Sri Sathya Sai International Organization

Dasara is the festival that celebrates the victory of the forces of the good over the forces of evil. The sages who have decided on these festivals have a high purpose. They want us to imbibe the inner meaning and use each day as a step in spiritual practice (sadhana), as a reminder of each person's journey to the feet of the Lord alone. The forces of good are combating the forces of evil in every living being, and if they only rely on the great Divine Force (mahashakti) that fosters and fends the universe, they can easily win and reach their goal (enlightenment).

During the ten days of Dasara, the demons (rakshasas), in the form of wicked qualities, have been routed. Rakshasas do not mean demonic beings. The bad qualities in humans are the demons. Arrogance is a demon. Bad thoughts are demons. Ravana is depicted as the king of rakshasas. He is said to have ten heads, but he was not born with ten. Who is this Ravana, and what are his ten heads? Lust (kama), anger (krodha), delusion (moha), greed (lobha), pride (mada), envy (matsarya), the mind (manas), intellect (buddhi), will (chitta), and ego (ahamkara) -these constitute the ten heads. Ravana has these ten qualities. Each can decide whether they are a Ravana or a Rama, according to their qualities. Rama is the destroyer of bad qualities.

To acquire the grace of the Lord, people have to offer worship at the outset to Nature. On the one hand, you need human effort, and on the other, you have to acquire the grace of the divine. Nature and the Omni-Self (Paramatma) are like the negative and positive poles of electricity.

All the festivals of Indians (Bharatiyas) have been designed to promote divine love among the people. It is to confer such love on the people that the Lord incarnates on earth. God demonstrates how love should be expressed. God showers love and teaches everyone how to love. Hence, experience this love and joy in your life and live in peace.

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 you to get rid of nine types of darkness that have taken hold of you.

True devotion means perpetual remembrance of the name of the Lord and constant meditation on that name, cherishing the figure of Rama in the heart. You should be prepared to face the difficulties of life with firm faith in God. It is during times of difficulties that God is remembered. To confront difficulties with faith is itself a spiritual discipline.

Pure vision leads to pure thoughts. Pure thoughts result in pure actions. Purity in action is essential for human existence. Purity in thoughts and purity in speech must lead to purity in deeds. This is the triple purity hailed by the sages. When this purity is manifest, human life gets redeemed. The principle of “Help Ever, Hurt Never” becomes the governing principle of daily life.

Parents, friends, relatives, house, and wealth are all temporary. Be aware of this truth. Worldly relationships are passing clouds. They come and go, but morality comes and grows. Do your duty sincerely. Duty is God. Work is worship. Never differentiate between work and worship.

God certainly listens to the prayers of devotees. Some people hesitate to pray lest their prayers should cause inconvenience to God. They are mistaken, for God can never be put to any inconvenience whatsoever. God has no suffering at all. God considers devotees' happiness as His happiness.

The entire world is suffused with mental vibrations. In fact, the whole world is the very manifestation of mental vibrations. Hence it is necessary to direct our thoughts on noble paths. The human mind shines with resplendent purity if it cultivates noble thoughts, ideas, and feelings. It is only by developing the purity of mind that we can ensure the purity of action. Only pure deeds can yield pure results.

Everything is subject to change and decay in this world. Whether it be physical objects or individuals, all are transient and impermanent. Nothing is lasting. Only your purity is permanent. Purity is the essential nature of humankind. But if people lead a polluted life, they are degrading themselves.

You have to cleanse the senses, the instruments of action and knowledge, and remove all the blemishes of bad habits, tendencies, feelings, and thoughts. Render yourselves pure, steady, and unselfish. Only then can you deserve the chance to worship the God within.

You should develop the spirit of oneness. “I am present as the Spirit (Atma) in all beings,” says the Lord. The same Atma is present in you, Me, and everyone. The Atma has no differences of caste and religion. It is not bound by time, space, and circumstances.

Emperor Bali demonstrated through his sacrificing nature that if one sacrifices everything, one will attain liberation (moksha). The real sacrifice involves two things: First, to realize the cause of our bondage in this life, and second, to sever this bondage. People mistakenly think that things like wealth and family are their bondages, and that by severing connections with them they will be able to sacrifice everything and become eligible to attain liberation. But these are not the real bondage of human beings. Their real bondage is their ignorance in identifying themselves with their bodies. They who cut off their bondage as Bali did, will attain liberation.