Sri Sathya Sai International Organization

Once you take to the path of service, your problems will gradually decrease. Love all; serve all. Do not consider anybody as another person. Develop the feeling that they and you are one. The entire humanity is one. What you see in this world is only the reaction, reflection, and resound of the reality that is One. Once you understand this truth, you will be peaceful. Only then will your mind be steady and one-pointed in the pursuit of your study and profession. Therefore, first and foremost, engage yourself in the service of society.

You think you are a human being because you are endowed with a human body, but the Divine Spirit (Atma) that dwells in all manifests as your divinity. There are thousands of bulbs that have been put up for decoration. Their color and wattage may differ, but the electric current in all of them is one and the same. Like the current that makes all the bulbs shine, the Divine Spirit present in all human beings makes them see, hear, and function.

Happiness is true holiness. True bliss lies in cultivating the principle of love and leading a life of contentment. We should always be content. When there is no contentment, worries raise their head. All troubles are created by worrying.

Develop self-confidence, which will lead you to bliss. Never give room for worries and anxieties. Gain sufficient strength of the body and mind to face boldly the difficulties, losses, and sorrows that may confront you in life. This will be facilitated if you practice the four Fs taught in our education system viz., “Follow the Master (your conscience),” “Face the Devil,” “Fight till the end,” and “Finish the game.”

Deepavali is a festival designed to celebrate the suppression of the ego by the higher Self. Mankind is plunged into ignorance and has lost the power of discrimination between the permanent and the evanescent. When the light of Divine knowledge dispels the darkness of ignorance caused by ahamkara (the ego), the effulgence of the Divine is experienced.

A devotee should be ready to gladly accept everything as God’s gift. Can you get sugar by merely requesting sugar cane, instead of crushing it to extract the juice from it? Even if it is the best kind of diamond, will it shine in all its effulgence unless it is subjected to cutting and polishing? Similarly, it is only when mankind undergoes trials and tribulations, hardships, losses, and sorrows that his real worth will shine forth.

The Divine comes as Avatar to proclaim the pure, unsullied, and unselfish love of devotees toward God. People may consider that the Avatar's activities include punishment of the wicked, protection of the good, weeding out of unrighteousness and restoration of righteousness. This is how they may look at the Avatar's doings. But that is not the way the Lord sees things. There is nothing bad in God's view. Hence there should be no hatred or ill will toward any being. It is only when you love all, that you can be said to love God.

Try to be near God, as near as God’s kin. Do not calculate the number of hours you have spent in serving Him, and pine that the Lord has not compensated you. Be ever in God’s service in doing good and being good.

All that has to happen will happen. Do not worry about it. Past is past; forget the past. Future is uncertain; do not brood over it. Present is important; live in the present and be happy. Do not worry about past and future.

A person who has a compassionate heart, who is truthful, and who serves others will never be affected by any evil forces. Such a person's life will be truly sanctified.

All that has to happen will happen. Do not worry about it. Past is past; forget the past. Future is uncertain; do not brood over it. Present is important; live in the present and be happy. Do not worry about past and future.

Do not exaggerate the importance of things that have material utility; they fade even while you grasp them. Search for Being (Sat) - that which suffers no change. Search for the state of consciousness (Chit), which is unaffected by gusts of passion, which is pure, which is free from egoism or the desire to possess. Only then can you experience the light and illumine the path for others.

Develop self-confidence. When you have self-confidence, you will attain self-satisfaction which will lead you to self-sacrifice and ultimately to Self-realization. What is the meaning of Self-realization? It means to realize one’s Self. You keep asking everybody, “Who are you?” But you do not ask yourself, “Who am I?” Am I the body, am I the mind, am I the intellect, am I the consciousness, am I the senses? When you say, ‘my body’, you are different from the body. Body is like a water bubble; mind is like a mad monkey. Do not follow the body; do not follow the mind.

Listen to pure and sacred words. People misuse their ears listening to scandal and gossip. This evil tendency should be eliminated by listening to the glories of God. Such listening has been accorded a primary place among the nine paths of devotion.