Chapter 7  ·  Contents  ·  Chapter 9

8. DEVOTION, SACRIFICE AND SURRENDER

First Baba sang:

"Om sarva bhavantu sukhinah,
(Om, may all beings be happy)
Sarve santhu nirmaya,
(May all beings be free of disease and ill fortune)
Sarve badrani pashyanthu,
(May all beings see only that which is holy, beautiful,
auspicious and blessed)
Makascid dukhabhag bhavet."
(May none be unhappy; may inauspiciousness not prevail)

Embodiments of Divine Love,

Bhagavan wishes that you all should be happy, safe, secure and enjoy longevity. Although today man is practicing devotion to God, it is in vain as he is not practising  ethical and moral values. Why does man not practice ethical and moral values? The reason is the selfishness that has been in man's heart for many lifetimes. Everyone has a selfish motive in whatever he thinks or does. We love a person not for that person's sake, but for our own sake. We love the material objects too only for our selfish reasons. In this material age such peculiarities are increasing, but human values are declining. Man today is behaving like a demon criticizing and attacking everyone. He does not care to follow God's will. In every field one is entertaining narrow-mindedness. One must sacrifice one's selfish individual desires in order to attain the Divine state.

In man three transformations are necessary, that are indicated by the letters SAI. "S" stands for spiritual change; "A" stands for associational change (society); and "I" stands for individual change. With the changes in these three the country too would change. Without individual transformation society cannot change and if society doesn't change, spirituality cannot develop. When man is defective, society too becomes defective as every individual is a part of the society. So one must sacrifice, think of God and lead a Divine life rather than following a narrow pathway. Today the downfall of Bharat (India) is the result of the multiplication of individual desires. As man is wildly running after wealth and is drowned in mundane worldly affairs, he is deluded, having -forgotten Divinity altogether. As a result, his life is now a total waste. Today, human beings are without human qualities. They are human in form only, merely acting. Man has only part-time, temporary devotion, as he is not praying whole -heartedly. Man should not forget his Divine state and that God is the goal of his life. Man is full of anxiety and is degrading himself into an animal instead of upgrading himself to the Divine stature, thus man is proceeding in a reverse direction. Forgetting God and considering worldly comforts above God, man falls into illusion. Thus one finds the man, but only in appearance not in his behavior. He acts like a devotee, speaks like a devotee but selfishness is the underlying factor. Therefore, there is no peace at the individual and social levels, the characteristic of this modern age. Although science has progressed due to many scientific inventions, all of man's senses are out of control.

What is the use of science without self control? Scientists today have forgotten the cause and the basis of the universe. Every person must develop devotion and sacrifice to attain the Divine state.

In Tamil Nadu there have been many good men. Highly educated men have been in Chola King's regime and court kings are fond of horses. Once there was a Tamil king who loved horses so much that he sent his Prime Minister abroad to purchase them. During his journey the minister met a holy man named Thinikannan and was inspired by his teachings. After some time, as the Prime Minister did not return with the horses the king discovered that the money given to buy the horses had been invested to build a Shiva temple. The king had him arrested and placed in prison and questioned him as to what he had done with the money. The minister replied, " Money is the gift of God. It is out of the grace of God that every limb in one's body moves. Not even a blade of grass can move without His will. Out of the macrocosm has come this microcosm (the body). Oh king! of what use is all of one's intelligence. What is the end result of our existence? You do not understand Oh king! that by virtue of some good luck you have become a king. Out of misfortune, I have become only a minister. I should offer my all to God." It is only when the knowledge of spiritual ideals spread that the human qualities will blossom in mankind. Just as a lotus blooms/so does our heart brighten like a lotus when we think of God. It was with this feeling that I spent all the money to build a temple for God. For all things in the world, man's mind is responsible. Man will only become free, when he turns his mind more and more to God. Man must do sadhana (spiritual practices). We have valuable gems in Bharthiya culture. Follow them. .If every individual becomes transformed, only then Bharat can become the ideal for the whole world. Since then the minister began composing verses on God. Many of his verses are available under the name "Thiru Vacharam." His verses shine like gems. The name of the minister who wrote the verses is Manicka Vashakar. Everyone should be like this minister.

Today man has no love for God. He loves only his wife, children, wealth and property. Right from his birth to his death he is involved only with his family, so he is unable to accomplish anything. If people are only after wealth and not God, then they are only behaving like devils — a slave to money. Though man spends all his time in amassing unlimited wealth, he dies in restlessness. What is he going to take with him when he goes? He cannot even take a handful of dust. He should spend at least a moment thinking of God, rather than always thinking of his wealth and property. Since one does not think of God, he has forgotten his human qualities. Out of the twenty- four hours in the day, spend at least five minutes on thoughts of God. Most are not able to concentrate on the Lotus Feet of God for even one second. How can anyone earn Peace or Bliss without God? One is able to experience Divine Bliss only through thinking of God. Sacred words should come from one's heart and one should perform sacred services with his body. This is the only way to obtain purity and give value to one's body. The harmony of the trinity (tri-karana suddhi): thoughts, words and deeds, has to be practiced to obtain inner purity. Chitababu, (the speaker who spoke prior to Sai Baba's discourse) said that seva (selfless service) and Prema (Divine Love) are the two main things in life. When you ride a bicycle, two wheels are necessary to give balance. Two wings are necessary for a bird to fly. Likewise, every human being can fly from earth to heaven through the sacred tasks of seva and Prema.

Desires are burdens which pull us down. Take the example of natural cotton. It is light and weightless so it floats up into the air. When it is woven into cloth it falls down due to weight. If you separate the threads, they would float upwards due to lightness. The heart which should float up towards God gets heavy due to worldly desires which pull him down towards self-destruction. If the heart is not possessed with desires, it is able to fly up. Less luggage, more comfort makes travel a pleasure. Now man desires air-conditioning in his bedroom, dining room as well as his bathroom. There is no end to bodily comforts. Man cries when he has to spend one rupee on incense sticks, but wastes hundreds of rupees sitting in clubs playing cards for pleasure. Having been born as a human (and heir to God's infinite Peace), man has much mental agitation. In this modem age many changes have occurred. Though the latest equipment and conveniences are available, man's mind has not changed. Without correct mental transformation, man is not a true human being.

It is not the coming new year but one's past actions that are responsible for all the profits and losses that man would experience and we are suffering now due to our own bad past actions. Our good deeds bring good results. Sankara prayed to God as "Kaalatitaya." (The one who is the cause of time and who also transcends time). Do not waste time. Time is our life; time is our soul; time is God. So we should not waste time. We should use the five sense organs given by God for the purpose for which they were given. Use these organs with Divine thoughts. Do not give up your daily tasks and business (or any profession); offer all acts to God and then only Bharat would be able to change. In ancient times Bharat was the spiritual leader of the whole world and Bharathiya's had broad feelings and prayed for the welfare of the entire world, "Loka samastha sufano bhavanta" - "Let all be happy." If one has the feeling he is dedicating all services to God, India will set a good example for other countries.

In the Hindu scripture Bhagavad Geetha, Krishna said if a devotee offers a leaf, a flower, a fruit or water to God with love, God will accept u. These symbolize the following: The leaf is one's body, the flower is one's heart, the water is the tears of bliss when one contemplates God and the fruit is one's mind. One should offer these to God. Since man primarily considers his body he gets intrigued by may a. Your body is the container that has been given in order to serve God. You should fill it up with the water of Love, then you would be able to broaden your heart. The name of man manava means "not new." "Ma," means illusion, and "nava" means one who has birth and death. You have continuously laid in your mother's womb life after life. You must understand the purpose of life. Is it to go abroad to become educated and earn plenty of money to provide for the dependants? Today man does not understand the nature of sacrifice. Peace which is so valuable is within man but he is unable to enjoy it. Each moment one's heart should bloom with Divine feelings. Every moment is new, so one need not wait for the New Year to begin spiritual practice. New Year's Day is not meant only for eating a heavy elaborate meal and sweets, holding festivals and buying new clothes. Man is ancient. He should inquire, into "Who am I?," understand his nature, experience the Atma and after doing so, learn to sacrifice. The body is only for identity, and the Atma is the one to do the sacrifice. Divine Love is the most important attribute for man to cultivate the principle of oneness. But human behaviour today is worse than that of animals. Animals have a season whereas man has no season. Man is God's property; what is the use of a life that is not surrendered to God? See everyone you meet as a form of Love. Today the world is in a bad state. As his wealth expands, man is deteriorating. He should dedicate his life to God. The life you have has been given by God and not by your ancestors, like the property you inherit from them. God-given life should be used for the service of God. If one cannot do this, there is no life for him. To remedy this situation develop Love; make your heart full of Love and spread and share that Love with all. That is worship. Sai's property is Love. Bhagavan's entire life consists of Divine Love. Bhagavan only goes on giving and giving. Practice at least one of His Teachings. You say you are a devotee, but you have no right to call yourself a devotee of God unless you give at least part of your God-given love to others. One is a zero in practice, but a hero in words only. One should have unity in thought, word and action. At least for ten minutes practice silence and think of Swami's teachings. The world is like a magnet, full of atoms having magnetism but God is the biggest Magnet. We must develop the habits of a true devotee to be attracted by God, to get attracted by the magnet God. Be attracted only to God; then only you can call yourself an aspirant. The world changes, but God never changes. If you follow God you will become nearer and dearer to Him and then you will realize true happiness.

Where there is Love there is no pain. Listen to the example of this army officer. One day when his wife was ill, he cooked and carried food to her in the hospital. Usually when he returns home from work, all the housework such as cooking and cleaning has been done by his wife. But now, even though he was tired, he had all the strength and patience to serve her. Where did that strength come from to do all this work? The strength came from his love for his wife. If the love for a human being can produce so much energy, how much more should love of God produce? By nourishing the love for God man gets profuse energy to do service.

In forests there are wild animals like tigers and lions. Saints and rishis live there, but the animals do not trouble them, because these saints are full of Love. So develop the spiritual qualities of Divine Love and Equanimity. This was the type of practice in ancient times in India, but today man is full of cruelty. One must only give and take love. If you act with anger, the reaction will be anger. This knowledge is the sacred gift of the New Year. God's New Year gift to you is Love. Accept everything — love, hate, anger, etc., equally. In Tamil Nadu state on New Year's Day, they make a dish for the feast containing all tastes — sweet, sour, bitter and hot. This is symbolic that one should be able to enjoy happiness and endure sadness equally. You must realize that events do not take place as you wish, but as God wishes. If God's wish is to give you pain, you suffer; to give you pleasure, you enjoy. The entire world consists of sour, bitter and sweet, all mixed together; accept it. Both pleasure and pain should be accepted as God's gifts. Follow God's commands and you will attain Divinity. Iron gets attracted to and sticks to magnets. If you stay close to God, you will become one with God. The purpose of human life is to understand the unity of the individual and God. In your spare time think only of God. As you become nearer and dearer to God, you will feel Bliss. Bliss has no limits; it is infinite.

Swami ended His Discourse by singing "Prema Muditha Manase Kaho, Rama, Rama, Ram. "

April 13, 1996, Tamil Nadu New Year.

Chapter 9