Sri Sathya Sai International Organization

The divine is the nearest. There is nothing in the world nearer to one than the Divine. God is very much nearer to you than your mother, and dearer to you than your father. You cannot afford to forget such a God. Bear this good counsel in mind.

The Lord pervades everything in the cosmos with His myriad feet, hands, eyes, faces and ears. But people, not recognizing the fact, imagine they are the doer and indulge in all kinds of activities, thinking that no one knows about them. The Lord sees everything. No one can conceal anything from Him. He dwells inside and outside every living thing. Hence nothing can be hidden from Him. God dwells in all beings in one and the same form.

People assign value to everything in this world, but they are unable to recognize their own value. Then how can they ever understand the value of divinity? First of all, people have to realize the value of human life. Only then will they be in a position to understand divinity. God does not reside in paradise or Kailasa. These are His temporary camping stations. The true dwelling place of God is the heart of a human being.

Uttarayana Day (winter solstice, when the sun starts northward) has an outer and an inner significance, the inner having greater value for aspirants for spiritual progress. I do not attach much value to the outer meaning: the sun taking a northward direction from today. The six months from now on being holier than the six that ended today and therefore the Uttarayana being better suited for spiritual practices. One’s life must be a perpetual spiritual practice, and any day is a good day for starting spiritual practices, whether it falls in the southward or northward movements of sun.

Do everything with as much love as if you were doing it for God Himself. In truth, you eat for the satisfaction of the 'I' in you and dress up to please the self-same 'I.' The husband loves his wife for the sake of the 'I' and the wife adores her husband for pleasing her 'I.' And who is this 'I' that is persistently inherent in everyone? It is God Himself.

Vyasa has declared that service to man is the highest form of worship. Do not offend or harm anyone; that is true adoration of God. In truth, the other is you yourself. Awareness of this Truth is liberation (moksha). Share your joy, your wealth and your knowledge with others less fortunate; that is the surest means of earning divine grace.

Everyone should regard oneself as a messenger of God and try to lead an ideal life. This means that one must give up selfishness and self-interest. This may not be easy. But with God's grace, it is possible to gradually progress toward Self-realization.

Person who masters the mind can direct their life straight and steadily on the path of truth, right action, peace and universal love. They can become children of immortality. Becoming immortal does not imply that one can avoid death and continue living in the physical body for all time. It means only that their name and fame will shine in the memories of people, when their character and achievements are noble and beneficial.

When you build a house, you install a door in front. What is the purpose of the door? To admit all whom you welcome and to keep out all whom you do not want. It has a double purpose; you do not keep the doors wide open, for all and sundry to come in as and when they like. So too, select the impulses, the motives, the incentives that enter your mind; keep out the demeaning, the debasing, the destructive. Accept the highest wisdom of the scriptures, the wisdom gained from the crucible of experience.

The year becomes new, the day becomes holy, when you sanctify it by spiritual practice (sadhana), not otherwise. Spiritual practice can grow only in a field fertilized by Love. Love or prema is the essence of devotion. The love you have towards material objects, name, fame, wife and children, etc., should be sanctified by being subsumed by the more overpowering Love of God.

It is not a question of surrendering or giving to someone else. One surrenders to himself. Recognition that the Atma is oneself is surrender. Surrender really means the realization that all is God, that there is nobody who surrenders, that there is nothing to be surrendered, nor is there anyone to accept a surrender. All is God. There is only God.

A farmer has to concentrate his efforts during certain favorable seasons, when ploughing and sowing have to be done. He cannot afford to count the cost or calculate the trouble. Rain or shine, night or day, he has to do the task, so that he can reap the harvest. So too, for you students, this is the period of life when you have to be active and alert. Your future is shaped by what you do now. Now is the very foundational stage of your life, when you prepare your mind, to meet its challenges and your intelligence, to solve its riddles.

Spiritual practices such as meditation, Japa, mantra and bhajan are like soap. Without water, soap is not of use. The water is likened to love. It is the water that is important. Without love you live in death. Love is life. All are one; be alike to everyone.

Jesus knew that God wills everything. So, even on the cross, when he suffered agony, he bore no ill-will toward anyone and he exhorted those with him to treat all as instruments of His will. "All are one; be alike to everyone." Practice this attitude in your daily lives.