Sri Sathya Sai International Organization

In order to preserve and sustain the strong spiritual foundation laid by the saints and noble souls, we have to foster human values such as Truth, Righteousness, Peace, Love, and Nonviolence. If you protect these values, they will in turn protect you.

Navarathri means nine nights. Darkness is associated with night. What is this darkness? It is the darkness of ignorance. The purpose of the Navarathri celebration is to enable man to get rid of nine types of darkness which have taken hold of him.

Aspirants and devotees must ignore and forget all the thousand troubles that have gone before and be engaged only in thoughts of the Lord. Immerse yourselves in the thoughts of the Lord and derive joy therefrom. Devotion has no other reward. It is the cause, and it is also the effect; there are no two. Devotion is itself the realization.

The Upanishads declare that human life is most valuable. It is not easy to understand the divine quality immanent in man. All forms and all powers are in man. Man thinks that gold and diamond are most valuable, but actually it is man who endows value to them. “Men are more valuable than all the wealth of the world.” So, do not waste such a precious human life.

Mind is like a fan. Only when you turn the fan in your direction can you enjoy the breeze. Similarly, only when you turn your mind toward God can you experience the breeze of bliss. But if you turn your mind toward the world and say that you are not able to experience bliss, only you are to be blamed. You have to turn your mind toward God, not the body.

You must develop the faith that God is your mother, father, and everything else and that He alone is your sustainer and refuge. After all, who gave you your mother? Is it not God? Everything in this world is by God's grace only. You will lose everything if you forget God and concentrate on other thoughts. If you constantly contemplate on God, all worldly thoughts will leave you. Hence, cultivate godly thoughts with love. Sing the sweet name of Rama with your heart filled with love (Prema muditha manase kaho Rama Rama Ram). Love is God; God is Love.

Withdraw from the outer to the inner and learn to visualize the motivator, the Atma, that is the lesson which the seers and scriptures teach. To engage ourselves in the purificatory exercises, to pursue the inquiry into the reality of God, Nature and Man, and to experience the ecstatic delight of that discovery, the body is essential. It has to be kept healthy and alert and free from passion and sloth.

Detach yourselves from the craving for fame and comfort – that is to say, develop non-attachment, and you are free! Detachment alone can save you from entanglement and reveal the ultimate Truth.

Yesterday is gone; today is a fresh chance, the new opportunity is now; tomorrow, you cannot be sure of.  In fact, every minute is to be welcomed as unique and valuable, precious. Do not pine over the chunks of time you have wasted; seize the moment that has come within your grasp. 

Truth is that which remains unchanged over time. You must live up to this Truth. You must realize that the Divine is present in everything. Only when you can recognize the omnipresence of the Divine will you be able to experience the Divine.

Man is endowed with two special gifts: viveka (discrimination) and vijnana (the faculty of analysis and synthesis). Use these gifts for discovering the Truth of yourself, which is the Truth of everyone else, of everything else. 

Watch your thoughts and see that they do not go astray. Each time a thought arises in your mind, analyze it. “Is it good or bad?” If you feel it is bad, do not allow it to persist. Just let it pass. If it is a good thought, put it into practice so that you and others also will benefit.

You can see that you breathe in and breathe out. You cannot live without breathing. When you take the breath in, you experience the sound “So”, and when you breathe out, you experience the sound “hum”. In this way, one’s breathing signifies “Sohum (That I am, or God I am).”

Embodiments of divine love! Realize that you are not separate from God, who is the very embodiment of love. God can be attained only through love and not by any other means.