the scriptures of all faiths. For, unless you are armed with spiritual knowledge, you are like a ship without a compass, sailing on a stormy sea! – Divine Discourse, Apr 16, 1964.

That Thou Art. Be firm in that faith. Ponder on a river merging in the ocean. The waters of the ocean rise up as vapour when warmed by the Sun and form clouds, which drop down as drops of rain. Each drop has inside it the yearning to return to the ocean from which it has been exiled. But, the feeling of individuality overcomes the yearning. The raindrops accumulate and flow as brooks and streams which swell into tributaries of rivers, flooding the plains. At last, the river merges into the ocean and loses its name, form and attributes. In spite of all the modifications undergone in the journey from ocean to ocean, water remains as water in vapour, cloud, rain and river. Names and forms and qualities do change but the core remains unchanged. Man too emerges from the ocean of Divinity and his destiny is to merge in it. This is the Truth. This is the Reality.  – Divine Discourse, Jan 02, 1987.

Love, adore, serve the Sarveshwara (Almighty Lord) who is resident in all mankind; through that Love, adoration and service, realise Him. That is the highest sadhana (spiritual practice). Serve man as God. Give food to the hungry, food that is the gift of Goddess Nature; give it with love and humility. Give it, sweetened with the name of the Lord. Celestial spheres are revolving and disintegrating; time is fleeting; age follows age; era succeeds era; bodies that have taken birth, grow and end; but, the urge to sanctify life with good works and good thoughts is nowhere evident; the fragrance of sincere sadhana is not traceable anywhere. Through the process of ‘giving up’, great things can be achieved. Cultivate detachment, and the Lord will attach Himself to you. The past is beyond recovery; those days are gone. But, tomorrow is coming towards you. Resolve to sanctify it with Love, Service and Sadhana. – Divine Discourse, Mar 29, 1968.

Activity finds fulfillment when wisdom dawns. Karma ( sanctified activity) is the path by which Jnana (spiritual wisdom) is attained. And, wisdom in action is the highest Karma. Worthwhile activity must result in purifying the mind. Therefore, no one, not even a recluse or monk can desist from engaging in good deeds. These deeds must originate spontaneously and should not leave any trace of pride in the mind. Nor should any attachment to the result of the deed lead to a craving for claiming it for one self. Renunciation must be the only source of joy. Tyaga (self sacrifice) is the truest bhoga (enjoyment) for the sanyasi (ascetic). The Gita recommends ‘inaction in action’ and asserts that ‘inaction is the most rewarding action for those who strive for supreme peace’. This attitude is named karma sanyasa (non-attachment to action). Action or activity is generally associated with the body only, but the mind is also busy with the world. The Atma alone is the unaffected witness. So, the secret of ‘inaction in action’ lies in taking refuge in the Atma and in recognising all living beings as fundamentally Atma. – Divine Discourse, Jan 02, 1987.

Be simple and sincere. It is sheer waste of money to burden the pictures and idols in the shrines and altars of your homes with a weight of garlands, and to parade costly utensils, vessels and offerings, to show off your devotion. This is deception; it demeans Divinity, imputing to it the desire for pomp and publicity. I ask only for purity of heart, to shower Grace. Do not posit distance between you and Me; do not interpose the formalities of the Guru-sishya (Preceptor-disciple) relationship, or even the altitudinal distinctions of the God-Devotee relationship, between you and Me. I am neither Guru nor God; I am You; You are I – that is the Truth. There is no distinction. That which appears so is the delusion. You are waves; I am the Ocean. Know this and be free, be Divine. – Divine Discourse, Jul 19, 1970.

Men engage themselves in many outward sadhana (spiritual practices). These must be internalised. All scholarship is of no avail if there is no realisation in the heart. A scholar may expound the texts, but lack the internal experience. One who has mastered the Vedas may be able to explain the words, but cannot recognise the Veda Purusha, the Supreme Person hailed by the Vedas. When a person goes to a temple, he closes his eyes in front of the idol, because what he seeks is an internal vision of God and not a sight of the external form of the idol. God is Omnipresent as proclaimed in the Gita. God is One, though names and forms may differ. All education today is related to the physical world. It will not serve to reveal the Divine. It was this which impelled Shankaracharya to teach a scholar who was learning by rote Panini’s grammar that at the moment of death only the Lord’s name (Govinda) will save him and not the rules of grammar. – Divine Discourse, Oct 09, 1994.

Man is afraid of probing into his own truth, lest his pet opinions and attitudes be proved hollow and dangerous. As a result, his actions and thoughts pursue disturbing and discordant paths. What exactly is Truth? Is it the description of a ‘thing seen’ as one has seen it, without exaggeration or understatement? No. Or is it the narration of an incident in the same word as one has heard it narrated? No. Truth elevates; it holds forth ideals; it inspires the individual and society. It is the light that illumines man’s path to God. A life inspired by Truth will enable man to live as man – not degrade himself to the status of a lower species. From dawn to dusk, from the moment of wakefulness to the moment of sleep, if he devotes himself to his own deeds, is that a life inspired by the Truth? No. By his good thoughts translated into good words and manifested as good deeds, man must promote Truth in society and prove its usefulness. He is the image of God. He must be aware of the image of God that shines in society also. – Divine Discourse, Dec 08, 1979.

The unfortunate predicament of man today is that he is not recognising the powers within him and developing respect for them. He goes after the external, attracted by the physical forms. The relationship between the material and the subtle has to be understood. The remedy for man’s ills is contained within himself. But man seeks remedies from outside. Here is an illustration of what happens in the world. A hotel and a drug store are adjacent to each other. When a hotel server gets a headache, he goes to the neighbouring drug shop for a pill to cure his headache. When the drug storekeeper gets a headache, he goes to the hotel for a cup of coffee to cure him, instead of taking one of his own pills. Likewise, people today tend to ignore the divinity within them, but hanker after many external objects. There is no need to go in search of the Divine. Men must develop firm faith in the Divinity within them. All that is needed is to turn the vision inwards to experience the Divine within. – Divine Discourse, Oct 09, 1994.

In the pure pellucid lake of the heart of man, the lotus of Divine aspiration is blossoming; instead of offering that flower at the feet of God, you try the trick of placing there flowers that fade, fruits that rot, and leaves that dry. Offer the heart that He has endowed you with, filled with adoration and love! Your Ananda is my Aahara (You bliss is My food), so, cultivate it. It grows only when you meditate on the source of Ananda, the goal of Ananda, namely, God. Sita was interned by the cruel King Ravana in the most beautifully laid-out garden in Lanka, called A-shoka-vana (the forest of no sorrow). The flower-beds, lawns and greeneries, trees and creepers, bowers and groves were most pleasing to the eye and refreshing to the mind. But, Sita derived no joy therefrom! She found therein only empty vanity, lust for power and foul pleasure. But, Sita felt real Ananda when an unattractive monkey started repeating the name of Rama from the branch of the tree under which she sat! The Lord’s Name was for her the source of unfailing joy! – Divine Discourse, Apr 23, 1967.

The human body is precious. Man today is not realising what he owes to his body. The body that is composed of the five elements, which has been given to man to understand his true nature, to recognise the truth about his immortal Spirit, and to experience the eternal within him, is being used for the enjoyment of physical pleasures. The body surely has not been given for this purpose. The body is a kshetra (shrine). The Indweller is the Kshetrajna (Knower). The relationship is that of sharira (body) and the shariri (Indweller). Instead of recognising this integral relationship, man is concerned with only the body and seeks to realise the Divine. How is this possible? The first requisite is for man to acquire the firm conviction that the Divine dwells in his heart. There is no need to search for the Divine elsewhere. There is no need to go to a forest and lead an austere life to experience the Divine who is within each one. When man turns his vision inward he can experience eternal Bliss. – Divine Discourse, Oct 09, 1994.

You have wandered far and wide, but neglected your home. You peep into stars in space, but keep your inner sky unexplored. You peep into others’ lives and pick faults, talk ill of them; but, you do not care to peep into your own thoughts, acts and emotions and judge whether they are good or bad! The faults you see in others are but projections of your own; the good that you see in others is but a reflection of your own goodness. By meditation alone can you cultivate the good vision, taste for good listening, good thoughts and good deeds. By meditation, you get immersed in the idea of universality and the omnipotence of God. Is it not your daily experience that a bigger worry overpowers the smaller one and makes you forget it? When you fill your mind with idea of God and yearn for Him, and pine plaintively for Him, all lesser desires and disappointments, even achievements will pale into insignificance! You will forget them all; they will be submerged in the flood of Divine yearning and very soon, you will be immersed in the ocean of Divine Bliss! – Divine Discourse, Apr 23, 1967.

You may not get a chance to partake in some gigantic scheme of service through which millions may be benefitted; you can lift a lame lamb over a stile, or lead a blind child across a busy road. That too is an act of worship! A copy of Gita may be available for twenty-five paise; a puerile novel may cost ten rupees. Which is more worthwhile? Which can transmute base metal into gold? Seva is more fruitful than japa, dhyana, yajna and yaga, which are usually recommended for spiritual aspirants. For, it serves two purposes: the extinction of the ego, and the attainment of ananda (bliss). When someone sitting near you is sunk in sorrow; can you be happy? No. It may be that a baby weeps within hearing, most pathetically. You will get tears in your eyes in sympathy. Why? There is an unseen bond between the two. Man alone has this quality of empathy; he alone can be happy when others are happy, and miserable when others are miserable. That is why he is the paragon of creation, the acme of animal advance. Man alone is capable of seva; that is his special glory, unique skill! – Divine Discourse, Mar 04, 1970

Embodiments of Divine love! From the most ancient times, men have been engaged in the search for God. The questions, “Who is God?” and “What is the means to realise God?”, are not of today. They have been there from the earliest times and have agitated mankind ceaselessly. A few yogis, who comprehended the nature of the Divine and who felt that the purpose of human existence is to seek the Divine, undertook various spiritual exercises to discover how to achieve this objective. The purpose of human life is to realise the Divine. It is, in this context, that human birth becomes the rarest among all living beings. The ancient sages, recognising this truth, pursued different kinds of penances to experience the Divine. Some of them, feeling that the task was beyond their powers, gave up the quest in the middle. Some others, recognising that this was the sole purpose of human life persevered in their efforts with determination. When man sets his heart upon achieving anything, there is nothing impossible for him. – Divine Discourse, Oct 09, 1994.

Rely on the Shiva (God) in you, not on the shava (corpse) that the body is, without Him. With every breath, draw His glory in; with every breath, exhale all that reduces His glory. Saturate your thought, word and deed with Divinity. Then, you can conquer death, and become immortal. Recite the Name of Shiva and save yourself. You are truly the embodiment of truth, goodness and beauty. But you have misplaced the key which helps you to tap the springs. That key is in the realm of your inner consciousness; but, like the old woman who lost a needle in her dark hut, and searched for it under the street lamp (because, as she said, there was a patch of light underneath it), man is searching for it in the region of material objects in the outer world. It is to persuade you to engage yourself in Namasmarana (remembering of Lord’s Name) that I am Myself concluding My discourses with a few namavalis (bhajans that are a string of divine names) which I sing! – Divine Discourse, Mar 29, 1968.

God is not far from you, or away in some distant place. He is within you, in your own inner altar. Man suffers because he is unable to discover Him there, and draw peace and joy from that discovery. A dhobi, standing knee-deep in a flowing river, washing clothes therein, died of thirst, because he failed to realise that life-giving water was within reach. He needed only to bend and drink. Such is the story of man. He runs about in desperate haste, to seek God outside him and dies disappointed and distraught, without reaching the goal, only to be born again. Of course, you must be in the world, but you need not be of it. The attention must be fixed on God, the God within. In Karnataka, there is a dance called ‘Karaga’. The central person in this dance keeps many pots on his head, one over another, moves in procession, keeping pace with the music; he also sings in tune with the rest and keeps time to the beat of the drum. All the while, he has his attention fixed on balancing the tower of pots on his head. So too, man must keep the goal of God-realisation before him, while engaged in the noisy, hilarious procession of life! – Divine Discourse, Jan 01, 1967.

Man is an aspect of the Cosmic Consciousness. Unfortunately, however, because man directs his love towards worldly objects, he is unable to recognise his divinity. His mind gets polluted because of association with the external world. As a result, even his love gets tainted and his mind becomes incapable of cherishing the beauteous form of the Lord. Only when he directs his love towards God will man be able to experience the Divine within him. On the disturbed surface of the pond, the reflection of the moon is wavy. But on a clear surface, the moon’s reflection is clear and steady. In a muddy pond, the moon’s reflection is muddy. Likewise in the lake of a man’s life, if it is confused and fickle, his love also gets distorted. When the mind is pure, unselfish and unwavering, the Divine appears in all His purity and fullness. But because of the pollution of the mind through obsession with multifarious external objects, man today is unable to experience the Divine that is omnipresent and is equally in him. – Divine Discourse, Mar 06, 1989.

People today have lost the quality of forbearance. The sages in the past allowed even anthills to grow over them while they were immersed in penance. Today people cannot tolerate the slightest disturbance by a fly or a mosquito. Young people should cultivate forbearance and tolerance. Without peace of mind, there can be no happiness. Peace can be obtained only through sacred thoughts. Youth today have lost confidence in themselves. They are affected by criticism levelled against them. They should see that if the criticism is justified, they should correct themselves. If it is not justified, they should ignore it. Taking Myself as an example: If somebody somewhere says, “Sai Baba has a mop of hair,” I accept it, as it is true. If someone were to say to My face, “Sai Baba is bald,” I will ignore it, as it is not true. Why should I bother to quarrel with him? If you are criticised for a fault that is not in you, you can ignore it even if the whole world joins in the criticism. – Divine Discourse, Jan 15, 1996.

God’s Grace is like the shower of rain, like the sunlight. You must do some sadhana to acquire it – the sadhana of keeping a pot upright to receive the rain, of opening the door of your heart, so that the Sun may illumine it. Like the music that is broadcast over the radio is all around you; but you must switch on your receiver and tune the identical wavelength so that you can hear it and enjoy it. Pray for Grace; but do at least this little sadhana. Grace will set everything right. Its main consequence is Self-realisation; but there are other incidental benefits too, like a happy contented life here below, and a cool courageous temper, established in unruffled peace. The main benefit from a jewel is personal joy; but when one has come to the last coin in the purse, one can sell it and start life again! That is an incidental advantage! The plantain tree has a bunch of fruits as its main gift! But its leaves, soft core of trunk, flower bud, are subsidiary items that can be put to profitable use. This is the nature of grace. It fulfils a variety of wants! – Divine Discourse, Mar 29, 1968.

Persons, unaware of the Omnipresence of God, develop antagonisms among themselves based upon religion, caste and race. All religions have accepted the timelessness and the Omnipresence of God. So, it is strange that even those who accept this truth display such narrowness of mind. For, hatred between people professing different religions leads ultimately to the destruction of faith in religion itself. Those who are bent upon destroying religion must be utterly thoughtless. What has to be destroyed is religious bigotry, not religion itself. To despise other people’s religion out of love for one’s own religion is like demonstrating one’s love for one’s mother by denigrating the mothers of others. One should realise that other people have the same regard and devotion for their faiths, as one has for one’s own religion. Youngsters of today should, while cultivating attachment to their own religion, respect the beliefs and practices of all others. – Divine Discourse, Jul 24, 1983.

Once, there was a man whose devotion was great. He had four sons. In order that their names may help him to remember the Lord, he had named them Govinda, Narayana, Krishna and Rama. He thought that he could, on some pretext or other, have the Lord’s name on his tongue. To facilitate his plan, he started a factory and kept all of them busily employed there, so that they could respond to his calling them by name. The day when he had to yield to death came, he called Govinda; the son came near saying, “Father! I am here.” He called Narayana; “I am here father,” he too stood by his bed. He called Rama; Rama came to him and asked him what he desired to confide in him. Finally, he called Krishna. He bent too low and wished to know what message the father had for him, and told him, “Don’t hesitate, tell me what you want to say.” Seeing around him all the four sons, the dying man’s mind was seized with anxiety. He blurted out, “All of you are here! Who is in the factory?” Those were his last words. That was his last thought. When one is involved in the world only worldly thoughts will emerge at the end. – Divine Discourse, May 06, 1983

People have to change their vision, their thoughts, words and conduct. This is the meaning of Sankramana. Unless you purify yourself, what can any number of Sankrantis mean to you? You taste sweet prasadam. After some time, its taste is gone. It is not sweet food that is important. You must fill your life with holy thoughts. That is the purpose of sacred festivals. Young people ask why they should not enjoy freedom as fish, birds and animals do! They should understand that each of these creatures is enjoying freedom in accordance with their own sphere of life. Similarly, man should enjoy freedom related to his human condition. You cannot call yourself a human being and lead an animal’s life. Enjoy the freedom of a human being. To be free like an animal is to become an animal yourself! What is the freedom one can enjoy? Man is governed by certain restraints. He must adhere to truth, follow righteousness, cultivate love and live in peace. He must observe non-violence. Sticking to these five values, man can exercise his freedom! To exercise freedom in its true sense, man must respect five basic values. It is in that freedom he will find true bliss! – Divine Discourse, Jan 15, 1996.

From today, the Sun starts on its northward journey. What does North signify? It is considered the direction leading to moksha (liberation). The sun is said to move towards ‘Himachala’. Himachala is made up of two words: Hima + Achala. ‘Hima’ means white as snow. ‘Achala’ means firm and unshakable. Where is the place this description applies? It is the region of the heart. In a heart that is pure and steady, the sun of buddhi (intellect) enters. There is no need to undertake the journey in the external world. Uttarayana (Northward Journey) means turning the intellect inward towards the heart. The bliss experienced within alone is true bliss for man. All other external and sensory pleasures are ephemeral. Only the Atmic principle is pure, permanent and infinite. This is the abode of moksha (liberation). The journey to moksha is called the quest for liberation. Sankramana is the time when the inward journey towards the pure and unsullied heart is made. Just as the Sun embarks on his northward journey, Sankranti is the day on which the intellect should be turned towards the Atma for Self-realisation. – Divine Discourse, Jan 15, 1996.

Few people understand the true significance of festivals like Sankranti. Man cannot secure enduring bliss through physical pleasures. He must discover that the source of this bliss is within himself. Sankranti enables man to make this discovery, like a man carrying his spectacles on his forehead searches for it everywhere and discovers to his joy that it has been with him all along. The Divine is not anywhere else. It is enshrined in one’s heart. Hence, the man who seeks the Divine within his heart redeems himself. He then attains liberation. All external spiritual exercises are of temporary value. They should be internalised to experience lasting bliss. All mental exercises also leave the heart unaffected. In the nine paths of devotion, beginning with listening to sacred things and ending with Atma-nivedanam (total surrender of the self), the last is the most important. After Atma-nivedanam there is no need for any other effort. Sankranti gives the call for this total surrender! – Divine Discourse, Jan 15, 1996.

Embodiments of Love! Only love has been constantly with you right from birth. It is love that remains with you all the time, not your relatives or friends. This love is God. Enjoy the bliss of love and share it with others. The absence of love is the root cause of all the unrest in the world. Develop love and uphold truth. Truth does not mean describing what you have seen, heard or done, as it is. Truth is that which is changeless in all three periods of time. The Vedas call this permanent truth Rutam. Just as you change your dress, you have to change your body one day or the other. That is why it is said, “Death is the dress of life.” Therefore, you should have no fear of death. Life is not permanent. It is like a passing cloud. As long as there is life in the body, use it for the service of others. Engage yourself in service till your last breath. Service to man is service to God. Have control over your senses, because loss of sense control engenders demonic qualities in man. Service without sense control is an exercise in futility. – Divine Discourse, Nov 18, 1999.

Although there may be differences among nations in their food and recreational habits, the spirit of harmony and unity displayed in sports is a gratifying example to all. It is a distinctive quality of sports that differences are forgotten and persons engage themselves in games in a divine spirit of friendliness and camaraderie. Sports help the players not only to improve their health but also to experience joy. Students, however, should not be content with realising these benefits. Man has another body besides the physical. It is the subtle body, otherwise known as the mind. It is equally essential to promote purity of the mind and develop large-heartedness. True humanness blossoms only when the body, the mind and the spirit are developed harmoniously. The enthusiasm and effort which you display in sports should also be manifested in the spheres of morality and spirituality. – Divine Discourse, Jan 14, 1990.

All that you see outside is a reflection of the inner being. Good and bad do not exist outside; they are mere reflections of what is within you. No one has the right to judge others. Give up all that is bad in you and you will find goodness all around. As the colour of glasses you put on, so is the colour of the world you visualise. The defect lies in your vision, not in the creation. Heart is the dwelling place of God. So, only noble feelings should emerge out of it. If there are any evil qualities like lust, greed, and anger in it, then it ceases to be a human heart. It is verily the heart of an animal. If your conduct is devoid of humanness, then you are not a human being. Act in a manner that befits your human birth. When you are angry, remind yourself, “I am not a dog, I am man.” When your mind wavers, tell yourself repeatedly, “I am not a monkey, I am man.” Patiently think about your real nature. Never act in haste. Haste makes waste. Waste makes worry. So, do not be in a hurry. Take time and think calmly. All these evil qualities can be eliminated by developing good thoughts and feelings. The remedy for all your mental ailments lies within you! – Divine Discourse, Nov 18, 1999.

Real sadhana consists in transforming bad into good, converting sorrow into joy. There can be no happiness without sorrow, no good without the bad. There is a continuous conflict between good and evil, between happiness and sorrow. Happiness and misery are inseparable twins which are inextricably linked to each other. One is the beginning and the other is the culmination. The beginning and end go together. Only the Divine is free from a beginning, a middle or an end, but in worldly affairs, everything that has a beginning has an end. Grief is not something which someone thrusts on you from outside. Troubles and difficulties are not imposed on you from outside. Grief and trouble arise in the natural course of things. The refinement of life calls for continuous sadhana. Without such practice, life gets degraded. For instance, a diamond gets enhanced in value when it goes through the process of cutting and faceting. Likewise, gold, taken out as ore from the earth, becomes pure and valuable after refinement. In the same manner, sadhana is necessary to elevate life from the trivial to the sublime. – Divine Discourse, Jun 01, 1991.

Who are our friends and who are our enemies? Our own good thoughts are our friends. Our evil thoughts accompany us like shadows. When our thoughts are purified, our lives will be transformed into ideal ones. The mind is a bundle of thoughts. Actions ensue from thoughts. From actions flow the fruits thereof. Hence thoughts are the seeds which ultimately yield fruits in the form of good fortune and misfortune. Man is thus the architect of his own life. As thoughts determine actions, it is essential to cultivate good thoughts. Even bad men have been transformed by the influence of good and godly men. Ratnakara is an example of such transformation. Contact with sages turned him into the immortal author of the Ramayana. When the mind is turned towards God the entire life becomes purified. What is needed is control over the senses through devotion and steadfastness. – Divine Discourse, Feb 13, 1991.

When Pandavas were traversing the Himalayas toward the end of their careers, Dharmaraja was still affected by mental anxieties, so he prayed to Krishna to spend some time with them. On His departure from their dwelling, Krishna gave Dharmaraja a note, which he was to read to himself whenever he was affected by joy or grief. The note read: “This will not last”. That is one method by which mental agitations can be calmed. Take life in the world as a compulsory duty imposed on you. You are now in jail under sentence for crimes committed in a previous birth. The superintendent assigns various duties — cooking, drawing water, cutting wood, etc. You must do the work assigned to the best of your ability, without any expectation of reward. If you behave well, cause no trouble, and do assigned duties without demur, then you may be released sooner, with a certificate that you are reliable and good. This attitude will give you practice in selfless action without expecting a reward (nishkama karma), which is very valuable for curbing the senses. – Divine Discourse, Oct 26, 1963.

The head has its value while there is life. Hence, the head should be used while you are alive to acquire merit by placing it at the feet of holy ones. This is the value of prostrating before noble souls. While one is alive, one should engage in good deeds and lead a sacred and meaningful life. All relationships are confined to the living. God alone is the only unfailing kinsman throughout life and beyond it. He is the only constant companion wherever you may be. Realise that life is impermanent. Only your good deeds will protect you. Peace, truth and virtue have to be acquired only through your actions. Achieve proximity to God and then become one with God. Today you call yourself human. If you develop your devotion to God, you can divinise yourself. Divinity is your real nature. This has been proclaimed by the Upanishads in the famous declarations Aham Brahmasmi (I am Brahman), Ayam Atma Brahma (This Atma is Brahman), and Tat-Tvam-Asi (That thou art). Develop this conviction, with confidence and courage. – Divine Discourse, Apr 07, 1997.

The Bal Vikas is the primary basis of the great movement to restore dharma (righteousness) in the world. The elders are far gone in their ways, and it is difficult to expect a change in their habits and attitudes. Children have to be led into good ways of living, into simplicity, humility and discipline. As you know, you cannot draw children to your side if you hold a stick in your hand; you will have to hold some sweets instead. So the Gurus have to be embodiments of love and patience. The ideal of the Bal Vikas is to raise a generation of boys and girls who have a clean and clear conscience. The actual syllabus is not so important as the creation of an atmosphere where noble habits and ideals can grow and fructify. The Bal Vikas pupils follow Bal Vikas discipline and curriculum only for one day in the week and attend their usual schools on the other days. So the impact of the Guru has to be extra strong if it has to act as a catalyst in the process of modification of the behaviour patterns of these pupils. – Divine Discourse, Jun 06, 1978.

Dear teachers! When you teach the children, you must remember that you are engaged in a noble task for the sake of the children entrusted to your care. You must feel that you are educating yourselves when you are educating the children. For instance, when you impart some knowledge to the children, your own understanding of the subject improves. Even when you study books for teaching the children, you also derive joy from the study. Hence you must always have the feeling that whatever you do for others is in reality a service done to the Divine that resides in everyone. When teachers do their duty in this spirit, they will be imbuing the children with the spirit of Universal love. Remember that children have tender hearts and innocent minds. Only if you fill their hearts with love will the world have genuine peace. – Divine Discourse, Dec 30, 1983.

The desire for wealth and power is not wrong as such. But wealth and power should be used for the right ends. Whatever position you occupy, see that it is used worthily. A cobbler stitching shoes is pursuing as worthy an occupation as a Prime Minister governing the country. Therefore, everyone must do his duty properly. There is no high or low in these matters. To each person, his occupation is a matter of pride. Hence, do your duty sincerely. Everyone should be filled with this feeling. You should see that you do your job well without any lapse or defect. When everyone does their duty in this spirit the well-being of the whole world will be automatically ensured. People proclaim that they desire the well-being of one and all in the world, but do nothing to promote it. They are concerned only about their own well-being. This is not the right attitude at all. – Divine Discourse, Apr 07, 1997.

All the accomplishments and acquisitions in this world are transient and impermanent; lured by them, men get inflated and ultimately court ruin. Hence, giving up the notions of one’s own doership, man must regard God alone as the doer. He is the giver, He is the recipient and He is also the object that is given. Time is the very form of God. Birth and death are encompassed by Time. Everyone, therefore, should regard Time as Divine and utilise it for performing sacred actions. You should not waste a single moment. Time wasted is life wasted. The fruits of your actions are determined by Time. All your experiences are the results of your actions, whether it is happiness or sorrow, affluence or poverty. Hence, good and bad depend on what you do. As are your actions, so are the fruits thereof. The way you utilise your time determines the outcome. Hence, this new year, which is a form of the Divine, should be put to right use. – Divine Discourse, Jan 01, 1991.

The eyes should see only what is good. The hands should be engaged in good actions. The ears should hear no evil and listen only to what is good. Talk no evil. Talk only what is good. Think no evil. Think what is good. Do no evil. Do what is good. This is the way to God. The eyes should see only sacred objects. The whole world will be transformed when your vision becomes holy. This is New Year Day according to the Gregorian calendar. We have other New Year days according to the practice in different parts of the country. There is no need to bother about the year as such. Devote every moment to actions that will please God. Develop love for God, which will confer every blessing on you. On this New Year Day I wish you all every happiness and prosperity. The ancients used to bless those who come to them with long life of 100 years and good health. They wished the people long life so that they may lead worthy lives. Lead a long life, happy life, peaceful life, loving life and divine life. Redeem your lives by practicing Divine Love. – Divine Discourse, Jan 01, 1998.

Embodiments of love! Many pray to God all over the world. They pray for the realisation of worldly desires of one kind or another. This is not the right kind of prayer. You should pray to God for the grace of His love. That love is everlasting. It is infinite. God has another attribute. He is the embodiment of bliss. He is Sat-Chit-Ananda (Being-Awareness-Bliss). Pray to God to confer that bliss on you. God’s bliss is boundless and everlasting. All mundane pleasures are transient and ephemeral. Only he is a true devotee who prays to God for His love and bliss. One who prays for other trivial things is no devotee at all. Worldly benefits come and go. They are not the things for which you should pray. Seek what is eternal. Pray for God’s love and bliss. Seek to realise your Divinity. Then you will experience the Divine in the entire cosmos. You will experience the bliss that fills the universe. – Divine Discourse, Apr 07, 1997.

There are five fingers in every hand. If each finger points towards its own peculiar direction, how can the hand hold or manipulate any article? If they come together and stay together, the hands can accomplish whatever they plan. Similarly, when one of you turns your head away at the sight of another, and ten people insist on ten diverse directions, how can any deed be done? You must all be equally alert, active and cooperative. Why must you compete and quarrel? Nothing in this world can last as such for long. Buddha diagnosed this correctly. He declared, “All is sorrow; all is transient; all are but temporary contraptions of ephemeral characteristics.” Why should you be as fatally fascinated by these finite things? Strive to gain the eternal, the infinite, the universal. One day, you must give up the body you feed and foster. How long can you keep all that you have earned and possessed with pride? Trivial thoughts and desires award only sorrow; holy thoughts and desires award divine peace! – Divine Discourse, May 1981.

People must dedicate themselves to dharma and always be engaged in dharma, so that they may live in peace and the world may enjoy peace! One cannot acquire real peace, nor can one win the grace of the Lord, through any means other than the dharmic life! Dharma is the foundation for the welfare of humanity; it is the truth stable for all times. When dharma fails to transmute human life, the world is afflicted by agony and fear and tormented by stormy revolutions. When the effulgence of dharma fails to illumine human relationships, humanity is shrouded in the night of sorrow. God is the embodiment of dharma; His grace is won by dharma. He is ever fostering dharma. He is ever establishing dharma. He is dharma itself! The Vedas, scriptures, epics, and traditional stories proclaim aloud the glory of dharma. In scriptures of the various religions, dharma is elaborated in language familiar to its adherents. The duty of everyone, everywhere, and at all times, is to pay homage to the personification of dharma! – Dharma Vahini, Ch 1.

A person who is steeped in ignorance is considered to be no better than an animal. Such a person’s life is centred only on sense-gratification. His thoughts never go beyond the senses because of his ignorance of the Divinity within him. He deems the transient earthly pleasures as heavenly bliss and lives in delusion devoid of discrimination. Every man must make an effort to rise to humanness, shedding his animal and demonic qualities, and then strive to realise his divine nature. When Jesus was born, three kings came to his birthplace. They gave expression to three different views about the newborn baby. One, looking at the infant, said: “This child looks like one who will be a lover of God.” Second king said: “God will love this child.” The third king declared: “Verily, this child is God Himself.” The first one viewed the child from the physical point of view. The second saw the child from the mental viewpoint. The third saw from the spiritual point of view. These three declarations indicate how one can progress from the human to the divine level. What is needed is the destruction of animal and demonic qualities in man. – Divine Discourse, Dec 25, 1992.

God is the Eternal Power, Omnipotent, Omniscient. He is the cause and consequence – the potter, clay and the pot. Without God, there can be no Universe. He willed and the Universe happened. It is His play, the manifestation of His power. Man embodies His will, His power, His wisdom. But, he is unaware of this glory. A cloud of ignorance veils the truth. God sends sages, saints and prophets to unveil the Truth and Himself appears as an Avatar (divine incarnation) to awaken and liberate him. Two thousand years ago, when narrow pride and thick ignorance defiled mankind, Jesus came as the embodiment of love and compassion and lived among men, holding forth the highest ideals of life. You must pay attention to the lessons he elaborated on in various stages of his life. ‘I am the Messenger of God,’ he declared, first. Yes. Each individual must accept that role and live as examples of divine love and charity. This day, as we celebrate Christmas, bring to mind the words he uttered, the advice he offered, the warning he gave, and decide to direct your daily lives along the path he laid down. His words must be imprinted on your hearts and you must resolve to practise all that he taught. – Divine Discourse Dec 24, 1980.

Man today worships inanimate idols and images but makes no attempt to love his fellow human beings in flesh and blood. This was the first message of Jesus. Though one sees his neighbour every day, he does not choose to love them! How can one believe that such a person can love an invisible God? If you cannot love a fellow human being, visible before your eyes, how can you love what is not visible to you? Not possible! Only one who loves living beings around him can love the invisible Divine. Love must start with love for beings that have form. It must be extended to all beings! This is the primary stage in spirituality. Spirituality does not mean preoccupation with meditation, worship, etc. It involves the total extinction of the animal and demonic qualities in man and the manifestation of his inherent Divinity. When the attachments and hatreds in which man is enveloped are removed, the inherent Divinity in man, the Sat-chit-ananda in him will manifest Itself. – Divine Discourse, Dec 25, 1992

Meditation, these days, is often confined to the puja room. As soon as one emerges from the shrine, one is filled with all sorts of mental agitations. Hence, it has been declared: Satatam yoginah (Be established in yoga all the time). This does not mean giving up all worldly affairs. Pursue your studies. Fulfill your duties. But in all these activities, use your Dharana power (the power of concentration). In the process, you develop your powers of Dhyana (meditation). Dhyana means single-pointed contemplation. Even in daily life, when one is in a reflective mood, he is asked: “What is the Dhyana you are doing?” Dhyana means absorption in thought. It should be centred on only one specific subject. This is described in Vedantic parlance as Salokyam. “Sa” comprehends every aspect of Divinity. Salokya means absorption in the thoughts of Divinity. Through Dhyana you have to achieve the sense of oneness with the Divine. – Divine Discourse, Jun 29, 1989.

Let the petty wishes for which you now approach God be realised or not; let the plans for promotion and progress which you place before God, be fulfilled or not; they are not so important after all. The primary aim should be to become masters of yourselves, to hold intimate and constant communion with the Divine that is in you as well as in the Universe of which you are a part. Welcome disappointments, for they toughen you and test your fortitude. The gold that was melting in the fire, before the goldsmith with his blowpipe, told him: “Do not exult when you drop me into the fire and I am molten and the alloy is taken out of me. Remember I am rendered purer and more valuable every moment, whereas all that you get for your pains is smoke in the face and soot in the hand!” Never give up God, holding Him responsible for your ills; believe rather that the ills draw you nearer God, making you call on Him always when you are in difficulty. – Divine Discourse, May 12, 1970.

Do not do unto another what you do not like to be done to yourself. For the other is really you. Even if another uses foul language against you, be calm and sweet; say, “Oh, I am so surprised that my behaviour has given you that impression!” Smile in return, do not take it to heart; remind yourself that even Swami is not free from these peculiar beings who revel in falsehoods. Smile when you hear these revilings and be calm. That is a sign of your meditation progressing fast! Preserve your mental health by this supreme unconcern. Preserve your physical health also, for ill health can be a great nuisance to the spiritual aspirant, a great handicap. The body will refuse to be ignored; it will thrust itself upon your attention if it is beset with disease. The body is the car, the senses are mechanical parts and through the petrol of Sadhana you must keep it going! – Divine Discourse, Jan 22, 1967.

There are two roads to fulfilment, ‘Prartana and Dhyana (Prayer and Meditation)’. Prayer makes you a supplicant at the feet of God; Meditation induces God to come down to you and inspires you to raise yourselves to Him. It tends to make you come together, not place one on a lower level and the other on a higher. Dhyana is the royal road to liberation from bondage, though by prayer too you earn the same fruit. Meditation needs concentration, after controlling the claims of senses. You must picture before your inner eye the Form on which you elect to contemplate. Or, you can elect to meditate on a flame, a steady straight flame of light. Picture it as spreading on all sides, becoming bigger and bigger; enveloping all and growing in you, until there is nothing else except light. In the glory of that all-enveloping Light, all hate and envy, which are the evil progeny of darkness, will vanish. Know that the same light is in all. Even he, whom you were treating as your worst rival, has the selfsame light in his innermost heart! – Divine Discourse, Jan 22, 1967

Today, man is bereft of gratitude, which is one of the most essential qualities. He forgets the help rendered to him by others. As long as man is alive, he should be grateful for the help he received from others. There are two things you have to forget: the help you have rendered to others and the harm others have done to you. If you remember the help you have rendered, you will always expect something in return. Remembrance of the harm done to you by others generates in you a sense of revenge. You should remember only the help you received from others. The one with these sacred qualities is an ideal man. In this ephemeral and transient world, man always aspires for peace and security. But money, education, position of authority and physical comforts cannot confer peace and security. Peace originates from the heart. Man can experience peace and security only when his heart is filled with love. Love is God, love is Nature, love is life and love is the true human value. Bereft of love, man is equivalent to a corpse. You should lead a life filled with love. Love even the worst of your enemies. – Divine Discourse, Mar 18, 1999

The same sky is over everyone’s head; the same earth supports everyone’s feet; the same air enters everyone’s lungs! The same God brought all forth, brings up all and brings about the end of this earthly career. Why then this inhuman role of foe and fanaticism, fight and feud? In the Gita, the Lord has declared, “Beejam mam sarva bhutanam – I am the seed for all beings”. The tree is a broad spread of leaves and flowers, fruits and green. It is a fanned-out system of trunk, branches, and twigs! All have grown out of one single small seed! And, every fruit of that tree has seeds of the same nature inside it! So too, contemplate for a while on the magnificent multitude of life, all its rich variety of strong and weak, prey and hunter, distressed and delighted, creeping, crawling, flying, floating, walking, hanging, burrowing, diving, swimming – all this uncountable variety of created beings come out of the beejam (seed, the Lord) and each of them has in its core, the beejam, again! Visualise this Immanent Divinity; you become humble, wise, and full of love! – Divine Discourse, May 12, 1970.

Today, people think that spirituality has no relation to mundane life and vice versa. This is a big mistake. True Divinity is a combination of spirituality and social obligations. National unity and social harmony are founded upon spirituality. It is the Divine that links spirituality and social existence. The Creator and the Prakriti (Creation or nature) are inextricably associated with each other. Hence, God should not be regarded as separate from the creation. See God in the cosmos. For instance, here is a tumbler made of silver. The one who notices the silver in the tumbler thinks only of the material base and not the form of the tumbler. The one who sees it as a tumbler does not note its silver base. Only the person who can recognise both silver and tumbler can recognise that it is a silver tumbler. Likewise, without the Omni-Self there is no creation. Today, most people see only the creation. Very few recognise that the creation is a projection of the Creator. It is essential that every human being should have the realisation that without the Brahmam (Supreme) there can be no cosmos. – Divine Discourse Feb 12, 1991

If the darkness of ignorance is to be dispelled, man needs a container, oil, wick and matchbox corresponding to what an external lamp needs. For mankind, your heart is the container. Your mind is the wick. Love is the oil and sacrifice (vairagya) is the matchbox. When you have these four, the Atma-jyoti (Divine flame of the Spirit) shines effulgently. When the light of Spirit is aflame, the light of knowledge appears and dispels the darkness of ignorance. The flame of a lamp has two qualities. One is to banish darkness. The other is a continuous upward movement. Even when a lamp is kept in a pit, the flame moves upwards. Sages have therefore adored the lamp of wisdom as the flame that leads men to higher states. Hence, the effulgence of light should not be treated as a trivial phenomenon. Along with lighting the external lamps, you should strive to light the lamps within yourself. – Divine Discourse Nov 05, 1991.

Man today is like a horseman riding two horses at the same time. He aspires for the Divine, but also yearns for worldly pleasures. He forgets that the creator contains the creation. Forgetting this truth, he goes after the phenomenal world, regarding it as different from the Divine. He is foolish like the man who cries for ghee while having milk in his hand, not realising that ghee is latent in the milk. Today’s devotees study the Vedas and other scriptures as a ritual but do not put into practice any of the injunctions contained in these. Of what avail is it merely to know how the Vedas or Upanishads have described the Divine? If this book lore is not reflected in one’s life, it is like a blind man who hears about the existence of the world, but cannot see it. There is no difference between this physically blind man and the spiritually blind person who merely studies the scriptures. The scriptures are intended to provide guides for practical living and not merely to be learnt by rote. – Divine Discourse Feb 12, 1991.

To get rid of the darkness of sorrow, you have to light the lamp of happiness. To dispel the darkness of disease, you have to install the light of health. To get over the darkness of losses and failures, you have to usher in the light of prosperity. These apparently opposing conditions are not totally separate from each other. They are interrelated. You see in the world the prevalence of heat and cold. They appear to be opposed to each other. But nevertheless, according to the prevailing situation, both are useful for man. During the cold weather, we welcome heat. In the summer, coolness is desired. Hence, it is clear that both heat and cold are aids to man and not harmful to him. Likewise, joy and sorrow, loss and gain are helpful to man and not inimical. If there is no sorrow, one cannot know the value of happiness. If there is no darkness, the value of light cannot be appreciated. Hence, if the greatness of light is to be realised, darkness is necessary. – Divine Discourse Nov 05, 1991.

Sacred books are worshipped; flowers are showered on them; even food is sanctified by being offered to them; they are carried in procession with pipers and drummers in front through the streets. But, as to reading them or trying to understand what they contain, or practising a bit of what they were written for – that is an impossible task, for most! I shall tell you just one thing which those books teach; one thing which I want you to resolve to follow: “Do not seek to find fault in others, give up para-dushana and para-himsa(maligning and injuring others); do not scandalise anyone, do not feel envy or malice. Be always sweet in temperament, in talk. Fill your conversation with devotion and humility.” Live with love, in love, for love. Then the Lord who is Premaswarupa (Divine Love personified) will grant you all that you need, in spite of your not asking for anything. He knows; He is the Mother who does not wait to hear the moan of the child to feed it. His prema is so vast and deep; He anticipates every need and rushes with help you must have. – Divine Discourse, Jul 13, 1965.

The mind is a fertile field for ignorance. Wipe out all traces of the mind (Mano-nasanam) – that is the task of the jnani (wise). How to destroy the mind? It is easy once you know what it is. The mind is stuffed with desire. It is a ball filled with air, like a football. Puncture it and it will not move from place to place. Nirvana means, without air. In a square field, the water filled from an irrigation canal appears to be a square; if the field is circular, rectangular or triangular, the sheet of water that fills it will have the same geometrical shape. The mind takes on the form of the desire that fills it. To take another example, it is like a piece of cloth, the warp and the woof being the yarn of desire. The texture, colour, durability, feel, and shine of the cloth will depend upon the desire that constitutes the warp and the woof. Remove the yarn, the warp and woof, one by one the cloth disappears. That is the technique of mano nasanam (destroying the mind). – Divine Discourse, Oct 16, 1964.

Education should be for leading a good life and not for earning a livelihood. To learn from a scientist the chemical composition of water is a kind of knowledge which may help one to get a job. But how to make the right use of water so that all can share its benefits is knowledge of the Spirit. This higher knowledge elevates life and makes it meaningful. When worldly knowledge and spiritual knowledge come together, human life is divinised. There is a Kannada saying: “For water, lotus is the ornament. For a town, the home is the ornament. For the ocean, the waves are the ornament. For the sky, the moon is the ornament. For man’s life, virtue is the ornament.” Without good qualities, all other ornaments are worthless. The beauty created by the Divine cannot be excelled by any other ornament. It is that beauty which should be esteemed. Beauty is God. Why attempt to enhance it? When you have natural beauty, why go after artificial cosmetics? True beauty consists in good qualities! – Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1991.

For a seed to become a plant, earth and water are necessary. Likewise, for the divine seed in man to grow into a tree and blossom into the flower of Sat-Chit-Ananda, it needs bhakti and shraddha (devotion and earnestness). Humanness does not consist merely in turning the mind towards God. The Divine has to be experienced within. The human estate is the manifestation of the infinite potential of the Divine. Man is the individualisation of the infinite rays of the Divine. Not recognising his divine essence, man is wasting his life in the pursuit of transient and trivial pleasures. What is spirituality? It is the resolute pursuit of cosmic consciousness. Spirituality aims at enabling man to manifest in all its fullness the divine chaitanya (cosmic consciousness) that is present within and outside him. It means getting rid of the animal nature in man and developing the divine tendencies in him. It means breaking down the barriers between God and Nature and establishing their essential oneness. – Divine Discourse Feb 12, 1991.

The Lord never said that He will look after the welfare of a devotee all the time, in spite of the devotee spending only a little while, now and then, in thought of God and even if he goes on doing all kinds of evil and harmful things in the name of God. There are three things which one should keep in mind, namely, “I will not think of anything else except God; I will not do anything else without the permission of God and I will have my attention completely fixed on God.” It is only when you accept and put into practice these three things, that the Lord will look after your welfare. Today, we do not bother about the injunctions God gave us; instead, we argue with God and ask Him why He is not looking after our welfare and safety. By simply reading and repeating the text of the Bhagavad Gita, by merely thinking about its contents, we are not going to get any benefit out of it! It is only by understanding the meaning of the Gita, by ruminating over its meaning in your mind, digesting it completely and making it part and parcel of your life, can you get the benefit out of it. – Ch 8, Summer Showers 1972

People must be happy that the highest Lord has placed around them newer and newer materials for serving Him and gets the worship of Him done in various forms. People must pray for newer and newer opportunities and exult in the chance that their hands receive. This attitude gives immeasurable joy. To lead a life suffused with this joy is indeed bliss. Whatever is done from sunrise to sunset must be consecrated, as if it is the worship of the Lord. Just as care is taken to pluck only fresh flowers and to keep them clean and unfaded, so too, ceaseless effort should be made to do deeds that are pure and unsullied. If this vision is kept before the mind’s eye every day and life is lived accordingly, then it becomes one long unbroken service of the Lord. The feeling of I and You will soon disappear; all trace of self will be destroyed. Life then transmutes itself into a veritable devotion to the Lord (Hariparayana). – Ch 8, Prema Vahini

Whatever the trouble, however great the travail, persist and win by means of remembering the name (namasmarana). Remember Bhishma! Though prostrate on a bed of arrows, he bore the pain patiently awaiting the dawn of the auspicious moment. He never called out to God in his agony to ask Him to put an end to his suffering. “I shall bear everything, whatever the pain, however long the agony. I shall be silent until the moment comes. Take me when it dawns,” he said. Bhishma was chief among the tranquil devotees. He lay firm and unshakeable. Peace is essential for everyone. Having it is having all, and not having it takes away the joy of everything. Although peace is the very nature of every person, anger and greed succeed in suppressing it. When they are removed, peace shines in its own effulgence. – Ch 5, Prasanthi Vahini.

Krishna was the Supreme being and Sarvajna (All-Knowing). He was very close to Draupadi. At the time when she suffered humiliation in the court of Duryodhana, who ordered that she be disrobed, Krishna made an endless supply of saris to protect her honour. Some people ask why Krishna did not punish Duryodhana on the spot when he was perpetrating such a heinous crime against a noble woman who was so devoted to Him. No doubt, Draupadi was highly devoted to Krishna and Krishna had also the power to punish Duryodhana. But in this drama several more scenes had to be enacted. Duryodhana was predestined to be killed by Bhima in the war that was yet to come. So Krishna could not interfere. Kamsa’s life was in the hands of Krishna and Ravana’s life was in the hands of Rama. Both Rama and Krishna are forms of Vishnu. But each had to play His specific role in His incarnation. For every incarnation there are certain rules and regulations which the Avatar will not transgress. Mere mortals cannot understand the ways of the Divine. – Divine Discourse, Sep 19, 1993.

Good ideas have to be accepted and bad ones eschewed. Each idea has to be judged in the Supreme Court of Viveka (Wisdom). And the ‘ruling’ has to be treated as inviolable. It is in this context that we have to remind ourselves of the prayer of Gandhiji, Sabko sanmati de Bhagawan – “O God, bestow right understanding on all”. Again, the individual born in the lake of society must swim and float in the calm waters, and joining the river of progress, merge in the ocean of grace. Man has to move from the stance of “I” to the position of “We”; this day, we see only the wild dance of ego-stricken individuals, who hate society and behave most unsocially. Water flows from a higher level to the lower levels. God’s grace too is like that. It flows down to those who are bent with humility. So, give up the ego, overcome jealousy, and cultivate love. How can man be truly at peace with himself and with others, if he does not endeavour to win the grace of God? – Divine Discourse, Mar 30, 1973.

A seed germinates and grows into a plant and then into a tree with branches, leaves, flowers, etc. The seed of the entire Universe is Chaitanya (Pure Consciousness). It is Sat-chit-ananda. It grows in full bloom in the human being and blossoms into the flower of Awareness. Thus God incarnates in man. To understand this truth is the goal of human life. It is the mind that stands in the way of this realisation. The mind is perverted when it is centred on the ego (body consciousness) of a person but when it is directed towards the Atma, it becomes sublime. One puffed up with ego forgets Divinity. Thinking on the physical plane and looking at the external world, man is not able to understand the Divinity within him. It is wrong to think that spirituality has nothing to do with worldly matters. The physical world also reflects Divinity. Because man forgets his true Divine nature he is wallowing in troubles and tribulations. He is reflecting only animal qualities in his actions. Only when one enquires within, one has the chance of realising Divinity. – Divine Discourse, Sep 19, 1993.

Dharma (righteousness) can never be destroyed. If it is subject to destruction, then it cannot be called dharma at all. At certain periods of time, it may seem to have disappeared due to the decline of its practice by man. When thick clouds cover the shining sun, people may not be able to see it for some time. But nothing can ever stop the sun from shining or stop its light forever. In the same way, the sun of satya (Truth) and sunlight of dharma can never be destroyed. Satya and dharma are interrelated and interdependent, like God and Nature, matter and energy. Therefore, it is not possible to separate satya and dharma. Satya, in fact, is the foundation on which the mansion of dharma stands. There can be no danger or hazard to the mansion of dharma, which is built on the foundation of satya. Satya and dharma are the natural attributes of human beings. By nourishing and practising satya and dharma, one should oneself derive bliss and share it with the world. – Divine Discourse, Jul 24, 1996.

Peace embellishes every act; it softens the hardest core of humanity; it takes you to the footstool of the Lord and wins for you the vision of God. It knows no distinction; it is a force that establishes equality. It is the honey of love in the enchanting flower of life. It is a prime need for yogis and spiritual aspirants. Having acquired it, they can realise the reality tomorrow, if not today. They should put up with all the obstacles in the way, and peace will give them the strength needed for it. Through peace alone can devotion expand and spiritual wisdom (jnana) strike root. Wisdom born of peace is the one and only means of living a full life or a life that knows no death. The inquiry “Who am I?” clears the path for realization. So, one must wait patiently and quietly, placing faith on the grace and wisdom of the Lord. Such an inquirer will be ever earnest and penitent. The inquirer becomes fearless and therefore full of peace through another conviction also: the Lord is everywhere, visibly present. – Ch 5, Prasanthi Vahini

Spiritual learning impels one to pour one’s narrow ego into the sacrificial fire and foster in its place universal love, which is the foundational base for the superstructure of spiritual victory. Love that knows no limits, purifies and sanctifies the mind. Let thoughts centre around God, let the feelings and emotions be holy, let activities be the expression of selfless service. Let the mind, heart, and hand be thus saturated in good. Spiritual education must take up this task of sublimation. It must first instil the secret of service. Service rendered to another must confer full joy in all ways. Spiritual education must emphasise that in the name of service, no harm, pain, or grief should be inflicted on another. While rendering service, the attitude of it being done for one’s own satisfaction should not tarnish it. Service must be rendered as an essential part of the process of living itself. This is the real core of spiritual education. – Ch 8, Vidya Vahini

It is most vital for everyone to recognise and practice the Love Principle. At all times love has existed among the good and the bad, in the forest or in a palace, in attachment or in separation, in one’s conduct as well as in one’s speech, in the mind as well as in action. It is all-pervasive. The most powerful weapon to destroy the forces of evil rampant in the world today is love. Unfortunately, men are not pursuing the right path to acquire sacred love. Love is the seed of love. It is also the branches, the flowers and the fruit. To enjoy the fruit of love, one must practise Love. Instead of seeking to know the true nature of love, man is engaged in the pursuit of wealth and power. No doubt wealth and power are necessary, but only within limits. The vast ocean, when it swells beyond its bounds, is censured for its misbehaviour. The human body and mind will be healthy only when food is consumed within limits. Excessive eating causes various disorders. Everything in the world is governed by the bounds set for it. However, love has no limits. – Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1996.

The divine power has neither birth nor death. I do not feel elated when praised or depressed when blamed. I treat these dualities of life with equanimity. I am happy both in pleasure and pain. There is only love in Me. My love lives by giving, giving and giving. It never receives. This is the difference between My love and worldly love which believes in receiving alone. That is why My love is ever-expanding. A small seed becomes a gigantic tree with many branches and fruits. All of them have their origin in the seed. Likewise out of love has emerged the creation. Love is God, live in love. Develop love. Love everyone wholeheartedly. Only when love is manifested will you attain self-realisation. In the first instance, develop self-confidence. Self-confidence is the foundation. Self-satisfaction is the wall. Self-sacrifice is the roof. Self-realisation is the mansion (of life). Everything is contained in the Self (Atma). With this Atmic Principle, acquire spiritual knowledge. The power in spirituality is limitless. The Power of Love far exceeds the power of the atom bomb. It transforms even those who hate. Develop such sacred love. – Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1998.

Education today ends with the acquisition of degrees. Real education should enable one to utilise the knowledge one has acquired to meet the challenges of life and to make all human beings happy as far as possible. Born in society, one has the duty to work for the welfare and progress of society. The knowledge gained from education is being misused today solely to obtain and enjoy creature comforts and sensuous pleasures. This education has served to develop some kind of intellectual abilities and technical skills, but has totally failed to develop good qualities. Society today is steeped in materialism because of the preoccupation with mundane pleasures. Only in the institute here, one can witness the emphasis on the divinity inherent in man. In the olden days, when the pupils completed their educational tenure in the ashram of the guru and were about to enter the life of a grihastha (householder), the preceptor gave them a parting message to serve them as guidelines for their worldly and spiritual good. That ceremony is observed today as a Convocation. – Divine Discourse, Nov 22, 1987.

What exactly is the secret of ensuring peace and prosperity for mankind? Rendering service to others without expecting service from them in return. Activity (karma) that binds is a huge fast-growing tree. The axe that can cut its roots is this: Do every act as an act of worship to glorify the Lord. This is the real sacrifice (yajna), the most important ritual. This sacrifice promotes and confers knowledge of Brahman (Brahma-vidya). Note that the yearning to do selfless service must flow in every nerve of the body, penetrate every bone and activate every cell. Those who engage themselves in spiritual discipline (sadhana) must have mastered this attitude toward service. Selfless service is the blossom of love, a flower that fills the mind with rapture. Harmlessness is the fragrance of that flower. Let even your little acts be redolent with compassion and reverence; be assured that your character would thereby shine greatly. – Ch 8, Vidya Vahini

Work done with no concern or desire for profit, purely out of love or from a sense of duty, is yoga. Such yoga destroys one’s animal nature and transforms one into a divine being. Serving others, visualising them as kindred beings will help one to progress; it will save one from sliding down from the spiritual stage attained. Selfless service (seva) is far more salutary than even vows and worship (puja). Service disintegrates the selfishness latent in you; it opens the heart wide; it makes the heart blossom. So, work done with no desire is the supreme ideal; and when the mansion of life is built on that foundation, through the subtle influence of this basis of selfless service, virtues will gather unto him. Service must be the outer expression of inner goodness. And, as one undertakes selfless service more and more, one’s consciousness expands and deepens and one’s Atmic reality is more clearly known. – Ch 8, Vidya Vahini