Sri Sathya Sai International Organization

You do not know how to make an ornament out of gold, so you give it to a goldsmith. Why worry if he melts it, beats it, pierces it, pulls it into wire, twists it, and cuts it? Let the One, who knows the art, shape the child into an ornament of society; do not worry. You must grow day to day, not only physically but also in spiritual life. How long have you been in primary school, writing down the letters of the alphabet? Get up, demand an examination, pass, and advance to the higher class!

A little child sits with a book of the Upanishads on its lap and turns over the pages, intent on the printed lines and watching the curious types deliberately, slowly, and with great care. A monk does the same. Can you equate the two and say they are engaged in the same act? The child is unaware of the treasure it holds in its hand; the monk gets into immediate contact with the spiritual power the lines convey. Find out whether your spiritual practices have also been purposeful, sincere, wakeful, and worthwhile.

You have sung devotional songs (bhajans), extolling the names that summarize the glory throughout the night. This is only an appetizer. Bhajan must become an unbroken stream of bliss on your tongues and hearts.

Recitation of the divine attributes enables us to dwell on elevating ideals and bring ourselves closer to divinity. We become what we contemplate on. Constant thinking imprints an ideal on our hearts.

You can worship your parents and realize the Lord through that spiritual practice. They are your creators, guides, teachers, and protectors, and by idealizing them, you can grasp the truth of the Lord, the primeval parent.

Faith is the foundation for the realization of God. I have often said: Where there is confidence, there is love; where there is love, there is peace; where there is peace, there is truth; where there is truth, there is bliss; where there is bliss, there is God.

Faith is only one. There is nothing like blind faith. For faith, there can be no reason and no season. Faith and spirituality are beyond reason. It is foolish to search for the grounds of faith.

Some persons gathered around Ramakrishna Paramahamsa and asked him: "Sir! Have you seen God?" Ramakrishna had a hearty laugh. He said: "Yes! I have seen God as I am seeing you. All are forms of God. However, your vision is different. You look at all people as human beings. But all that you see is divine. Why are you failing to see the divine? You cry about your wife, your children, your wealth, and your position. Have you ever cried for God in the same way? No. When you cry for God intensely, God will appear before you." Once you renounce your bad qualities, you will experience God.

Always be happy and cheerful, for your innate nature is bliss. You need not go in search of happiness. Bliss emerges out of divine Self (Atma). Whenever you wish for it, you will get it. Happiness is a union with God. Therefore, always be in the company of God. Once you are in the company of God, happiness will follow you like a shadow.

Select any name of His, any name that appeals to you, select any form of His. Every day, when you awaken to the call of the brightening east, recite the name and meditate on the form. Have the name and the form as your companion, guide, and guardian throughout the toils of the waking hours. When you retire for the night, offer grateful homage to God in that form and with that name for being with you, by you, beside you, before you, and behind you all day long. If you stick to this discipline, you cannot falter or fail.

So long as there is anger, one cannot be free from sorrow. One will be respected by all only when the anger is given up. One with greed can never attain happiness. One can be happy and make others happy only when greed is given up.

The highest love (prema) is the attachment to God that does not allow anything to interfere with or diminish its quality or depth. God is loved by the devotee (bhaktha) for His sake, not for any incidental benefit or blessing. It is spontaneous, sustaining, and sublime, like a child before the mirror enjoying the reflections of its own pranks and gestures.

You may call Him by any name and worship Him in any form, but God is one. Never forget this principle of unity. Unfortunately, people fragment unity into diversity. Try to visualize unity in diversity. This is the true service that people are supposed to undertake.

Believe that all hearts are motivated by the one and only God, that all faiths glorify the one and only God, and that all names in all languages and all forms people can conceive denote the one and only God. He is adored best by love. Cultivate an attitude of oneness (Ekabhava) between people of all creeds, all countries, and all continents.