Sri Sathya Sai International Organization

Do bhajans (devotional singing) and have the name of the Lord always on your lips. Do not waste even a single moment. By chanting the name of Rama, Hanuman became all-powerful, the embodiment of peace and the exemplar of all noble qualities.

There is no need to attempt something big. Even a small bit of service done well is enough. Bear these three things in mind: First, our service organizations should keep aloof from the government. Second, plunging into society, render service. Third, avoid finding fault or talking ill of others. This is the real sadhana (spiritual practice).

The 23rd day of November, which you now honor as the day on which I was born, is only like any other day if you celebrate it in a routine, ritual fashion. Adore others, the adoration reaches Me. Neglect others, you neglect Me. Of what avail is it to worship the Lord and to suppress others, His counterpart? Love for God must be manifested as love for mankind, and love must express itself as service. Through love alone, love acquired through spiritual practice (sadhana), and shared with all as sadhana, can peace be attained, by the individual as well as by the nation. My Life is My Message and My Message is Love.

Today what you must do is to promote good thoughts. Action proceeds from thoughts. Spiritual practice (sadhana) is based on action. Character is the outcome of sadhana. Character determines what you are destined to get (prapti). Hence what you regard as your good fortune or misfortune is based, in the final analysis, on your thoughts. As are your thoughts, so are the fruits.

Mothers in ancient days used to teach the children about right conduct, morality, and devotion. The first preceptor for a child is the mother. For this reason, Indian culture gave the first place to the mother among the four persons to be revered as divine: mother, father, guru, and guest.

Your life must be based on the principle of surrender to the divine. There are some who ask: ‘I have surrendered everything to God. Why then, am I subjected to so many trials and tribulations?’ One who has truly surrendered to God will not raise such questions. To say that ‘after I have surrendered, I am put to suffering’ itself shows that the surrender is not real, because where is the place for ‘I’ after surrendering everything? To the person who has completely surrendered, everything that he/she experiences (good or bad) is a gift from God.

You cannot avoid doing your duty whatever it may be. You must go on with it. But even while engaged in the performance of your duties, there can be nothing more rewarding than remembering and meditating on God.

Leave all to Him and be at ease, it is the one with no faith that is tossed about on the sea, like a ship caught in a storm with neither rudder nor anchor. The devotee bears the ups and downs of life, keeping their mind in balance.

Those who sing bhajans (devotional songs) get what can be called ‘double promotion,’ for they derive joy and distribute joy! Life today is filled with sorrow. It is beset with fear and despair. The only time you can forget these thoughts and strengthen yourself to meet the hard times is when you contact the source of all strength, God.

To promote the feeling of unity, we must participate in service activities. We must utilize the body for cultivating good qualities, pure thoughts, doing good actions, and experiencing sacred feelings. Our life can be sanctified and made worthy only through sacred acts.

Love must grow with every moment of spiritual practice. It must sweeten every word, deed, and thought of yours. Emerge from meditation as a person more charged with love! Emerge from bhajan (devotional singing) with a greater measure of love! Return from bhajan with a firmer conviction that everything is surcharged with the same divinity that is behind all your activity.

Selfless service (seva) is the only path to achieving true human nature. Sacrifice selfishness. Service to one’s country should be the primary objective. Continue in the path of selfless service until the goal is reached. There is no such thing as retirement or a particular age when performing selfless service ends. Life should be spent doing selfless service until one’s last breath.

Make yourselves into a garland, and I shall be the thread holding all the flowers together. Consider yourselves the children of one mother, belonging to the human family. Do not give room for differences of race, creed, and nationality. All belong to the caste of humanity, the religion of love, and the language of the heart.

God is not somewhere outside. He is the indweller in the body. Sin is the result of one's own actions. Hence, it is folly to seek God elsewhere. Human beings want to know all about the world and venture to explore outer space. But they are unable to know their own true nature. How is one to know one-Self? The Self is called conscience. The spiritual quest means using the vibrations from the conscience to understand the truth.