From ancient times the feminine aspect of the Divine has been worshipped in various ways. Vedas declare that where women are honoured and esteemed, there Divinity is present with all its potency. Unfortunately, today men consider it demeaning to honour women. This is utterly wrong and is a sign of ignorance. Stree (Woman) is Grihalakshmi (Goddess of Prosperity for the home). She is hailed as dharma-patni (the virtuous spouse). She is called illalu (mistress of the house) and ardhangi (better half). People gloat over petty titles conferred on them. But women have been conferred the highest titles which are valid for all time. A home without a woman is a jungle. Men should realise the high status of women and honour and respect them accordingly. They should not make women weep and shed tears. A home where the woman sheds tears will be ruined. Men should give an honourable place for women and lead a respectable life. – Divine Discourse, Nov 19, 1995.

It is only when we look upon the universe as permeated by God that we acquire the strength to fight the forces of evil. Many persons who engage themselves in prayers and pilgrimages for years wonder why they have not been able to realise God. It is unnecessary to go around the world searching for God. God is in search of the genuine devotee. The devotee who is conscious of the omnipresence of God will find Him everywhere. He must have the firm conviction that there is no place where God is not present. That is the real mark of devotion. Meditation and prayer have value as means of purifying oneself. But they do not lead to God-realisation. Unwavering faith in God grants inexpressible Bliss. One should not give way to doubts which undermine faith. – Divine Discourse, Dec 25, 1986

Live always as the servant of the Lord who is within you, then you will not be tempted into sin or fall into evil. Get into the habit of living in the light of God. It is the habit that rehabilitates the fallen. Have the attitude of absolute self-surrender (sharanagati), or else your destiny will be shara-gati (movement of an arrow). That is why Krishna said, “Let your mind be absorbed in Me (Manmana bhava)!” You may ride in a smart car of your own, but you are entrusting daily, without a second thought, the car and yourself and your family to the skill and presence of your chauffeur’s mind! However, when advised to entrust your affairs to the Lord, the power of illusion (mayashakti) hesitates and declines! It refuses to surrender to the divine Power (Mahashakti). What are we to say about such absurd conceit? If you have absolute self-surrender, you will be ever content and ever so happy and healthy! – Divine Discourse, Oct 10, 1961.

The question of attaining Divinity is profound, but the solution is deceptively simple. No abstruse spiritual practice (sadhana) is required. Gajendra tussled with the crocodile for thousands of years! He fought hard, but on what basis? With his physical might, his personal ego. As long as you rely on ego-based powers of body, intellect, money and so on, you can never win. Ultimately Gajendra got exhausted. He realised his folly and called out, “Lord, forgive me! I have none other than You! Come and rescue me!” When he surrendered saying – “none other than You” – he was saved. Look at Arjuna. He prided himself on his intellect as well. In the Bhagavad Gita, till the eighth verse of the second chapter, Arjuna bombarded Krishna with a volley of questions! But he expended all his philosophy in a short while. After all, how far can human intellect go? Poor fellow, his lifelong accumulation of intellectual ideas was deflated in Krishna’s presence! Finally, he could not utter a word more and acceded with folded hands, “I shall do as You say (Karishye Vachanam Tava).” Then Krishna assured him, “Good! Come on, now I’ll teach you. Now you are My devotee. From this moment, I shall take care of you.” – Summer Showers, May 21, 1991.

The power of Love is infinite. It can conquer anything. Once while Lord Buddha was journeying, he was confronted by a demoness who threatened to kill him. Smilingly, Buddha said: “You are not a demon; you are a deity! I love you even if you behave like a demon.” Hearing these loving words, the demoness turned into a dove and flew away. Love can change the heart of even an inveterate enemy. It is this kind of Universal love that should be cultivated by everyone. There are people professing different faiths in the world – Christians, Muslims, Hindus, Zoroastrians, etc. There should be no difference or distrust among them, for all of them uphold Truth and Dharma. It was to promote unity among people of different faiths that Guru Nanak started community bhajans which generate vibrations of harmony and peace. Today, the world is bedevilled by conflict and violence. Peace and prosperity can emerge only when people turn to the path of love and morality, and lead purposeful lives. – Divine Discourse, Dec 25, 1986

The hearts of young pupils must be filled by you with noble yearning, so that they may be shaped into strong and sturdy instruments for raising India of the future to the glory which is her right. Gurus (teachers/preceptors) have to be examples which can inspire the pupils. They must practise what they preach. As the teacher, so the pupil. When the tap is turned, water flows down from the overhead tank. The quality of the tap water is the same as that of the water in the tank. When the heart of the Guru is full of goodness, selflessness, and love, pupils will express these virtues in every act of theirs. There are, it is said, more than 5000 Bala Vikas Gurus. If each one corrects and improves a hundred children, the nation would indeed be transformed. You must examine what has been attained since Bala Vikas came into being. This study must be done constantly. When Guru cultivates satwic (pure) nature, the students will grow into embodiments of pure nature. Guru should be alert so that the weeds of hatred, envy and similar vices do not take root in their own heart. – Divine Discourse, Nov 20, 1979.

Do not, like some mental patients, be always worrying about some little ailment or another. Have courage, that is the best tonic. Do not give up before you have to. It is not long life that counts; if you live on and on, a time may come when you have to pray to the Lord to take you away, to release you from travail. You may even start blaming Him for ignoring you and blessing other luckier people with death! By all means, be concerned about success or failure in achieving the real purpose of life. Then you will get as many years as are needed to fulfill that desire. Yearn, yearn, yearn hard, and success is yours. Remember, you are all certain to win; that is why you have been called and have responded to the call to come to Me. What other task have I than the showering of Grace? Treat Me not as one afar but as very close to you. Insist, demand, claim Grace from Me; do not praise, extol, and cringe. Bring your hearts to Me and win My Heart. Not one of you is a stranger to Me. Bring your promises to Me and I shall give you My Promise. But first see that your promise is genuine and sincere; see that your heart is pure; that is enough. – Divine Discourse, Oct 10, 1961

How can a person who cannot himself swim, teach others the art? How can one whose granary is empty pour out in charity? Acquire the wealth of devotion, fortitude and peace before venturing to advise others how to acquire them. Bharat (India) has suffered slights and disregard as a result of a spate of teachers who have not cared to practise what they teach. I know you have the enthusiasm to carry My message among the people of this country and other countries. Let Me remind you that the best and the only successful way in which you can do it is to translate the message into your own lives. Your thoughts, words and deeds must be saturated with the message. Then, they will spread effortlessly and efficiently, and the face of the world will be transformed. You are officers of the Sai Army. How can you lead soldiers into the fray when you are not aware of the intricacies of warfare, when you are yourselves inefficient instruments? You can attempt to lead others only after practising the disciplines to perfection. This is true of all fields of human activity. Ananda (bliss) and Prashanti (supreme peace) have to be acquired first by you and then can be communicated to others. – Divine Discourse, May 17, 1968

The word Nama has great significance numerologically. ‘Na’ is equal to zero. ‘A’ is equal to two and ‘Ma’ equals five, the total being seven, indicating that the Nama Sankirtanam needs seven elements for success: Shruti, Laya, Raga, Tala, Bhava, Prema, Samhita. Seven cannotes the seven swaras, the seven sages, the seven days of the week known as the sacred Saptaha. Sankirtanam must be done with emphasis on tone, timing, tune, rhythm, attitude, love, and the attainment of the highest good. It is not singing for singing’s sake. The melody must emerge from the heart, must be saturated with genuine feeling, should be soaked in love, and must make you forget yourself, then it is a tapas or penance. Sankirtanam of such kind will save not just the individual, but will save the entire world. Embodiments of love! Even if you are unable to do meditation, recitation, yoga, or yajna, engage yourself in singing the Name of God. From a simple person (pamara) to an awakened one (Paramahamsa), Namasankirtana can be taken up. – Divine Discourse, Jan 26, 1982

The present Age, often condemned as Kali Yuga (the Age of Darkness), is in fact, the age in which one can attain liberation most easily. This is revealed in every scriptural text. The reason, according to them is that, one can be liberated now by the sadhana of Nama Sankirtana – singing the glory of the Lord, and listening to the Name being sung. Among the nine steps of devotion, shravanam (listening to the Name being sung) and kirtanam (singing the Name) are mentioned as the best. Kirtanam is singing the Names which denote the glory of the Lord and Sankirtanam means “singing the Names continuously, aloud, without interruption, and without hesitation.” Whereas Kirtana can be by one individual and can promote one’s own spiritual progress, Sankirtanam is by a group of people. It can help the process of liberation not only for the members of the group, but it will also be beneficial to those who listen, and even to those beyond the circle of listeners; the whole world can benefit by the vibrations. – Divine Discourse, Jan 26, 1982

Man’s duty is to sanctify his days and nights with the unbroken smarana (recollection) of the Name. Recollect with joy, with yearning. If you do so, God is bound to appear before you in the form and with the name you have allotted Him, as most beautiful and most appropriate! God is all Names and all forms, the integration of all these in harmonious charm! Gods designated in different faiths, adored by different human communities, are all limbs of the One God that really is. Just as the body is the harmonious blending of the senses and the limbs, God is the harmony of all the forms and names that man gives Him! Only those who are ignorant of the Glory of God will insist on one Name and one Form for His adoration and what is worse, condemn the use by others of other names and forms! Since you are all associated with Sathya Sai Organisations, I must warn you against such silly obduracy. Do not go about proclaiming that you are a sect distinct and separate from those who adore God in other forms and names. Thereby you are limiting the very God whom you are extolling. – Divine Discourse, May 17, 1968

Your aim should be to see the self-same God in all the Forms that are worshipped, to picture Him in all the Names, nay, to be conscious of His presence as the inner motivator of every living being, in every particle of matter. Do not fall into the error of considering some to be men worthy of reverence and some unworthy. Sai is in everyone; so, all deserve your reverence and service. Propagate this truth; that is the function I assign to the Seva Samitis. You can observe Me and My activities; note how I adhere to righteousness, moral order, truth and universal compassion. That is what I desire you to learn from Me. Many of you plead for a ‘Message’ from Me, to take to the Samiti of which you are members. Well, My life is My message. You will be adhering to My message if you so live that your lives are evidence of the dispassionate quiet, the courage, the confidence, and the eagerness to serve those who are in distress, that My life inspires you with. – Divine Discourse, May 17, 1968

If you wish to lead an ideal human life, you have to follow the example of the Avatars (Divine advents). Avatars can come in human form. But you should not be misled by this phenomenon. Avatars may appear in human form, but you should not equate yourself with them. In physical form, both may appear alike. But there is a fundamental difference. You should not mistake the cotton fruit for the mango. God comes in human form because man has strayed away from the path of righteousness. To reform man and bring him back to Dharma, God has to take the human form. Birds, beasts and insects lead lives according to their specific nature. They do not need Avatars. Today, only man has given up all righteousness, forgotten his divine essence and degraded his humanness. To reform man in this state, God has to come in human form. The Avatar has to protect the good, reform the erring and punish the wicked. – Divine Discourse, May 20, 1996.

Life is a short play on the stage. This body is like a bubble. The mind is always fickle. In Gita, Arjuna confesses to Krishna that the mind, which is constantly vacillating, is difficult to control. Nevertheless, man has to concentrate on his true destination. What is this destination, the goal and the aim of life? The Bhagavata and the Bhagavad Gita have made this clear. Our destination is the source from which we came. As long as the individual is caught up in the prakriti (phenomenal world), his mind will be unsteady and vacillating. The Vedic declaration, “Soham” (He is I) is demonstrated by the inhaling done during breathing. When you exhale and utter “Aham,” you are giving up the “I”. “So-ham” proclaims the identity of the individual and the Divine (‘I am He’). This identity will not be understood as long as one is caught up in the tentacles of the material world. – Divine Discourse, Feb 11, 1983.

How are one’s internal impulses to be purified? These relate to the mind, speech and the body. Of the three, speech is the most important. How is purity in speech to be achieved? Anudvegakaram vakyam satyam priyahitam ca yat, says the Gita. Every word you utter should be anudvegakaram (free from causing excitement or agitation). It should be satyam (true) and priyam (pleasing). There are four factors which account for the pollution of the tongue. One is, uttering falsehood; two, excessive talking; three, carrying tales against others; four, abuse or criticism of others. The tongue is prone to indulge in these four types of offences in speech. Unfortunately, in this Kali age, all these four are rampant. Untruth has become ubiquitous. People freely indulge in slandering others. Tale-bearing goes on. Indulgence in loquacity is widespread. It is only when one gets rid of these four evil tendencies can his speech become pure and unpolluted. Hence, the first task is to purify one’s speech. – Divine Discourse, Aug 30, 1993.

Every individual must make an attempt to fill his heart with sacred qualities and turn his heart into a Nandanavana (heavenly grove). Truly, when we look at happy people, we should feel happy for their happiness. When we look at suffering and trouble, we should also share their sufferings. If we are able to develop these qualities, we will be making our heart a Nandanavana. We must make all attempts to promote compassion and goodness. This is called maitri (loving-kindness). If we develop these good qualities, God also will appear to be close to us. Whether we are in pain or in pleasure, in sorrow or in trouble, at all times we must develop our heart in such a way that we will be able to get Paramatma’s Prema (God’s Love). On the other hand, if we have bad qualities like wanting to commit sin, wanting to listen to things which we should not listen to, hurting and harming others, then justice, goodness, and honesty will never remain anywhere near us. Therefore, people should develop sacred qualities. – Ch 12, Summer Showers 1976.

Develop prema (divine love) towards the Lord, the parama-prema (Supreme divine love) of which He is the embodiment. Never give room for doubts and hesitations, or for questions to test the Lord’s love. “My troubles have not ended; why? Why is it that He did not speak to me? Why did He not call me?”, you whine! Do not think that I do not care for you or that I do not know you. I may not talk to you but do not be under the impression that I have no love. Whatever I do, it is for you, not for Me. For, what is it that can be called Mine? Only you. So, do not get shaken in your mind; do not allow faith to decline. That will only add to the grief you already suffer from. Hold fast – that must be your vow. Whoever is your Ishta Devata (the chosen deity) – Vishnu or Rama or Shiva or Venkateshwara – hold fast to Him. Do not lose the contact and the company; for, it is only when the coal is in contact with the live embers that it can also become a live ember. Cultivate nearness to Me in the heart and you will be rewarded. Then you too will acquire a fraction of the Supreme Prema. This is the great chance. – Divine Discourse, Oct 10, 1964.

Just as the sun’s rays can burn a heap of cotton if the rays are concentrated by passing through a lens, the rays of the intellect will destroy one’s bad qualities only when they are passed through the lens of Divine love. Although man has come from Madhava (God), he is enveloped in a Bhrama (delusion) which obscures the Brahma (Divinity) within him. So long as one is in the grip of this delusion one cannot understand God. Because of this delusion, one gets attached to the body and develops limitless desires. This leads to the growth of the asura (demonic) nature in him. In the word ‘Nara’ (man), ‘na’ means no and ‘ra’ means destruction. So, the term ‘nara’ describes man as one without destruction (that is, one who is eternal). When the letter ‘ka’ is added to ‘nara’ it becomes ‘Naraka’, meaning, ‘hell’, which is the opposite of heaven. When one descends to the demonic level, he forgets divinity and follows the path to hell. The Divine is realised by pursuing the spiritual path (the Atmic path). According to the Puranic story, Narakasura is said to have been destroyed on this day of Deepavali (Naraka Chaturdasi). Narakasura was a demon filled with attachment to bodily pleasures. – Divine Discourse, Oct 24, 1992.

There are three doorways to hell for man – kama (lust), krodha (hatred) and lobha (greed). Desires tend to get out of bounds. Hence it is essential to try to curb them as much as possible. The process of controlling desires is called sadhana. The literal meaning of sadhana is the effort you make to achieve the object you desire or to reach the goal you have in view. Sadhana is thus the primary means to realise your aim or objective. A second meaning of the term is Sa-dhana, that is wealth that is associated with Divinity. Dhana (wealth) is described in three ways as Aishwarya (opulence), Sampada (prosperity) and Dhana (material wealth). All of them refer to the same thing. Wealth will not accompany us when we give up the body. If wealth is lost, it can be regained. If strength is lost, it may be recovered. But if life is lost it cannot be got back. Hence, while life still remains, one must strive to acquire the divine wealth that is imperishable and everlasting. Your conduct constitutes this divine wealth. It is only by the way we live that we can acquire this divine wealth. – Divine Discourse, May 29, 1988.

Note down all the things for which you have 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 have 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.

Valmiki, by meditating on the glory of Rama, was able to mould himself into the immortal poet who composed the Ramayana. He became an embodiment of that glory, and therefore, he could create that great epic. When we decide on writing a letter, we gather in our minds the facts to be communicated, the manner in which it has to be written, and then, we start writing it. When we decide on building a house, we build it first in our minds – the drawing room here, the dining hall there, the kitchen at this end, etc., and then, draw the plan on paper. What we do is to project an ideal into action, into a concrete program. The external action or achievement is only a reflection of the Inner Being, which frames the ideas and concepts. So, the transformation and refinement have to be done in the inner region of the mind. Constant reflection on the glory of God helps to transmute the body, mind and spirit. – Divine Discourse, Mar 23, 1984.

The Lord cares for ekagrata and chitta-shuddhi (concentration and purity of mind). You need not feel that you are physically away from Him. He has no ‘near’ and ‘far’. Provided the address is clear and correct, your letter will be delivered, be it to the next street or to Calcutta or Bombay for the same stamp. Smarana (remembering) is the stamp; manana (recapitulation) is the address. Have the Name for smarana; the Form for manana, that is enough. Select one Name and one Form but do not talk ill of other names and forms. Follow the lead of a woman living in a joint family; she respects and serves the elders of the family such as the father-in-law, his brothers and her own brother-in-law, but her heart is dedicated to her husband, whom she loves and reveres in a special manner. If you carp at the faith of others, your devotion is fake. If you are sincere, you will appreciate the sincerity of others. You see faults in others because you yourself have those faults, not otherwise! – Divine Discourse, Aug 15, 1964.

On one occasion, when Radha was travelling to Mathura in the evening, she was alone. All the other Gopikas who saw this started following her. By the time she reached Yamuna, it became dark. The Gopikas cautioned Radha and said that she should not go to Mathura in the darkness; but if she had to go, they would accompany her. With the feeling that Brindavan belongs to all and Govinda also belongs to all, she agreed to take them along. They took turns in rowing the boat so that no single individual got tired. Although they were rowing all night, they did not reach Mathura. As the day dawned, residents of Gokulam were coming to the river. The boat had been rowed all night but they found that they were still near Gokulam. They found that they had not removed the rope which tied the boat to the post at the bank. In spite of the fact that the boat was being rowed, and in spite of the fact that water was there, and they had the strength to move the boat, the boat did not move at all. In the same manner, without removing the bondage in regard to our senses and organs, we will not be able to move forward at all. – Ch 12, Summer Showers 1976.

Practise renunciation from now on, so that you may set out on the journey when the call comes, you don’t know when. Or else at that moment, you will be in tears, when you think of the house you have built, the property you have accumulated, the fame you have amassed, the trifles you have won. Know that all this is for the fleeting moment: develop attachment for the Lord, who will be with you wherever you go. Only the years that you have lived with the Lord have to be counted as life; the rest are all out of count. An old grandfather of seventy was asked by his seven-year-old grandchild, “Grandpa! How old are you?” and the old man replied, “Two!” The child was struck with wonder and looked like a picture of doubt. The old man replied, “I have spent only the last two years in the company of the Lord, until then I was plunged in the marshland of pleasure-seeking.” – Divine Discourse, Oct 10, 1964.

Among the five senses of perception, the eyes are endowed with immense power. They have 40 lakhs of light rays in them. Today man is putting his senses to misuse and as a result, his body is becoming weaker day by day. His life span is being reduced by his unsacred vision and the sensual pleasures that he is indulging in. Lakhs of light rays in his eyes are being destroyed because of his unsacred vision. That is the reason man is developing eye defects. Today many people undergo cataract operations to set their vision right. The doctors may say that man develops eye defects because of the cataract, but in fact, it is the result of unsacred vision. So, one should have proper control over one’s vision. Whatever the spiritual practices that one may undertake, one cannot derive their benefit without having control over one’s vision. All the Sadhanas like japa, tapa and dhyana confer only temporary satisfaction. These practices cannot help you to have control over your vision. In fact, the entire srushti (creation) is based on your drishti (vision). The netras (eyes) are verily the shastras (sacred texts). – Divine Discourse, Jul 05, 2001.

We know that of all the animals in this world, to take birth as a human being is very difficult. Having attained this difficult human birth, we should not behave, at any time, like an animal. Think and take note of this aspect. The reason for this is mainly the kind of food we eat. The kind of food we take determines the behaviour we develop. If a tiger enters a herd of cows, then the cows cannot survive and live. So also, as in that analogy, in the heart of man, there are good and satwic qualities comparable to the qualities of a cow. If into that group of good qualities, we send in food represented by the rajasic qualities of a tiger, it is impossible for the good to survive. Similarly, if you put seeds in a land which is not fertile, the seeds are not going to sprout! So also in a man with rajasic qualities in his heart, satwic qualities like worshipfulness or compassion cannot thrive. It therefore becomes necessary for man to do things by which the field of his heart can be purified and cleansed. – Ch 10, Summer Showers 1976.

While we live in the normal world taking things as they come, we must take great care of spiritual aspects as well. We cannot forget them. Whatever work you may undertake, if you have your attention on Divinity, then God will take care of you. One example: A mother puts her baby to sleep. After the baby is asleep, she goes to the first floor and attends to her work. All the while, her attention will be on the baby, and her thoughts are always about when the baby will get up. Even if she is engaged in urgent and pressing work, her attention will be on the baby and as soon as she hears the cry of baby, she will come running. She will not stop to consider what tune and beat the baby is crying in. Just as a mother runs from her work as soon as she hears the baby cry, so also, if man cries to the Lord from the depths of his heart, even if the Lord is busy, He will come and help the devotee. God does not ask what path the devotee is adopting or what bhajans are being sung by him, etc. He will only look at the sincerity with which the devotee has cried out. – Ch 7, Summer Showers 1976.

If only time is well used, the ignorant (pamara) can become an ascetic of the highest order (a Paramahamsa) and that ascetic can also be transfused into the Universal Substance and Substratum (Paramatma). Just as a fish can live only when it is immersed in water, when it feels the element all around it, so too the human being is an animal that can live only when immersed in bliss (ananda). One must have bliss not only at home, in society, and in the world, but more than all, in the heart. As a matter of fact, bliss in the heart produces bliss everywhere. The heart is the spring of joy. That spring must be touched by constant meditation, recitation of God’s name, and the intermittent dwelling on the glory, the grace, and the inexhaustible manifestations of the Lord. Hold fast to the goal; the devotee should never turn back. Never give way to doubt or despair. – Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1961.

All divine personalities make their advent for some definite purposes. They will not deviate from them in any circumstance. Swami’s Prematatva (essential nature of Love) is of the same character. Swami’s love has no trace of self-interest in it. It is absolutely pure. Swami knows only how to give, not how to receive. Swami’s hand is held above for conferring something, not stretched for seeking anything. Moreover, once Swami has declared, “You are Mine”, whatever wrong ways they may pursue, Swami will not abandon them. When I have given a word to anyone, even if they turn against Me I will not bear any ill-will towards them. Even if they revile Me, I shall continue to love them. I will stand up to My pledge right up to the end. Some day they will return to the right path. Owing to the compulsion of circumstances some changes may take place. They are not permanent. I will not change My course because of such happenings. This is My second resolve. The third resolve is: When I undertake anything because I feel it is for the welfare of all and that it is good for society as a whole, I will not give it up, come what may. Even if the whole world is against Me, I will not turn back, I will only go forward. – Divine Discourse, Jul 13, 1984.

You are all entitled to broader realms of joy, deeper springs of joy, and joy that is eternal. Your real dharma, the purpose for which you have taken human birth, is to earn and enjoy that bliss which no external contact can change or diminish. To earn it is quite easy. It can be done by everyone who sits calmly and examines themselves and their mind, unaffected by likes and dislikes. One then discovers that life is a dream and everyone has a calm refuge of peace inside one’s own heart. One learns to dive into its cool depths, forgetting and ignoring the buffets of luck, both good and ill. The doctor first diagnoses the disease. Then he prescribes the course of treatment. So too, you must submit yourself to the diagnosis of your illness, viz. misery, travail, and pain. Investigate fearlessly and with care, and you will find that while your basic nature is bliss, you have falsely identified yourself with the temporary, frivolous, and paltry and that attachment brings about all the sorrow. – Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1961

In a piece of cloth, when the threads are taken out, only the cotton remains and if the cotton is burnt the cloth ceases to exist. Similarly, when desires are eliminated, the “I” and the Mind will go. It has been said that the destruction of the mind is the means to the realisation of the Divine. The cessation of the mind can be brought about by the gradual elimination of desires, like the removal of threads from a cloth. Finally, the desires have to be consumed in the fire of Vairagya (detachment). Look upon life as one long railway journey. In this journey, it is not good to carry heavy luggage. There are stations on the way like Arti (suffering), Artharti (desire for objects), Jignasu (yearning for understanding) and Jnani (Self-realisation). The lesser the luggage one carries, the more easily and quickly one can get through various stages and reach the destination. The primary requisite, therefore, is the eradication of desires. – Divine Discourse, Oct 12, 1983.

When you surrender yourself to God’s Will, He will take care of you. Do not develop a superiority complex. Give up ego and pomp. Pray silently and sincerely. If your prayers are not answered, you can certainly question Me. God is not confined to a place somewhere in a distant corner. He always resides in your heart. He can accomplish anything. He is ever ready to perform any task, be it big or small for the sake of His devotees. All are His children. Hence, He will certainly answer your prayers. Embodiments of Love! Love is the quintessence of Swami’s discourses. His love is power. There is nothing greater than love. When you develop love, you can face the challenges of life with ease and emerge victorious. God will always be with you, in you, and around you and will take care of you. Any mighty task can be accomplished through prayer. However, your prayers should be sincere. There should be unity of thought, word, and deed. Develop firm faith that Swami is in you and that He always listens to your prayers. If you think that Swami is outside, how will your prayers reach Him? – Divine Discourse, Dec 25, 2004.

Anxiety, grief and unrest cannot approach Sai, not even as near as millions of miles. Believe it or not, Sai does not have the slightest experience of anxiety, for Sai is ever aware of the formation and transformation of objects and the antics of time and space and of the incidents therein. Those who have no knowledge of these and those who are affected by circumstances are affected by sorrow. Those who are caught in the coils of time and space become the victims of grief. Though Sai is involved in events conditioned by time and space, Sai is ever established in the principle that is beyond both time and space. Sai is not conditioned by time, place or circumstance. Therefore, you must all recognise the uniqueness of the Will of Sai, the Sai Sankalpa. Know that this Sankalpa is Vajrasankalpa – it is irresistible Will. You may ignore its expression as weak and insignificant but, once the will is formed, whatever else undergoes change, it cannot change. – Divine Discourse, Oct 08, 1981.

If you have steady and resolute love, concentration becomes intense and unshakeable. Faith develops into love, and love results in concentration. Prayer begins to yield fruit under such conditions. Pray using the Name as a symbol of the Lord. Pray keeping all the waves of the mind stilled. Pray as the performance of a duty for your very real existence, as the only justification for your coming into the world as a human. ‘Mine’ and ‘yours’ — these attitudes are only for identification. They are not real; they are temporary. ‘His’ — that is the truth, the eternal. It is like the headmaster of a school being in temporary charge of the furniture of the school. He must hand over the items when he is transferred or retired. Treat all things with which you are endowed, just as the headmaster treats the furniture. Be always aware that the final checking-up is imminent. Wait for that moment with joy. Be ready for that event. Have your accounts up to date and the balance already calculated to be handed over. Treat all things entrusted to you with care and diligence. – Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1961.

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 pandit who was learning by rote Panini’s grammar that at the moment of death, only the Lord’s name will save him and not the rules of grammar. Though this teaching has been propagated for centuries, very few practise it. Many read the Ramayana as a daily ritual. But how many carry out the commands of their fathers? How many practise the virtue of fraternal affection and love proclaimed in the Ramayana? Is there anyone standing for the gospel of Dharma as upheld by Sri Rama? Of what use is it endlessly to listen to discourses without putting anything into practice? The Gita is being read and expounded all the time. Is a single precept from it being put into practice? Not at all. The Gita shows the path to God realisation. But simply reciting the Gita is valueless. Follow the Gita and tread the path indicated by it. Only then you will reap the reward. – Divine Discourse, Oct 09, 1994.

Maternal love is akin to that of the Creator who projects and protects this infinite cosmos in countless ways. There are several notable examples in daily life of the divine quality which motherhood represents. The cow converts its own blood into nourishing milk for man to sustain his body. The cow is the first example of the Divine as Mother. Like the Divine, the Earth bears man in her bosom and takes care of him in many ways. Hence the Earth also is the embodiment of the Mother. In the human body, the Divine flows through all the limbs as rasa (essence) and sustains them. This Divine principle is called Rasaswaroopini (Embodiment of Divine Essence). These Divine principles that permeate and sustain the physical body should also be worshipped as mother goddesses. Then there are the great sages who investigated matters relating to good and evil, right and wrong, what elevates man or degrades him, and as a result of their labours and penances, gave kind the great scriptures, indicating the spiritual and mundane paths and how humanity can redeem its existence. These sages have also to be revered as Divine Mothers. – Divine Discourse, Oct 14, 1988.

Fill your heart with sweetness. Do not avoid those who need your help, on the contrary always wait for an opportunity to serve. This spirit of sacrifice (tyaga bhava) can alone confer on you true happiness (bhoga). Today we are celebrating the sacred festival of Vijayadasami. People perform various rituals during the nine days of the Navaratri festival. We should hope and pray that every day of our life should be as sacred as these nine days. Let us all move together, let us all grow together, let us all stay united and share our knowledge, let us live together with friendship and without disharmony. Live in unity, make proper use of your intelligence, and give happiness to your parents. When you lead your lives in this manner, every day will be a day of festivity and celebration. The whole world will rejoice. I wish that you put into practice all that you have learnt during these nine days. – Divine Discourse, Oct 23, 2004.

The significance of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati must be rightly understood. These three represent three kinds of potencies in man. Ichcha Shakti (Will power), Kriya Shakti (power of action), and Jnana Shakti (power of discrimination). Saraswati is manifest in man as the power of Vak (speech). Durga is present in the form of dynamism, the power of action. Lakshmi is manifest in the form of Will power. The body indicates Kriya Shakti. The mind is the repository of Ichchaa Shakti. The Atma is Jnana Shakti. Kriya Shakti comes from the body, which is material. The power that activates the body that is inert and makes it vibrant is Ichchaa Shakti. The power that induces the vibrations of Ichchaa Shakti is Jnana Shakti, which causes radiation (of energy). These three potencies are represented by the mantra: “Om Bhur-Bhuvah-Suvah.” Bhur represents Bhuloka (Earth). Bhuvah represents the Life force (also known as Conscience in man), Suvah represents the power of radiation. All these three are present in you. Thus, Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati dwell in your human heart! – Divine Discourse, Oct 09, 1994.

The life of a man who cannot respect and love his own mother is utterly useless. Recognising one’s mother as the very embodiment of all divine forces, one must show reverence to her and treat her with love. This is the true message that the Navaratri, the nine-night festival gives us. The supreme Shakti manifests herself in the form of Durga, Lakshmi and Saraswati. Durga grants us energy – physical, mental and spiritual. Lakshmi bestows on us wealth of many kinds – not just money but intellectual wealth, the wealth of character and others. Even health is a kind of wealth. She grants untold riches to us. And Saraswati bestows on us intelligence, the capacity for intellectual enquiry and the power of discrimination. The Navaratri festival is celebrated to proclaim to the world the power of the goddesses. One’s own mother is the combination of all these Divine Beings. She provides us energy, wealth and intelligence. She constantly desires our advancement in life. So she represents all the three goddesses that we worship during the Navaratri festival. – Divine Discourse, Oct 14, 1988.

The words ‘yajna’ and ‘yaga’ are both translated as sacrifice; that is their primary purpose! You sacrifice riches, comfort, and power (all that promotes ego) and merge in the Infinite. That is the attainment and the end. Yajnas are useful because they support the ideal of sacrifice, and condemn acquisition. They emphasise discipline, rather than distraction. They insist on the concentration of the mind, tongue and hands on Godhead. Cynics count the bags of grain, kilograms of ghee, and hundredweights of fuel, and ask for more bags and kilograms and hundredweights of contentment and happiness in return! The effects of yajna on the character and consciousness cannot be measured or weighed in metres or grams. It is something immeasurable, though actual and experienceable. Moreover, cynics do not calculate the ghee, grain, and fuel they themselves have consumed, with no compensating joy! The grain and ghee offered in the sacred fire to the accompaniment of Vedic formulae give returns, thousandfold; they will cleanse and strengthen the atmosphere all over the world! Otherwise, the Avatar will not encourage or revive these Yajnas! – Divine Discourse, Oct 07, 1970.

Resolve this day to cleanse the mind of impurities so that you can imbibe the inspiration! Aspirants for mental peace must reduce the luggage they have to care for; the more the luggage, the greater the bother. Objective possessions and subjective desires, both are handicaps in the race for realisation. A house cluttered with lumber will be dark and dusty, and without free movement of fresh air, it will be stuffy and suffocating. The human body too is a house; do not allow it to be cluttered with curios, trinkets, trash, and superfluous furnishings. Let the breeze of holiness blow as it wills through it; let not the darkness of blind ignorance desecrate it. Life is a bridge over the sea of change; pass over it, but do not build a house on it. Hoist the Prasanthi Flag, on the temple, that is your heart. Follow the prescription it teaches – subdue the six enemies that undermine natural bliss in man, ascend the Yoga stage when agitations are stilled and allow the splendour of the Divinity within to shine forth, embracing all, at all times! – Divine Discourse, Oct 12, 1969.

Do not think that the Yajna is only the ceremony performed in this enclosure, marked out as specially holy, attended by readings and recitals from sacred texts and the chanting of Vedic hymns, and nothing other than this. No. Yajna is a continuous process; everyone who lives in the constant presence of God, and does all acts as dedicated to God is engaged in Yajna. Three processes go together in spiritual discipline, as laid down by the sages: Yajna, Dana and Tapas (Sacrifice, Charity and Self-control). They cannot be partitioned and particularised thus. Charity and self-control are integral parts of Yajna. That is why Yajna is translated as sacrifice, for, the process of charity or Dana is essential in Yajna. So is Tapas, that is to say, strict regulation of emotions and thought processes, to ensure peace and faith. – Divine Discourse, Oct 11, 1972.

You must perform another Yajna every day. Pour the egoistic desires and emotions, passions, impulses and acts into the flames of dedication and devotion. In fact, that is real Yajna, of which these are reflections and prompters, guides and prototypes. This yajna is only the concrete symbolic representation of the abstract underlying Truth. Just as a child is taught to pronounce the words – head, net, wave, garland, and so on by making it associate the sounds and the letterforms with pictures of the objects so named, through this kshara (temporary) symbol the Akshara tatwa (the Eternal Principle) is brought before the consciousness. This Puja, this Yajna, and this Homa are arranged here every Dasara in order to help you learn that other, ever-lasting, abstract Yajna, which every one of you has to do to save yourselves from fear, grief and anxiety. – Divine Discourse, Oct 11, 1972.

Everything is subject to change and decay in this world. Whether it be physical objects or individuals, all are transient and impermanent. Nothing is lasting. Only your purity is permanent. Purity is the essential nature of man. But if man leads a polluted life, he is degrading himself. Man’s purity is manifest when human relations are based on heart-to-heart and love-to-love. Love has the form of a triangle with three arms. Prema (divine love) does not seek any return. Where an individual offers love in expectation of a return, fear overtakes him. The one who loves with no expectation of any return is totally free from fear. Love knows only to give, not to receive. Such a love is free from fear. For true love, love is its own reward. Thus, love seeks no return, is free from fear and is its own reward. These are the basic features of true love. Love today is based on desire for a return benefit. It is filled with fear and anxiety. Thus love is motivated. When love is based on a desire for transient and perishable objects, life will be futile. Love must be its own reward. – Divine Discourse, Jul 12, 1988.

Mountains help man to build houses by using stone slabs quarried from them. Trees provide the timber for constructing houses and also firewood for domestic use. Among animate beings, every creature, from an ant to an elephant, is of assistance to man in one way or another. Cows provide nourishing milk to man. Bullocks are useful for ploughing the fields and helping to grow food crops. All other creatures like birds, fish, sheep and others are serving man in different ways. Seen in this light it will be clear that all things in creation are helpful to man in leading his life. Thus man is deriving innumerable debt from Nature. But what is the gratitude he is showing to Nature? What gratitude is he offering to the Divine? He is forgetting the Divine who is the provider of everything. That is the reason for his becoming a prey to various difficulties and calamities. While he is receiving countless gifts from Providence, he is offering nothing in return to Nature or God. When we are enjoined to return good for evil, how unbecoming is it to fail even to return good for good? – Divine Discourse, Jul 12, 1988.

The celebration of the Dasara festival is meant to purify actions performed by the dasendriyas (5 senses of action and 5 senses of perception). Every human being in this world must perform some kind of karma (action). The presiding deity or the driving force behind these actions is Devi (also called Durga), who is the personification of energy. She is the bestower of all kinds of energy to perform various karma by the human beings. Goddess Lakshmi bestows various kinds of wealth like money, food grains, gold, different kinds of objects, vehicles for movement, etc., to human beings so that they lead a happy life in this world. The third facet of the divine female principle is Saraswati, the goddess of learning and intellect. Thus, the Trinity of Durga (goddess of energy), Lakshmi (goddess of wealth) and Saraswati (goddess of learning and intellect) are worshipped during this festival of Dasara. This is the principle of worshipping the Trinity of Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswathi during this 9-day (Navaratri) festival. It is essential that people worship all these three facets of the divine Principle. – Divine Discourse, Oct 09, 2008.

A person may have outstanding physical beauty, may have the sparkle of robust youth, may boast of a high noble lineage, and maybe a famed scholar. But if the person lacks the virtues that spiritual discipline can ensure, the person is to be reckoned only as a beautiful flower with no fragrance. When quite young, Mohandas Karamachand Gandhi witnessed along with his mother a drama on Sravana and his devotion to his parents, and he resolved that he must also become Sravana. He witnessed a play on Harischandra, and it impressed him so deeply that he resolved to become as heroically devoted to virtue as Harischandra himself. These transformed him so much that he became a great soul (mahatma). Gandhi had a teacher who taught him the wrong paths. But Gandhi did not adopt his advice. As a consequence, he was able to bring freedom to the country. In this land of Bharat, there are thousands and thousands of prospective great souls. The examples we have to hold before them are the men and women who have learned and practised spiritual education (Atma-vidya). – Ch 7, Vidya Vahini

By their penance, meditation and intuition, ancient sages recognised two things: One is Akshara (the alphabet) and the other is Sankhya (numbers). In the alphabet, the primal letter is ‘Om’. All other letters have emerged from the Pranava (Om). ‘Om’ is the first letter among all letters. It comprehends within itself all other letters of the alphabet. During bhajans, when the harmonium is played, the bellows are pressed and the reeds are manipulated, we have the musical notes, ‘Sa, ri, ga, ma, pa, da, ni’. What is the source of these seven notes? It is the same air that produces the notes. That air is filled with Omkara. And it is that ‘Om’ which produces the separate notes. Likewise, among numbers, we start with one and go to nine, ten, etc.. In all the numbers, ‘one’ is the primary number. All the other numbers are multiple variations of one. If you take away one from nine you have eight. If you add one to eight, it becomes nine. What comes and goes is one alone. What remains is also one. From this, the sages inferred that the beginning and the end are One, which is the Divine. They declared that this One is the beejam (seed) of the cosmos. – Divine Discourse, Jul 12, 1988.

Always try to put yourselves in the position of the other and judge your actions against that background. Then you will not be wrong. Be pure in word and deed, and keep impure thoughts away. I am in every one of you and so, I become aware of your slightest wave of thought. When the clothes become dirty, you have to give them for wash. When your mind is soiled, you must be born again, for the cleansing operations. The dhobi beats the cloth on the hard stone and draws over it the hot iron to straighten the folds. So too, you will have to pass through a train of travail to become fit to approach God. See Me as the resident in everyone; give them all the help you can, all the service they need; do not withhold the sweet word, the supporting hand, the assuring smile, the comforting company, and the consoling conversation. – Divine Discourse, Oct 11, 1969

There are four goals in life – dharma (righteous living), artha (material well-being), kama (achievement of desires), and moksha (ultimate liberation). These four can be grouped in pairs. While artha and kama thrive in modern times, dharma and moksha have almost disappeared. Modern man craves for wealth and sensual pleasures and neglects righteousness and salvation. Since dharma and moksha are like the feet and the head of a body, man today seems to be existing without these two essential organs. These four values of life should instead be grouped as dharma-artha and kama-moksha. In other words, wealth should be acquired for the sake of righteous living, and man should aspire only for liberation. Only such a judicious combination of these four goals shall enable man to find fulfilment in life. – Ch 27, Summer Showers 1979

People ask, “Where is God?” The answer is provided by Nature. Who is it that has created the five elements, the five life breaths, the five sheaths, the five external sense organs and the five internal sense organs, which are all ceaselessly carrying on their functions according to their prescribed roles? The seasons in their regular cycle are teaching a good lesson to man. Therefore Nature is the demonstrable proof of the existence of God. Nature is not under any obligation to any man, it takes no orders from any man, and it operates according to the will of the Divine. The artificial instruments produced by man function for a time and then become useless. Scientists today have launched many satellites in space. Sooner or later they cease to function and drop away. No one knows how, when and in what circumstances the planets in Nature were created but they have been going around in space ceaselessly and unfailingly for billions of years. These planets have been created for the welfare of mankind and not for destructive purposes. God is the creator of the world for man’s good. – Divine Discourse, Jul 12, 1988

Man is distinguished from other animals and creatures by his capacity to judge what is permanent and what is transient, and his ability to recognise the past, the present and the future.  Man alone has the capacity to comprehend this threefold nature of time. Man can ruminate over the past and speculate about the future. He can experience the present. However, man should not worry about what is past. The present is the product of the past. What has happened is beyond recall. It is futile to worry about the future because it is uncertain. Concern yourself only with the present. By ‘present’ we may be thinking only of this moment. But this is not the present as Divinity sees it. For the Divine, ‘present’ is what is ‘omnipresent.’ This means that both the past and the future are present in what is, because it is the result of the past, and the seed of the future. Because man has no firm faith in the omnipresence of the Divine, he worries himself about the past, the present and the future. For the Divine, these three categories of time do not exist. – Divine Discourse, Sep 03, 1988.

Like the string for the garland, Brahman is the string that penetrates and holds together the garland of souls. Like the foundation for the building, Brahman is the foundation for the structure of creation. Note this. The string and foundation are not visible; only flowers and building are evident. That does not mean that the string and foundation are non-existent! In fact, they support the flowers and the building. Well, you can know of their existence and their value by little effort or reasoning. If you do not take that trouble, they escape your notice! Reason, examine, and you will discover that it is the string that holds the flowers together and there is a foundation hidden in the earth! Do not be misled by the thing being contained (adheya) into denying the holder, the container, the basis, the support (adhara). If you deny it, you miss the truth and hold on to a delusion. Reason and discriminate; then believe and experience! For the seen, there is an unseen basis; to grasp the unseen, the best means is inquiry and the best proof is experience. – Ch 12, Gita Vahini

From a stone to a diamond, from an ant to an elephant, from an ordinary man to a sage, everything and every being in Bharat was regarded as a manifestation of the Divine. Every object was considered worthy of worship. That was why they sanctified a stone image and worshipped it. Bharat is the land in which the tender Tulasi plant and the giant banyan tree were worshipped with equal devotion. Cows, horses, elephants and other animals were treated as sacred objects of worship. Even ants were considered worthy of care and protection and rice flour or sugar was offered to them every day. Crows and eagles, dogs and monkeys were deemed worthy of worship. Not realising the deeper truth underlying this attitude to various objects in creation, ignoramuses choose to regard this worship as a silly superstition. This is wholly wrong. Bharat considered that the expression of Divine love should not be confined to human beings but should be extended to all beings. This is the great ideal that Bharath has held out to the world. – Divine Discourse, Sep 03, 1988.

We walk in the thick dusk of evening when things are seen but dimly; a rope lies haphazardly on the path! Each one who sees it, has their own idea of what it is, although it is really just a rope! One steps across it, taking it to be a garland. Another takes it to be a mark made by running water and treads on it! A third person imagines it to be a vine, a creeper plucked off a tree and fallen on the path. Some are scared that it is a snake, right? Similarly, the one highest Brahman, without any change or transformation affecting It, being all the time It and It only, manifests as the world of many names and forms. The cause of all this is the dusk of delusion (maya). The rope might appear as many things — it might provoke various feelings and reactions in people; it has become the basis for variety. But it never changes into many; it is ever one! The rope is ever the rope! It doesn’t become a garland or a streak of water or a creeper or a snake. Brahman might be misinterpreted in a variety of ways, but it is ever Brahman only. – Ch 12, Gita Vahini

Man is born in this world but does not realise the purpose of his birth. Forgetting this purpose, he regards himself as the master of Nature and in his insane conceit forgets his own divinity. He is unable to recognise that it is Nature that provides or takes away, that blesses or punishes, that Nature’s sway is extensive. Nature presides over every aspect of life. In his deep involvement with mundane concerns man tends to forget his divinity and what he owes to Nature. All things in creation are equal in the eyes of God. God is immanent in all of them. Hence God and Nature should not be regarded as distinct entities. They are inseparably interrelated like the object and its image. Man, however, looking at Nature externally, considers it as purely physical and intended to provide the amenities he seeks. Nature is the best teacher for man. Every object, every individual, is offering lessons of various kinds to man every moment. This truth was recognised by Bharatiyas from the earliest times. This is the primary characteristic of the sacred Bharatiya culture. – Divine Discourse, Sep 03, 1988.

Wherever you may be, render service with all your heart. Consider that in rendering service, you are serving yourselves and not others. That will confer on you self-satisfaction (Atma-trupti). You must examine whether in doing service, you are deriving self-satisfaction or are you are trying to show off. If there is ostentation in service, no real joy can be experienced from it. The ego will not go. And without the elimination of the ego, you cannot experience spiritual bliss. Embodiments of Divine Atma! The world situation today is dreadful and frightening. Wherever you turn, fear confronts you. Whether you remain at home or go out into the street, whether you travel by train or walk on the road, fear haunts you. The world is enveloped in fear. To banish this fear, you must develop firm faith in God as the sole refuge. Shedding all fear, carry on your work with courage and determination, and without any worry, plunge into service activities! – Divine Discourse, Nov 19, 1990.

The human body is made up of karma (action). Consequently, scriptures described the man as karmaja, born as a result of action. All actions performed by man with his limbs and organs are rendered possible by the Divine. Hence man should regard all actions as sacred. But whatever man does is motivated by ego, self-interest, and desire for the fruits thereof. To enjoy the fruits of actions done with the expectation of reward, man is reborn! Gita says: Karmanu-bandhini Manushya-loke (Karma is the bond in this world of human beings). Man is bound by karma. When actions are performed as offerings to the Divine, they get sanctified. All actions that are natural to man should be converted by the spiritual aspirant into Karma Yoga. The distinction between karma and Karma Yoga should be clearly understood. Actions performed selfishly with egoism and desire for reward are karma that bind. Actions done unselfishly, without ego and any expectation of reward, become Karma Yoga. – Divine Discourse, Nov 19, 1990.

Many pandits claim to be exponents of the Vedas and Shastras, but it is not what they teach that tells, but how they live. Many sing the glory of the Lord, but, few live in His constant presence and in the constant awareness of that Glory that fills the Universe. ‘Udupi Krishna!’ they sing; but, they don’t make their hearts Udupi (a holy place), so that Krishna may come and be installed therein. I ask you to fix your mind on any name of the Lord that brings to your consciousness the glory and grace of the Lord. Also, train your hands to do acts that serve the Lord shining in every being. All men are He; He shaves as the barber, He makes pots as the potter; He starches and irons clothes as the washerman. He prompts, He inspires, He devises, He fulfils. You take a sheet of paper on which My form is printed as Myself; you revere It; you fall to the ground before It in reverence; why cannot you then revere all human beings, believing that I am in each of them, in an even clearer form? – Divine Discourse, Apr 26, 1965.

You must learn eeta (swimming) to escape from the swollen river; Gita or the Lord’s teaching you must learn to escape from the swirling torrent of birth-death. The Guru points out the guri (goal) to you; he reveals the Reality of the Self (Atma-tatwam). A man struggling in a bog cannot be saved by another who is also caught in its slime. Only one standing on firm ground can pull him out. So, Guru must have a secure footing, above and beyond the slush of worldliness (samsara). The sages struggled with themselves and elevated themselves into purer regions of thought, to discover their own truth. They felt the thrill of that discovery and sang of the freedom they gained. These songs serve as signposts and all who derive benefit therefrom must acknowledge the debt. How to repay the rishi-rna, debt we owe to sages? By study, by reflection on what they have sung of their liberation, by practising the sadhana they adopted, by proving them right out of your own experience! – Divine Discourse, Apr 26, 1965.

Light alone has the power to dispel darkness. Light has yet another power. Light (or the flame) always moves upwards. Even if you keep a lamp in a pit, the light will only spread upwards. The two important characteristics of light are to dispel darkness and go upwards. However, if the light has to shine without intermission as Akhanda Jyoti it needs a proper basis. First, the light needs a container. There must be a wick to light the flame. There must be oil in the wick and in the container. These three are not enough to make the light burn. A matchstick is needed to light the lamp. Can you make a light burn merely with a container, a wick and oil? Can you make jewels if you have only gold and gems? Can you have a garland with a needle, thread and flowers alone? You need someone to make the garland out of them. You need a goldsmith to make jewels from gold and gems. Similarly, there is need for someone to light the lamp, even when you have the other four materials. That someone is God. – Divine Discourse, Oct 20, 1990.

Socrates used to gather young men around him and expound to them how to enquire into what is transient and what is permanent. He told them that only those who have devotion and dedication are entitled to wield power. A ruler should adhere to truth and show his gratitude to God. Puffed up with ego, he should not forget the Almighty. Those who did not relish Socrates’s teachings brought charges against him. When he was sentenced to death, he chose to die by drinking the cup of hemlock from the hands of his disciples. Before his death, he told his disciples that none should die leaving an undischarged debt. He told a disciple that he owed a cock to a friend and asked to discharge that obligation. Prophet Mohammed told his disciples before his passing that money he owed to a camel driver should be paid before his end came. The discharging of one’s debts is regarded as a pious obligation. Harischandra sacrificed everything for the sake of honouring his plighted word. All religions have emphasised the greatness of truth, sacrifice and unity.

The cultivation of good qualities implies getting rid of all bad qualities. Among the latter, two are particularly undesirable. They are asuya (jealousy) and dwesha (hatred). These two bad qualities are like two conspirators, one aids and abets the other in every action. Asuya is like the pest which attacks the root of a tree. Dwesha is like the insect which attacks the branches, leaves and flowers. When the two combine, the tree, which may look beautiful and flourishing, is utterly destroyed. Similarly, asuya attacks a person from inside and is not visible. Dwesha exhibits itself in open forms. There is hardly anyone who is free from the vice of jealousy. Jealousy may arise even over very trivial matters, and out of jealousy hatred arises. To get rid of hatred one must constantly practise love. Where there is love, there will be no room for jealousy and hatred, and where there is no jealousy and hatred, there is ananda (real joy). – Divine Discourse, Sep 06, 1984.

Bali had understood the glory and majesty of God. He told his Guru, “The Hand that grants boons to countless devotees, that Hand is stretched to receive what I offer in answer to the Lord’s desire. That Hand has all the worlds in its grasp. And, what does the Lord wish to get from me? He is asking only for that which He has given me! He has come to me in this Form to ask from me all that I have because the same is what He has given me.” Bali had convinced himself that the Lord gives and the Lord takes, that he is but an instrument, and that his destiny is to merge in the Lord. So, on this festival day, when we celebrate his dedication and renunciation, we must strengthen our faith that God’s will must prevail and is prevailing over all human effort. And, we must realise that tyaga (sacrifice) is the highest Sadhana. Be like Prahlada and Bali. Do not be Hiranyakashipus, for these are blinded by egoism. Pray to God; let prayer be your breath. Do not conflict with God and be cursed. Take this as the message on this Onam Day. – Divine Discourse, Sep 01, 1982.

It is generally believed that God incarnated as Vamana in order to uproot the ego of Bali. This is not the truth. The incarnation had as its purpose the conferment of the boon of liberation. For, Bali had no inkling of ego in him. When Vamana asked for ‘three feet of ground’ from him, his Guru tried his best to prevent him from giving it to Vamana. “My dear fellow! This is no ordinary mendicant. He is God Narayana Himself. If you agree to give Him what He asks for, you are certain to be mined!” But, Emperor Bali replied, “Whoever it be, he has asked and giving what is asked is my duty. It is my great good fortune that God Narayana has come, with hands extended to receive a gift from me. I shall not listen to your teachings now. The hand that gives is on top of the hand that receives. This is indeed unique luck,” he said. The three steps are the physical (Adhibhautika), the mental (Adhidaivika) and the spiritual (Adyathmika). The first two steps covered earth and sky and for the third, Emperor Bali’s heart was the most appropriate gift! Since the heart was offered to God Narayana, his body sank into patala (the Nether Regions). The first two steps mean the identification with the body and the mind was eliminated. Bali had achieved the stage of total surrender. His heart, mind and intelligence were the Lord’s. – Divine Discourse, Sep 01, 1982.

Among the Pandavas, there were some who were superior to Arjuna in some respect. Dharmaraja, the eldest brother, was more serene. Why then was the sacred Gita not taught to him? In terms of physical prowess, Bhima was a much stronger person. Why was it not directed to Bhima? Why was it taught to Arjuna? Dharmaraja was the embodiment of Dharma, no doubt. But, he did not have the foresight to visualise the ravages of war. He did not consider the consequences of his action. He became wise only after the event. Bhima had enormous physical strength and valour, but he did not have enough intelligence. But, Arjuna had foresight. He told Krishna, “I would rather be dead than fight against these people, because, if I should win, it would be at the cost of putting them to death and causing much suffering.” In contrast to this, Dharmaraja waged the war and when he lost his kith and kin, he sat down in gloom regretting all that had happened! When one acts without foresight, one has to repent for the consequences of the indiscriminate action. – Divine Discourse, Sep 05, 1984.

You may be worried because you have promised Me something and later, you are tempted to break your word. Now, do not hesitate. When you promise that you will not smoke, or will not attend films, the promise must be clear, firm and complete. I do not gain by your promise nor do I lose, if you break it. You gain self-confidence, you gain strength, you gain moral fibre, you gain Ananda. Yes; your Ananda is My Food. So, I gain, too! The snows on the mountain peaks soften during the day as a result of the Sun; they harden during the night since the Sun is absent. So too, your hard heart hardens Me; your soft hearts soften Me. Understand this: Each of you knows the love of a single mother only. But My affection, My love towards every one of you is that of a thousand mothers! Do not deny yourself of that affection, that love, by denying Me your Love! – Divine Discourse, Oct 04, 1970.

Life is a campaign against foes, a battle with obstacles, temptations, hardships, and hesitations. These foes are within man and so the battle must be incessant and perpetual. Like the virus that thrives in the bloodstream, vices of lust, greed, hate, malice, pride and envy sap the energy and faith of man and reduce him to untimely fall. Ravana had scholarship, strength, wealth, power, authority, and grace of God. But the virus of lust and pride which lodged in his mind brought about his destruction despite all his attainments! He could not dwell in peace and joy for a moment after the virus started work. Virtue is strength, vice is weakness. Man differs from man in this struggle against inner foes. Each gets the result that his Sadhana deserves, that his acts in this and previous births deserve! Life is not a mathematical formula, where 2 + 2 always equals 4. To some, it may be 3, to some, 5. It depends on how each values the 2. Moreover, in the spiritual path, each one must move forward from where one already is according to one’s own pace, and the light of the lamp which each one holds in one’s hand. – Divine Discourse, Mar 16, 1966.

Our body itself may be called a Dharmakshetra. For, when a child is born, it is pure and without blemish. It is not a victim yet of any of the six ‘enemies of man’ – anger, greed, lust, egotism, pride and jealousy. It is always happy. It cries only when hungry. Whoever fondles, king or commoner, saint or thief, the child is happy. The child’s body is not affected by any of the three gunas (innate qualities) and is a Dharmakshetra. As the body grows, it begins collecting qualities such as jealousy, hatred and attachment. When these evil tendencies develop the body becomes a ‘Kurukshetra’. The battle between the Pandavas and the Kauravas did not last more than 18 days, but the war between good and bad qualities in us is waged all through life. Rajo guna and tamo guna (qualities of passion and inertia) are associated with the ego and the sense of ‘mine’. The word ‘Pandava’ itself stands for purity and satwik nature. ‘Pandu’ means whiteness and purity. The children of Pandu, the five Pandavas, were pure. The war between the Pandavas and the Kauravas signifies the inner war in each of us – the war of Satwa guna against the other two gunas, rajas and tamas. – Divine Discourse, Sep 05, 1984.

Awareness of one’s identity, of being the Atma, is the sign of wisdom, the lighting of the lamp which scatters darkness. That Atma is the embodiment of Bliss, of Peace, of Love but, without knowing that all these exist in oneself, man seeks them from outside of himself and exhausts himself in that disappointing pursuit. Birds that fly far from the masts of a ship must return to those very masts, for they have no other place to fold their tired wings and stay! Devoid of this wisdom (jnana), all efforts to seek spiritual bliss and peace are futile. You may have rice, lentils, salt, vegetables and tamarind; but without a fire to cook them soft and palatable, they are as good as non-existent! So too, japam, dhyanam, puja, and pilgrimage are all ineffective, if the knowledge of one’s basic reality and identity is not there to warm up the process. The Atma is the source and spring of all joy and peace; this must be cognised and dwelt upon. Without this cognition, human life is an opportunity that is lost! – Divine Discourse, Mar 16, 1966.

You may install idols and worship them. But do not forget the inner significance of all worship. All external activities are necessary only to help you get into the spirit of non-duality and experience unity in diversity. Love and sacrifice are very important. Where there is pure, unsullied, selfless, sacred and sublime love there is no fear at all. Giving and not getting is the underlying principle of spiritual sadhana. Your heart is full of love, but you are using it only for selfish purposes instead of diverting it towards God. God is in the heart and not in the head. The heart is Prema-mayam (full of love). On these festival days, you should remember that God is one, and all religions uphold the same principle of “One God, who is omnipresent.” You should not have contempt for any religion, as each is a pathway to God. Fostering love towards your fellow beings, receive the noble love of the Divine. This is the goal of life. – Divine Discourse, Sep 09, 1994.

The Divine is Full; Creation is Full; even when Creation happened and the Cosmos appeared to be produced from the Divine, there was no diminution in the Fullness of the Full. You go to the bazaar to purchase a kilogram of jaggery. The keeper of the shop brings from his store a big lump, and he slices off a portion, weighing about a kilogram; he then weighs it and gives us in return for the price amount, one kilogram of jaggery. We sample a piece from the big lump and we expect the portion to behave as sweetly as the original lump. We go home and take a little to prepare the sweet drink called panakam. The panakam is sweet; the kilogram of jaggery and the mother lump – all are equally sweet. Fullness is the quality of the Divine; it is found in part or portion or in half or whole. Quantity is not the criterion; quality is. In the visible world that has been taken from the substance of the Divine, this quality is found equally full. We shall not consider the world as anything less than God. – Divine Discourse, Jul 23, 1975

Teachers! Teach your young pupils the ideals of Bharat’s great sages, heroes and heroines, who upheld the highest virtues and set an example to the world. They should be taught to behave as ideal sons like Shravanakumar. One good son can redeem a whole family. Ekalavya exemplifies supreme devotion to the Guru. Prahlada should be held out as the supreme example of total faith in God. Teachers should instil such devotion to God in the young. In the name of secularism, governments should not interfere with the practice of their respective religions by the citizens. No one should criticize the creed of others. The Divinity that is adored by all religions is one and the same, though different names may be used. In the name of religion, violent conflicts should not be encouraged. Children should be taught to respect all religions. Teachers should also make children realise the true purpose of education. Education should be a preparation for righteous living and not for earning money. Good qualities are more valuable than money. – Divine Discourse, Jul 22, 1994.

Embodiments of the Divine Atma! From ancient times, the questions, “Where is God?” and “How does He appear?” have been agitating the minds of people. The answers have been sought by different ways of investigation. The believers, non-believers, those with doubts and others have not been able to get clear answers to these questions. To comprehend the truth, one should look within oneself. This cannot be learnt from textbooks or from teachers. Chaitanya (Consciousness) is there in the mind and pervades everywhere. The power of vision in the eye and of taste in the tongue is derived from this Chaitanya. People are using the sense organs but do not know the source of the power which activates them. Chaitanya cannot be comprehended by the physical vision. It is within everyone in very close proximity. People undertake external exercises and spiritual practices in vain to find it. The entire Creation is a manifestation of the Divine Will. Prakriti (Nature) is the manifestation of God. Man is also part of Prakriti and thus has the Divine power in him. – Divine Discourse, Sep 19, 1993.

You hear nowadays of equality (Samanatva), of each being equal to the rest. This is a wrong notion, for we find parents and children differently equipped; when one is happy, the other is miserable! There is no equality in hunger or joy! Of course, all are equally entitled to love and empathy, and to the grace of God. All are entitled to medicines in the hospital, but what is given to one should not be given to another! There can be no equality in doling out medicines! Each deserves the medicine that will cure him of his illness. I know that this struggle in the name of equality is only one of the ways in which man is trying to get Ananda! In almost all parts of the world, man is today pursuing many such shortcuts and wrong paths to achieve Ananda. But let Me tell you, without reforming conduct, daily behaviour, the little acts of daily life, Ananda will be beyond reach. I consider pravartna (conduct), as the most essential! – Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1964.

The Nirakara (Formless) comes in Narakara (human form) when the virtue of the good and vice of the wicked reach a certain stage. Prahlada’s devotion and his father’s disregard, both had to ripen before Narasimha Avatar could take place. To know the truth of the  Avatar, the Sadhaka must culture the mind, as a farmer does the field. He must clear the field of thorny undergrowth, wild creepers and tenuous roots. He must plough the land, water it and sow seeds well. He must guard the seedlings and tender plants from insect pests as well as from the depredations of goats and cattle; he must put up a fence all around. So too, egoism, pride and greed must be removed from the heart; Sathya, Japa, Dhyana (truth, repetition of the Lord’s name and meditation), form ploughing and levelling; Love is the water that must soak into the field and make it soft and rich; the Name is the seed and Bhakti is the sprout; Kama and Krodha (desire and anger) are the cattle and the fence is discipline; Ananda (bliss) is the harvest! – Divine Discourse, Nov 23, 1964.

The body is like a sugarcane stalk. Only when it goes through various difficulties, you can experience the sweet bliss of Self-realisation. That sweetness is Divinity itself. Where does that sweetness reside in man? It is in every limb and organ. All have faith in the power of love. But how is this love to be fostered and developed? This question may arise in the minds of many. When people ask, “How can we develop our love for the Lord?” the answer is: “There is only one way. When you put into practice the love in which you have faith, that love will grow.” Because you do not practise what you profess, your faith gets weakened. A plant will grow only when it is watered regularly. When you have planted the seed of love, you can make it grow only by watering it with love every day. The tree of love will grow and yield the fruits of love. Men today do not perform those acts that will promote love. When you wish to develop love for the Lord, you must continually practise loving devotion to the Lord. – Divine Discourse, Sep 02, 1991.

Human life is beset with ups and downs, joys and sorrows. These experiences are intended to serve as guideposts for man. Life would be stale if there were no trials and difficulties. It’s these difficulties which bring out human values in man. Because of how Harischandra faced all the trials in his life, his story became a glorious chapter in human annals. Prahlada stands out equally as a great devotee who stood up to all persecutions of his father. Today, people want instant salvation, without the slightest effort or sacrifice on their part. If such instant salvation is achieved, it will vanish also in a trice! Only that which is got by hard effort will yield lasting benefits. People pray to Swami to rid them of difficulties and losses. This is a wrong kind of prayer. Difficulties must be welcomed and overcome. By overcoming troubles, the Divine must be experienced. You cannot get the juice of the sugarcane without crushing it. You cannot enhance the brilliance of a diamond without cutting it and making many facets! – Divine Discourse, Sep 02, 1991.

A distant star like the Druva nakshatra (Pole Star) can be pointed to someone by reference to some nearby physical object like a tree. Likewise, the Vedas and Scriptures, while not demonstrating the Divine, have helped to indicate the path leading to the realisation of the Divine. The spectacle of a dense forest confers delight. The sight of a tall mountain excites wonder. The torrent in a river makes one rejoice. All these are evidence of the power of the Divine. The stars shine. The planets revolve. The sun blazes forth. The wind blows. All these are signs of the Divine at work. When you see the spark of a fire, you can infer the nature of fire. If you know the nature of a drop of water, you can understand the nature of Ganga. Likewise, if you understand the nature of the atom, you can understand the nature of the entire cosmos. Recognising this truth, the Upanishads declared: “The Divine is subtler than the atom and vaster than the vastest.” – Divine Discourse, Sep 04, 1996.

Love is a precious diamond that can be got only in the realm of love and nowhere else. The kingdom of Love is located in the heart, in a heart filled with love. Love can be experienced only in a mind flowing with love and in a heart filled with love. The precious diamond of Love cannot be got through meditation, rituals or sacred acts. These can give mental satisfaction. Love can be got only through love. The different paths of devotion – peace (Shanti), friendship (Sakhya), maternal love (Vatsalya), affection (Anuraga) and sweetness (Madhura) – are all based on love. The essence of all spiritual disciplines is love. The greater a man’s love for God, the greater the bliss one experiences. When love declines in man, joy also declines equally. The one who loves God sees God everywhere. Hence man’s heart must be filled with the love of God. Love will not enter the heart of one who is filled with selfishness and self-conceit. Therefore, forget your petty self and concentrate your thoughts on God. – Divine Discourse, Sep 02, 1991

Krishna explained to Yashoda the reason why He preferred butter in Gopikas’ homes, to the butter offered by her. The hearts of Gopikas were pure and filled with selfless devotion to Krishna. Their devotion was superior to the maternal affection of Yashoda, which bore a taint of selfishness. Krishna told Yashoda: “I am attracted to the hearts of those who are pure and selfless.” Krishna always eluded Gopikas after playing His mischief. But once, out of compassion for them, He wanted to provide a clue by which they could trace Him. One day they all lay in wait around their houses to catch Krishna. Krishna went into a house stealthily, broke a pot of milk and quietly hid Himself. Gopikas found that He had broken the pot, and they tried to trace Him. The milk-white steps which He left revealed to them His hide-out. Then, Krishna revealed to them the spiritual truth that, if they cling to the feet of the Lord, they will realise Him. “Follow My footsteps and you shall find Me,” Krishna told Gopikas! – Divine Discourse, Sep 04, 1996.

Thirst for Krishna, His flute, for seeing Him, hearing Him, for installing Him in the heart, in the mind, for grasping His Reality through the intellect – this thirst is the healthiest, the most conducive to peace. Devotion to Krishna is the chain by which the monkey mind can be fastened and subdued. Transmute all the desire with which the senses torment you into the thirst for Krishna and you are saved. Krishna draws the mind away from sensory desires. He pulls the mind towards him and thus they are pulled away from everything else, for everything else is inferior, less valuable! He satisfies the deepest thirst of man, for peace, joy and wisdom. When Krishna-trishna is quenched, the highest bliss is attained; there is no more need, want, defect or decline. The urge to drink inferior drinks that only feed thirst disappears once the sweetness of Krishna Nama and Krishna Bhava (name and thought of Krishna) are tasted. Sense objects are like seawater that can never allay thirst. – Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 06, Ch 24.

Dharma samsthapanarthaya sambhavami yuge yuge (I incarnate on earth from age to age to establish Dharma). This is Krishna’s declaration in Gita. Once people are filled with love, all Dharma, justice and truth will be installed in them. Without love, righteousness will be a mechanical ritual. What kind of righteousness can there be without love? What justice can there be? It will be a lifeless corpse. Love is life. Without love, no man can exist for a moment. Hence, Love is the form of the Supreme Lord. It is to preach the doctrine of love that the Krishna Avatar and other divine incarnations made their advent on earth. According to the place, time and circumstances prevailing then, different names were given to the Lord. These differences are like different delicacies made from sugar to appeal to different preferences of children. These delicacies may be in the shape of a peacock, dog or fox. But what is common to all of them is sugar! – Divine Discourse, Sep 02, 1991.

Whenever a student is asked what they are doing, they reply that they are concentrating on their studies.  But the real meaning of concentration is fixing one’s mind on a particular object. Contemplation is the next step. The final step is meditation. Thus, concentration, contemplation, and meditation are the three steps in spiritual practice. Meditation is not simply silent sitting, and closing one’s eyes. Maintaining an unwavering and steady mind is meditation. People think concentration is a great exercise, but it is the first step in spiritual practice, the others being contemplation and meditation. Concentration is like the primary school education. Contemplation is the high school education and meditation is the college level education. Only after one reaches the college level is one eligible to acquire a degree. All our ancient sages reached up to this stage and meditated upon Divinity. When one reaches the stage of meditation, there is no scope for any wavering and one’s faith in Divinity becomes steady. You have to attain that stage. You may study a number of books and pass your examination in school or college, but only one who reaches the meditation stage passes the test prescribed by God. – Divine Discourse, Feb 21, 2009

You know that first you must plough the land, feed it with water; then, sow the seed, pluck out weeds, guard crops by a fence from cattle and goats, and wait patiently for harvest time. So also, the heart must be ploughed by virtues fed with the water of divine love, before seeds of divine name are sown; later, the field must be watched and weeds have to be destroyed. It is best to prevent the cattle of unsteadiness and doubt, by putting the fence of discipline; then, the name of the Lord will flower into meditation and the rich harvest of knowledge can be reaped. Now, you are allowing the precious fertile field to lie fallow; the field of the heart is infested with thorns and weeds; it yields no joy to anyone. Cultivate the heart and garner the grain of Atma-ananda. That ananda (bliss) is your heritage; it is yours for the asking! – Divine Discourse, Mar 29, 1965

All the animate and inanimate forms that we see in this world are embodiments of peace. The physical forms of all living beings are the embodiments of beauty. Divinity, which is the embodiment of Satyam, Shivam, and Sundaram (truth, goodness and beauty), is present in all elements and in all living beings as the principle of Oneness. The same was stated by Plato, the mentor of Aristotle, hundreds of years before Christ. He said that truth, goodness, and beauty formed the basis of the world. Truth is the basis of everything. Trikalabadhyam satyam (truth remains unchanged in the three periods of time —past, present, and future). Goodness is the real Divinity. In fact, goodness is godliness. Though people are endowed with the principle of Satyam Shivam Sundaram, they are unable to realise their own truth, beauty, and goodness. Only when one realises the principles of truth, goodness, and beauty can one understand the true meaning of humanness. – Divine Discourse, Jul 15, 1996

When we practise Dharma, the Divinity in us will manifest itself spontaneously. One should not limit Dharma to mere words. Man is regarded as the very embodiment of righteousness. But he will not be worthy of this appellation if he does not lead a life of Dharma. Everyone should realise that to attain oneness with Divinity is the goal of human life. Hence it is everyone’s duty to develop faith in the Divine. With the growth of faith, if one leads a life devoted to Dharma, Satya and Neeti (Righteousness, Truth and Justice), he will be achieving the purpose of life. The man who does not follow Dharma is a burden on the earth. All the wealth he may accumulate will not accompany him when he leaves the world. It is more important to earn the grace of God than earn all the wealth in the world. Develop love of God and realise the bliss that is beyond all words. – Divine Discourse, Jan 19, 1984

What is the use of having enormous wealth if one cannot derive any comforts and conveniences from it? Even if there is plenty of water in a lake, a dog can only lick the water and not drink from it. Similar is the fate of a miser. People today are endowed with all types of knowledge, wealth, and power, but what is the use? The wicked quality of greed makes all these things useless for them. Greed is limitless today due to the influence of Kali Yuga (the age we are in). One neither utilises the wealth for oneself nor shares it with others. It does not matter if one does not share one’s wealth with others, but one cannot also see others being happy. Even animals do not have the foolishness of concealing and the wicked quality of plundering. But these defects have become rampant in man today. Without getting rid of these defects, spiritual practices like japa, dhyana, and puja (chanting, meditation, and worship) become useless. Worship without love, devotion without faith is useless. One may not have any type of knowledge, one may not listen to the teachings of the sacred texts, or one may not understand their inner meaning, it is enough if one has love and faith. – Divine Discourse, Jul 15, 1996

Dharma and Jnana (Right conduct and spiritual wisdom) are two eyes given to man to discover his uniqueness and his divinity. Dharma indicates right path which every individual, group or society should follow. Dharma destroys the one who violates it. Dharma protects the one who protects it. Scriptures have declared, “Where there is Dharma there is Victory”. There is no Dharma greater than Truth. The edifice of Dharma is erected on the foundation of Truth. Nyaya (justice) is an essential attribute of Dharma. A society or nation or an individual shines with glory only when they adhere to justice. Just as one acquires wealth by pursuit of agriculture, business or profession, one must acquire merit and divine grace by adhering to neeti (morality) and Dharma. However, Dharma alone is not enough. While Dharma leads to right action, it is necessary to acquire wisdom (Jnana). True knowledge consists in understanding the unity that underlies the cosmos. All sufferings and problems in life arise from the sense of duality. Once the feeling of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ is got rid of, the consciousness of all-pervading Divinity will be realised! – Divine Discourse, Jan 19, 1984

Society has endowed you with all types of power. You are born and brought up in society, and you lead your life in society. Should you not have gratitude for society, which has done so much for you? Unfortunately, students today lack such broad feelings. They lead a self-centred life and are concerned only about themselves and their family. If you lead such a selfish life, who will take care of the masses? All are the children of God. All are brothers and sisters. Therefore, strive for the progress of all. Work for the development of society with mutual cooperation and tolerance without giving room to any conflicts. Develop the qualities of forbearance and empathy. Unity is very essential. You should put the principle of unity into practice. Only then can it grow. Unity does not mean merely greeting each other “hello, hello”, it should be reflected in practice. You should work unitedly. There is great merit in unity. Therefore, students should develop broad feelings and broad-mindedness. Develop expansion of the hridaya (heart). – Divine Discourse, Jul 15, 1996

You have to proceed from the known to the unknown. Then the love expands in ever-widening circles, until it covers all nature, till even plucking a leaf from a tree affects you so painfully that you dare not injure it. The green vitality of the tree is a sign of the Divine Will, which sends its roots deep into the soil. The roots keep the tree safe from storms, holding it fast against the violent tug of the wind. So too, if the roots of love in man go down into the spring of the Divine in him, no storm of suffering can shake him and crash him into disbelief. As a lump of sugar sweetens every drop of water in the cup, the eye of love makes every person in the world friendly and attractive. The simple milkmaids of Gokul saw each other as Krishna; such was their overwhelming love for the Divine Incarnation. – Divine Discourse, May 24, 1967

Man still believes that Ananda can be obtained from the external world. He hoards wealth, authority, fame and learning, in order to acquire happiness. But he finds that they are fraught with fear, anxiety and pain. The millionaire is beset by the tax-gatherer, the cheat, the donation hunter, the house-breaker, and his sons and kinsmen who clamour for their share. The happiness of material origin is short-lived and has misery as its obverse. Struggle to realise the Atma, to visualise God; even failure in this struggle is nobler than success in other worldly attempts. The buffalo has horns; the elephant has tusks. But what a difference. To live in the body, with the body, for the body is the life of a worm; to live in the body, with God, for God, is the life of man. The dull, activity-hating tamasik persons cling to the ego and to kith and kin; their love is limited to these. The rajasik (active, passionate) persons seek to earn power and prestige, and love only those who will contribute to these. But the satwik (the pure, the good, the equanimity-filled), love all as embodiments of God and engage themselves in humble service. – Divine Discourse, May 24, 1967

Plunge into Divinity. What good is it to say “God” over and over again? Today many people memorise the entire Bhagavad Gita. They know every verse (sloka) but they see no end to their sorrow (soka). Why? If you practise just one verse, that is enough. There are fifty matchsticks in a matchbox. But you need only one matchstick to start a fire of any size. You don’t need all fifty. Similarly, you have five human values in you – Sathya, Dharma, Shanti, Prema and Ahimsa. Practise one of them. That is enough. Prema (Love) is the basis. Speak with Love – that is Truth (Satya). Perform actions with Love – they are righteous actions (Dharma). Think with Love and you experience peace (Shanti). Inquire with Love. That will be transformed into nonviolence (Ahimsa). There is no place for hatred where Love is present. Darkness has no place where light is present. – Summer Showers, May 20, 1995

Let us move together, grow together, and foster the knowledge that we earned together. Let us live together in harmony. Bharat always produced excellent people in abundance – intelligent, courageous, valorous, devoted, strong, and virtuous. Yet we were conquered by foreigners. Why? Because there was no unity. For this reason, Bharat endured slavery and untold injustice at the hands of invaders. Students must cultivate unity. The reputation and future prosperity of the nation are hinged on the behaviour of students. Ensure that your conduct is proper. All the future leaders of Bharat are among today’s students. “Start early, drive slowly, reach safely.” Imprint the nation’s welfare as the primary goal in your heart, starting in your student days. Students should enter society as men of action. You should win victory in selfless endeavours with self-confidence. This is what Mother India needs desperately. Today people advocate new forms of society based on various criteria. We do not need a new social order or a model society. Virtuous boys and girls alone are enough. The nation can progress only through virtuous youth. – Summer Showers, May 20, 1995

Human Values cannot be practised by studying books or listening to lectures. They have to be cultivated by individual effort. Students! True education consists in sanctifying everything you utter, as well as purifying every thought and action of yours. Humility is the bedrock. Cultivate humility as the first step. Bend the body. Mend the senses. End the mind. This is the key to immortality. Human values are not essential for students alone. Everyone has to practise human values as a mark of a true human being. When a human being declares that he is a man, it is only a half-truth. He must also declare that he is not an animal. To give up animal qualities and practise human values will make a man fully human. Today we have made prodigious progress in various fields of knowledge – in mathematics, physics, chemistry, bio-sciences and so on. But no attempt is being made even to approach the study of the spiritual. All our knowledge ends with the study of matter, plants and living creatures. Education must go beyond these to an understanding of the Divine. Only that is true education. The task of education is to develop man into an ideal and exemplary person. – Divine Discourse, Sep 24, 1987

Do you love more, do you talk less, do you serve others more earnestly? These are the signs of success in Dhyana (meditation). Your progress must be authenticated by your character and behaviour. Dhyana must transmute your attitude towards beings and things; else it is a hoax. Even a boulder will, through the action of sun and rain, heat and cold, disintegrate into mud and become food for a tree. Even the hardest heart can be softened so that the Divine can sprout therein. You come to Prasanthi Nilayam as cars come to a workshop. You must go out, with new paint, with all damaged and loose bolts and nuts replaced, with the engine cleaned and reconditioned, every part spick and span, beautiful, trouble-free, in perfect trim, ready to speed on the journey that lies ahead! Every bad habit must be replaced by a good one, no trace of vice must be allowed to persist, and your heart must be drained of all egoism. This is the fruit of this pilgrimage that you must acquire. Let this be your resolution! – Divine Discourse, Jan 13, 1969

All religions are unanimous in regarding the heart as the seat of the Divine. The Hindu scriptures have declared that the heart is the temple of God. The sacred Upanishads have referred to the heart as a cave in which the Divine dwells. It is stated in the Bible that the man with a pure heart can see God. The Muslims regard the heart as located between the two fingers of God. The Guru of the Sikhs, Nanak declared that only a man with a pure heart can be regarded as a true Sikh. In this way, the various faiths have affirmed that the heart is the abode of God. Many great souls have experienced the heart as a lotus. Although rooted in mire, growing up in muddy water, the lotus shines in purity. When the lotus opens its petals and looks up, it seems to say: “O Lord, please come and dwell in me.” Though born in mud it does not wallow in it. Surrounded by polluted water it is not polluted by it. This is the great lesson the lotus teaches man: “Though you are living in a corrupt world and are born in the sludge of an unrighteous society, you must turn your mind towards God and make your heart a shrine for God.” – Divine Discourse, Jul 14, 1984

How can you be content, living in this illusory world, gathering and relying on illusory knowledge? Realise the person beyond all illusion, who is the Creator of this illusion, who is revealed in and through this illusion. Worldly knowledge is of the temporary, the particular, the finite, the individual; how can it reveal the Eternal, the Universal, the Infinite, the Absolute? The Veda has the answer. It asks us to analyse our dream-experience. Dreams are unreal, they are illusory. But yet, for as long as we are dreaming, the experience is real and valid. Often in the dreams, as a result of the illusory experience itself, awareness is created through fear or horror or pain or excitement, such that the person dreaming wakes up and the dream is destroyed. What has caused the awakening? The dream itself helped in the destruction of the dream. So too in this ‘wakeful dream’ – in the illusory world where every wakeful experience is deemed true and valid – some experience or the roar of the Vedas in the Mahavakyas (Divine axioms, which ring through the sacred texts) wakes man into the higher awareness. – Divine Discourse, Nov 22, 1970

Give up what must be cast away, know what must be attained, and then, bliss becomes your unruffled nature! Give up the idea of the world being valid; know the reality of the Self and attain the Source, Brahman! This is the significance of the Upanishadic Prayer which you recite every day before the lessons start at the Institute: “Asato ma Sat gamaya: Lead me from the Unreal to the Real; Tamaso ma Jyotir gamaya: Lead me from darkness to light; Mrityor ma Amrutam gamaya: Lead me from death to immortality.” This prayer is asking to be led from the mundane world, constantly being built and rebuilt, resolved and dissolved, into the Divine whose Being undergoes no change! The darkness symbolises ignorance which induces identification with the body-senses-mind-reason complex. The light reveals the divine core, over which all the rest is superimposed by the fog of faulty vision. Death affects only the body-mind complex. When we are led into the light, we become aware that we are the undying Atma, and so we become immortal. – Divine Discourse, Jan 08, 1983

The tendency to compare yourself with others is very wrong. No two things or no two men are identical. Even identical twins grow in distinct ways of life. No one of the millions of leaves on trees is exactly the same as another. Botanists are aware of this feature. Billions of human beings are on the earth, but which is the press which gave each a novel imprint? This is the glory of God! Millions of boxes are manufactured by a company; all are identical; all can be locked and opened by the same set of keys. Man is created by God, each with his distinct nature, quality, potentiality and destiny. How then can anyone compare oneself with another and either exult or despair? We say he is tall and feel dejected because we are short. We are proud that we are better than others. All this is very silly when we come to think of it! – Divine Discourse, Jan 08, 1983