Sri Sathya Sai International Organization

Jesus declared that there was nothing great about returning good for good. One should do good even to those who harm them.

People talk of the sacrifice of Christ as evidence by His crucifixion. Let us pay attention to the sacrifice that Jesus made while free, out of his own volition. He sacrificed his happiness, prosperity, comfort, safety and position; he braved the enmity of the powerful. He refused to yield or compromise. He renounced the 'ego', which is the toughest thing to get rid of. Honor Him for these. He willingly sacrificed the desires with which the body torments man; this is a sacrifice greater than the sacrifice of the body under duress.

The seed of Divinity has to be fostered by human effort and steady care, in order that it may blossom and fructify. Remove from your mind all traces of desire to harm others, by thought, word and deed. The reaction you will encounter by indulging in such temporarily satisfying behavior will be disastrous. Each such act is a seed planted in your own mind, a weed that will grow wild and destroy your peace and joy.

Love is God. It transcends all human relationships based on attachment. Develop divine and selfless love which is enduring and infinite. A true lover of God will experience no sorrow.

Restrain your desires. Experience the bliss of the Divine at all times. That is true humanness, which manifests itself when you think of God. Happiness is union with God. How much bliss can you experience if you see God in yourself and in everybody! Let all differences cease. Recognizing the divinity that is present in all, you should foster the principle of love and develop compassion in the heart.

Search for bliss (Ananda), the bliss that emanates from love with no blemish of attachment. Be like bees hovering on the flower of the glory of the Lord, sucking the sweet nectar of grace, silently and joyfully.

Without character, wealth, education, and social status are of no avail. Character is the fragrance of the flower, it gives value and worth. Poets, painters, artists, and scientists may be great, each in their own field, but without character, they can have no standing in society.

Do not waste even a single moment in your life. People today strive to attain materialistic gains and intellectual growth and to satisfy the senses, but nobody is making an effort to attain self-realization. How long do the sensual pleasures and bodily pleasures last? They are all momentary and fleeting. Only what is heartfelt is lasting. Therefore, make efforts for satisfying your conscience. This is possible only by associating yourself with good company.

Take a firm resolve to purify your heart. The past is past. It cannot be retrieved. When you are walking on the road, you should look at the path ahead of you. What is the point in looking behind? Likewise, there is no point in brooding over the past. The future is not certain. What is the guarantee that you will be alive until tomorrow? So, don't worry about your future. Live in the present. It is not an ordinary present. It is omnipresent, meaning the results of past as well as the future are contained in it. So, when you make proper use of the present, you can be rest assured that your future is safe and secure.

The greatest quality in every man is love. When love is absent, evil qualities like hatred and jealousy rear their heads. Make love the breath of your life.

Sow the seed of love in your hearts and it will grow in due course into a big tree. God is one. Do not entertain any differences of creed or caste. Carry the message of unity to every home. Regard Love as your life breath and as the sole purpose of your existence.

Spirituality does not mean preoccupation with meditation, worship, etc. It involves total extinction of the animal and demonic qualities in man and the manifestation of his inherent divinity. When the attachments and hatreds in which man is enveloped are removed, the inherent divinity in man, the Being-Awareness-Bliss (Sat-chit-ananda) in him will manifest Itself.

You must feel that God dwells in the heart (Hridhayavasi). You must develop compassion in the heart because without it the heart is only a stone.

First of all, strengthen your faith. Without faith all kinds of worship and all spiritual disciplines are of no use, they are a waste of time. To begin with, cultivate love. Everything grows out of love. That love will reveal to you your true self. That love will confer bliss on you.