Sri Sathya Sai International Organization

Easwaramma was happy that I ate only simple food. She would say, “Swami , You should let the world know about Your food habits.” I said, I would certainly do so. Right from those days, I have been emphasizing on the need to have simple and Satwic food.

The heart should be pure and soft like butter. Fill your hearts with compassion. Let your speech be sweet and truthful. You will then be truly human.

Buddha could not bear the sight of anyone in pain. He was saddened at the sight of the old ill-treating the young, of men in authority harassing the people and the big fish swallowing the small ones. He realized that it was wrong for anyone to cause harm to others. Hence he declared: Non-violence is the Supreme Dharma.

It is not enough to read the lives of avatars and messiahs. their teachings should be put into practice as much as possible. People must gradually outgrow their material attachments and develop divine love.

The real meaning of the Buddhist prayer, "Buddham sharanam gachchami, Dharmam sharanam gachchami, Sangham sharanam gachchami," is: You must divert your mind towards Dharma (right action). And the right conduct should aim at serving society. When this is done, society gets purified.

Love is blissful and nectarine. The sweetness of nectar may have limits but the sweetness of divine love has none. It is beyond all measure. It is beyond description too; it can only be experienced. Buddha discovered this love, experienced it, and became one with it. God and love are not different.

A fourth requirement for man is listening to sacred words. When one listens to unsacred words, he can have only unsacred thoughts. The fifth quality prescribed by Buddha is living a pure life. What is meant by "living"? It is not leading a worldly life attached to worldly pursuits. True living means making one's life meaningful by ideal actions. Man's life must be governed by idealism in action.

The second quality that is needed along with pure vision is pure thoughts. Everyone should have pure thoughts. Only the person who has developed purity in vision can have purity in thoughts.

Bhakthi (devotion) is the nectar obtained as a result of churning the essences of many Upanishads and Scriptures. Real devotion is that which is buttressed by firm faith and is steadfast and unchanging under all circumstances. Only then does one deserve to get the fruits of real bhakthi (devotion).

However long you may live, whatever scientific knowledge you may acquire, whatever position you may occupy, some time or other you have to know the Truth about yourself. Start knowing it from now itself. You should be on the alert all the time, because you can never know when the Lord’s Grace, His Love and Benediction will be showered on you, at what time and at what place and in what circumstances.

There is no need to think about what is past or about what is in store in the future. Of what avail is it to think of the past, which is irrevocable, or to worry about the future, which is uncertain? It is a sheer waste of time. Past is past, future is future. You can do nothing about either. What is most important is the present. This is not ordinary present. It is Omnipresent. The result of the past and the result of the future are both present in the present.

For the human body, the mother, father, and preceptor are to be deemed as divine. But, for the pursuit of life, the Divine is the only God, There is another Sanskrit saying that hails God as mother, father, kinsman, friend, wealth, knowledge, and in fact the Supreme Lord of everything. This means that for the spiritual life, God is everything.

You have to offer your heart to God because He is the Indweller of heart, while father and mother are only dwellers in home. Respect your parents with the Divine in your heart. Tasting the sweetness of your mother’s love, offer your love to her and enjoy life.

Mother is not just an ordinary woman; she is verily God. Worship her and attain her grace. Once you have the blessings of your mother, you can achieve anything in this world. Never disobey or displease her.