1008 Pearls of Sayings
of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Index
Introduction
Pearls 1- 100
Pearls 101 - 200
Pearls 201- 300
Pearls 301- 400
Pearls 401- 500
Pearls 501 - 600
Pearls 601 - 700
Pearls 701 - 800
Pearls 801 - 900
Pearls 901 - 1008
From 601 to 700
601
I DO not care either for praise or for blame. I only pity these people
who, in order to scrape together a few paise from the poor, resort to such
filthy tricks. For all who are pained by these subhuman antics, I declare "Even
if all the fourteen Worlds unite together, the work for which I have come
will not suffer a bit; even if Earth and Heaven combine, My truth can never
be fully grasped".
602
PRAYER and Meditation Prayer makes you a supplicant
at the Feet of God; Dhyana induces God to come down to you and inspires you to
raise yourselves to Him. It tends to make you come together, not place one in a
lower level and the other on a higher. Dhyana is the royal road to Liberation
from bondage, and with Prayer you earn the same fruit. Meditation needs
concentration after controlling the claims of the senses. You have to picture
before your inner eye the Form on which you have elected to contemplate.
603
WHEN you see in a house on the walls of the shrine
room a picture of Mine, do you not feel a wave of reverence and kinship surging
within you? You may not like him for any other reason, but this picture will
bring him closer to you, though the owner of the house may be your rival in the
professional field. So, too, know that every other person has in his heart of
hearts a picture of the God you revere. Recognise it and reconcile your
misunderstandings; close up all gaps with the brothers in pilgrimage,
encouraging and inspiring each other along the arduous road.
604
WHEN the parents have no reverence for God, when
the pictures of Stalin, Hitler, Churchill and Lenin adorn the walls of the home,
when the child has to breathe the atmosphere of scandal, faction and greed at
home, how can it grow into a happy, healthy balanced individual? The films that
children are taken to see are full of violence and falsehood, mean tricks and
conspiracies, which tarnish the springs of sympathy and love.
605
THERE are parents who are proud when their children
join in card games and even in drinking and gambling; there are parents who get
angry when their children read religious books, attend temple rites and sit
quietly for a few minutes meditating on the awe and wonder that Creation evokes
in them. How can such parents claim to be the well-wishers of their progeny?
They are the greatest foes of their progress.
606
ALL the twenty-four hours are spent in attending to
the care of the body, the prevention of disease, the promotion of health, the
development of muscle, etc. No care is spent on the God resident in this
physical tabernacle, who has to be recognised and revered. The weighing machine
on which you stand to read your weight with pride laughs at you for the silly
exaltation. It sneers at your conceit over physical victories; it warns you
against too much concern over paltry gains. It knows that death is lying in wait
to snatch you away, however heavy you may grow. Develop "Drishti" (vision); not
"Deha" (body). Concentrate on the Maker, not the made.
607
TO elevate man to the level of his consciousness,
He (God) has to incarnate as man. He has to speak to them in their own styles
and languages. He has to teach them the methods that they can adopt and practice.
Birds and beasts need no Divine Incarnation to guide them, for they have no
inclination to stray away from their Dharma. Man alone forgets or ignores the
goal of Life.
608
I HAVE no desire to have My Birthday celebrated.
Such trivial thoughts can never enter Me. My only desire is to share My "Ananda".
My Birthday is when you get "Ananda". My Mission is "Loka Samastha Sukhino
Bhavanthu". May all the Worlds be happy and prosperous! Become aware of the
unity of mankind. Promote, by Love and Service, the Joy and Contentment of
everyone on Earth and fill your hearts with that yearning.
609
ACTS done between dawn and dusk are offerings into
the sacred Fire of Wisdom. Of such acts, those that are promoted by instinct and
impulse are material; they do not arise from a mind moulded by the intellect.
When the mind is crossed and the outer shore reached, all acts become pure and
holy. When deep sleep overpowers the senses, the mind, the intellect, and even
the sense of ego disappears. The entire Cosmos disappears from awareness. That
is the Truth when the Atman is alone by itself and bondage is naught.
610
GOD, Over-self or Paramatma is praised by man when
his desires are fulfilled. When they are not realised, He is blamed. But He has
no prejudice or partiality. If He has Love, He must also have anger. Any
manifestation of these feelings is only superficial and does not rise from the
core. God is the witness of the act-consequence chain. You can avoid the
consequence by dedicating the act of God and abstaining from attachment.
611
ONE'S action decides one's destiny. There is no use
blaming others for our misfortune and misery. Nor is it right to blame God as
being partial or cruelly unconcerned. When you plant a bitter seed, how can the
fruit be sweet? It has become the fashion to claim all good as one's own
achievement and to ascribe all the despair and disappointment to an
irresponsible attitude of Divinity.
612
I WISH to emphasise that purity of the heart, the
mind and the consciousness is more important for progress than even Meditation
and Prayer. Purity alone can convince you of the Divine within you of the
Kshetrajna immanent in the Kshetra. Love all, adore all and serve all. That is
the Sadhana of worship, to win purity and earn Grace.
613
THE consequence of the meritorious activities of
previous births can be drawn upon now; but unless you have them, no cheque will
be honoured. Moreover, only those who have the account can operate. Each must
have a separate account in his own name: One brother cannot draw on the account
of another brother; and the wife cannot draw on the account of the husband.
614
SOMETIMES, the Bank will give you overdrafts, so
that you tide over temporary crisis; the extent of the overdraft is settled by
the Manager with reference to your reliability and capabilities. It is like the
"Anugraha", Grace that God will confer on you when you have earned it by "Sathkarrna",
"Sathchinthana", "Sathsanga" and "Namasmarana" (good deeds, good thoughts, good
feelings and, good company), and constant repetition and reflection on the Name
of God and the Glory it seeks to express.
615
WHEN you have attained true wisdom, you will find
that good fortune should not be gloated over, nor bad fortune grieved over. The
Hero treats both with equal unconcern. They are breezes and storms that cannot
affect the depths of the Ocean of Bliss in the heart of Man.
616
PEOPLE in America, Europe, and Africa, Hong Kong
and Australia are establishing Sathya Sai Bhaktha Mandalis and Study Circles;
they are having Telugu classes, so that they may listen to Me and learn things
directly from Me. As for Me, I have no "near" and "far"- all are near to me
except those who keep afar. Even they are close to Me, if only they dedicate
themselves to God, under whatever Name and Form.
617
CYNICAL laughter cannot harm the Sadhaka. Can a
storm shake the Himalayan range? Let not your faith in the goal or the road
quake before trouble or trial, toil or travail, distress or despair. They are
but passing clouds, casting temporary shadows hiding for a little time the glory
of the Sun or Moon. Do not get distracted by doubt of despondency. Build the
mansion of your life on four firm pillars: Dharma, Artha, Kama and Moksha, the
Purusharthas laid down by the ancient sages, each pillar bound strong and safe
with every other.
618
THE Ramayana, the Mahabharatha, and the Bhagavatha
are to be mastered, not allowed to become masters. You go through them without
allowing them to go through you! The Volumes are bound in silk; and incense
sticks are burnt before them, while man prostrates before them in reverence. But
no attention is paid to what the pages proclaim. The frills and fringes attract
the mind more than the kernel provided by the text.
619
ACT according to your professions. Do not play
false to yourself and to your ideals. To deny by your acts the truth of what you
preach is a sign of cowardice and moral suicide. You say that Baba knows and
sees everywhere, but you do something wrong in the belief that Baba is somewhere
else. You pray to Kali in the idol form, believing it to be alive and you hide
something behind the idol, imagining that no one would know about it.
620
THE chief Characteristics of Sathya Sai are:
equanimity and forbearance (sahana). There are many who are engaged in criticism
and calumny. Many papers publish all types of writings. Many pamphlets are
printed. All kinds of things happen in the World. My reply to all these is a
smile. Such criticisms and distortions are the inevitable accompaniments of
everything good and great. Only the fruit-laden tree is hit by stones thrown by
greedy people. No one casts a stone on the tree that bears no fruit.
621
SANKARACHARYA was going along the streets of
Varanasi, when he saw in a small hermitage a monk poring over a book of grammar.
He took pity on the aging scholar and warned him that, when the end draws near,
his panditry will not save him from perdition or take him to the goal of merging
with God. So he asked him to adore God and fill himself with thoughts of the
Divine. This is the proper way to deal with life, not frittering it away as a
feast of fancy.
622
THE tree will grow with branches on all sides;
countless flowers will bloom; it will provide and promote peace and security to
the World. In order to realise this result, students must do as roots do: remain
firm and provide sustenance. I know that the roots have to be watered so that
flowers and fruits may emerge. Students are my all. If you ask Me, what is My
property, many expect the answer to be, "Oh! All these buildings; all these vast
areas of land". But My answer is "My entire property consists of My students". I
have offered Myself to them. But many are not aware of this fact. Some
unfortunate people cannot believe the Reality of this Love: the Love of a
thousand mothers.
623
THE situation in India and in the World today is "Evaniki
Vaare, Yamuna Theere" (Each for each on the Yamuna beach). There is no
togetherness. How happy can man be if he develops togetherness! Can you eat a
meal with a single finger? When the five fingers work in unison, the stomach is
filled in five minutes! So, no attachment should be developed; no wish is to be
welcomed, nothing is to be sought for; and no defeat is to be taken to heart,
without solving deep into the consequences.
624
IT was ascribed to one's past deeds and one's own
mental tendencies. It is wrong to cast the blame on others. But, someone pointed
out that God was the originator of both joy and grief and that without His will
no blade of grass can waver in the wind. Yes; if that Truth be firmly
established in the heart, one gets the unique bliss of liberation. God gives
everything; whatever we get is His Grace, and you have no right to judge if it
is good or bad. Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam Bhaja Govindam Moodha Mathe
Sammpraapthe Sannihitthe Kaale Nahi Nahi Rakshathi Dukrn.
625
PRAISE God, Praise God, Praise God, you fool, when
death does knock at door, rules of grammar cannot save you. Sankara exhorted his
pupils to disseminate the ideal of this verse, and they, too, responded with
verses on the same lines, each of the fourteen contributing one verse. Sankara
gave another twelve of his own, as well as four more verses about the
transformation that the teaching would confer. Thus, there are 31 verses in all,
in the text called Bhaja Govindam or Moha Mudgaram. The latter name means, "The
weapon with which delusion can be destroyed". Each one is a step in the ladder
which lifts man into God.
626
ELECTRICITY is found everywhere in Nature but it
can be collected, stored and utilised only through certain contrivances designed
by man. The spiritual Atma Sakthi that is also everywhere is stored in a body
and passed through the thin wires or nerves; it illumines and directs activity.
These activities have to be oriented towards Ananda and not attachment to
temporary pleasures. The life principle that flows as intelligence through every
cell and nerve is also a reflection of the Atma.
627
WORK is for the physical level, worship for the
mental and wisdom for the spiritual. You have to pass through the three stages,
each one of you. When I say to you, there are three of you! The one you think
you are, namely the body, the physical person; the one the others think you are,
the mental you, your passions, emotions, impulses, attitudes, and beliefs; and
the one you really are, namely, the Atma, the Spirit, the real Reality of your
Personality.
628
ONE can understand the spirit of renunciation and
the depth of tolerance that is inherent in India's noble response. Whoever is
afflicted with calamity, at whatever time, under whatever condition, your heart
must react without delay in sympathy shown in the same practical manner. No one
should be condemned as trash; even a little stick can serve as a toothpick! God
has not made any man wholly bad or wholly good; your likes and dislikes are
inducing you to label them as such.
629
UNLESS one develops virtue, uses skill,
intelligence and discrimination in the most beneficial manner and directs his
physical might with restraint, his life is wasted in bitterness and grief. The
Vedas declare: "Nakarmanaa, naprajayaa-dhanena, thyagenike amrthathwa masmuth";
(Not by acts, nor by riches nor by progeny, but, only by renunciation can
immortality be gained). "Renunciation, detachment, sacrifice, giving up - these
alone can ensure the highest Realisation and Eternal Bliss. Renunciation is the
law of life. That is why life is worthwhile and a source of happiness.
630
OF what avail is the shaving of the scalp while
leaving inside of it a multitude of desires clamouring for satisfaction? This
kind of Sanyasa is a fraud on the person entering it and on Society. No Avatar,
you will note, has granted Sanyasa to any aspirant. These external insignia are
not essential or even necessary. Non-attachment, born out of wisdom and fostered
by the Grace of the Lord, is the precious capital for spiritual advance.
631
THE Sanyasi has to declare his death and perform
obsequies for himself and bury his past. He destroys all that binds him to the
rest and to his past, his history and his name. He avoids any reminder of his
erstwhile adventure and the pursuit of sensory joy. He flees from his friends
and foes, his habits, and habiliments, his hobbies and prejudices. But we find
men who have taken the vow of Sanyas still clinging to their long established
practices and habits. Instead they must completely break with the past. That is
why in the Gita, Karma Sanyasa and not any other types of Sanyas is prescribed.
632
GURU Nanak said that without faith in God, man is
blind; Without it, you are a moving corpse - your life might be as grand,
beautiful, and rich as the Taj Mahal but remember, the Taj is but a tomb!
Whatever the method of worship and whichever the Name or Form, it is faith that
matters; it is that which gives life and energy for higher things.
633
I LIKE the Puja that is done not for the sake of
the individual but for the sake of humanity. By all means, do Puja in order to
promote the happiness and peace of living beings. Develop that love for men
everywhere. That is My Mission too, My Resolution, My Sankalpa, and My Deeksha -
the planting of Love in every human heart.
634
IT becomes essential to cleanse the mind through
regular Sadhana, to tune the little will to the infinite will of God, so that it
becomes merged in His Glory. Scholarship or skill, however deep and varied, have
no cleansing power. They only add the alloys of pride and competition. Learned
men are not necessarily good, nor are men with spiritual powers over nature
above pride, envy and greed. Sathya, Dharma, Shanti and Prema are the hallmarks
of a purified heart, where God is enshrined and is manifest.
635
INSTEAD of transforming his heart, his home, his
village, his state, and this World into a Prashanthi Nilayam, the abode of the
peace that passes understanding; man has made the World an arena for the wild
passions of anger, hate and greed. Instead of making the senses (which are,
after all, very poor guides and informants) his servants, he has made them his
masters; he has become a slave of external beauty, evanescent melody, exterior
softness, tickling taste and fragile fragrance. He spends all his energies and
the fruits of all his toil in the satisfaction of the trivial demands of these
untamed underlings.
636
INDIVIDUAL efforts and Divine Grace are both
interdependent, without effort there will be no conferment of grace. Without
Grace, there can be no taste in the effort. To win that Grace, you need only
have faith and virtue. You need not praise Him in order to win His Favour.
637
THE character of the children must be made strong
and pure. Give them all the confidence and courage they need to become good,
honest, and self-reliant children. It is not enough if they learn something by
which they can make a living. The manner of living is more important than the
standard of living. The children must also have reverence towards their religion,
their culture, their educational attainments and their country. They must learn
well their mother tongue, so that they can appreciate the great poetical works
and epics written by the Seers of their land. This will give them valuable
guidance in the stormy days ahead.
638
LEARN to share with others their grief and their
joy, do not get jealous when others are happier or when others win prizes or
credits in examinations. Emulate their industry, pray for a higher share of
intelligence or a sharper memory, but do not give room in your hearts to envy
and malice. Envy is a deadly poison, it will contaminate character, ruin health,
and rob you of peace. Be Anasuyas, unaffected by envy, and you can subdue the
Gods of creation, Protection and Destruction. Like a pest that destroys growing
crops, envy enters slyly and spreads quickly. So even in small matters, be
vigilant to ensure that you do not fall a prey to envy.
639
THE six enemies of man are eating into his vitals,
embedded in his own inner consciousness. They are the demons to be killed. They
are Lust (Kama), Anger (Krodha), Greed (Lobha), Attachment (Moha), Pride (Mada)
and Malice (Matsarya). They reduce man to the level of a demon. They have to be
overpowered and transmuted by the supreme alchemy of the Divine urge. Then the
nine nights of struggle will become a new type of night, devoted to the
purification of the mind and the illumination of the soul, the night described
in the Gita as "the Day of the Worldly". What is clear and attractive to the
ordinary man is uninteresting and unknown to the Worldly man. This is the nature
of the topsy-turvy world.
640
THE selfishness fouling your love is veiling
divinity from your vision. What is the reason for the selfishness which is
veiling divinity from us? It is simply our attachment to the body; It is the
weakness of our mind and our enslavement to our senses.
641
USE the eyes to watch wholesome things, the feet to
proceed to the Home of God, the hands to serve the embodiments of God moving
around you as men and the tongue to soothe pain, praise virtue, and glorify God.
Do not use your eye to vulgarise your brain and your feet to stand in queue for
deleterious movie-shows.
642
THOUGH the World has become a very small globe as a
result of fast means of communication and transport, man has not yet learnt the
art of living together in close proximity as brothers and as children of the One
God. The closer men are brought, the larger the differences that appear. Thus,
the little World is now riddled with problems of conflicting cultures, competing
creeds and contesting ambitions. The sorrows of one State spread fast into all
its neighbouring ones and infect the whole world. The World has become one vast
battlefield.
643
MOST of you are leading a double or triple life:
Yogam in the morning; Bhogam the rest of the day; and Rogam at night. You seek
Ananda outside you and suffer from the ulcer of desire inside you. You utter one
thing with the tongue and carry out the opposite with the hand. You claim to be
the seekers of Jnana but you are attached to the delusion that you have
cultivated. You have a ticket for Calcutta but you are traveling in the train
headed for Bombay. With the body, which is your ticket and Vigna and Vairagya
your luggage, you are traveling not in the train which goes God ward but in the
train leading to Prakruthi. This is a pity.
644
THE Atma has an eternal festival. It is
Anandaswarupa. It is beyond time and so does not calculate the passage of time.
Let me ask, how can man celebrate a festival when he is afflicted by
Dehabhranthi, Manabhranthi, Indriyabhranthi, and Lokabhranthi? He believes the
falsehoods that are called the body, the senses, the mind and the world. He
pursues them and tastes joy and grief, and when a certain number of years have
passed, he celebrates a festival.
645
INDIA is the Moolasharam of Sathya, Santhi and
Prema and she has been holding forth these ideals and emphasising their practice
since centuries. Bharath means the land that has "rathi" or attachment to "bha"
or Bhagavan; it means that the people here are God-loving, not so much
God-fearing. If you love God, you have to love Man also. This teaching, that
Sathya is the basis of Dharma which lays down individual and social duties and
obligations, and that Sathya is also the root of Prema and Shanti, is the unique
feature of Bharath. Sathya is enough, no other God needs to be worshipped.
646
THE task now is to install Dharma in every heart,
to shed light on every road, through the revival of Vedanta. The World is like a
famished person waiting for a feast; it is like the parched land waiting for
rain. I have seen and felt the atmosphere of this land surcharged with
discontent and dishonesty. I have seen it from Kanyakumari to the Himalayas:
that is the reason why thousands, like you seek Dharsan, Sparsan and Sambhasan.
I am only surprised that thousands are denying themselves that chance.
647
IT is best you stay away from companions who drag
you to such distractions that weaken and worry you; spend a few minutes every
morning and evening in the silence of your own home, spend them with the highest
of all powers that you know of; be in His Elevating and Inspiring Company;
worship Him mentally; offer unto Him all the work you do; and you will come out
of the silence, nobler and more heroic than when you went in.
648
JUST consider - do you come out of the cinema more
peaceful, more heroic, purer and nobler than when you went in? No, your passions
are aroused, your animal impulses are catered to and your lower nature is fed.
Nothing else can give one that rich reward which Silence and Prayer and
Communion with the Master can give, not even a decent bank account, nor a string
of degrees, nor the muscles of a prize fighter.
649
LIVE upon the Ananda that you derive when you sing
the Name and glorify the Form of the Lord That is My Food and My daily
sustenance. So, I have no need to talk to you; it is sufficient if I sit here
and draw in the Ananda that you feel when you do Bhajan.
650
THERE are certain dire possibilities which I want
all social workers to guard against. First cleanse your own minds and then start
advising others. Earn mental peace and strength for yourself and then try to
secure them for others. Learn the secret of lasting happiness yourself and then
endeavour to make others happy. Seek the real limb not the artificial limb. Get
the doctor who will assure "hereafter you will not fall ill" and not the doctor
who gives some relief only for the present attack.
651
THE greatest instrument by which success can be
ensured for all your efforts is Bhakti. That will give health, wealth and
prosperity too, for it will eliminate hatred and faction and give more power to
your elbow when you plough the land. A man with Bhakti will do every act as
worship of the Lord and so the act will be done better and more efficiently,
without any maligning or insincerity. It will also win the Grace of the Lord,
and so, a Bhakta will be able to raise more crops and enjoy greater health and
mental happiness.
652
WE light many candles with the flame of a single
candle. But remember only a burning candle can light other candles. An unlit
candle cannot light other unlit candles. Only one who has earned wisdom can
enlighten others who are in ignorance. One who is himself unillumined cannot
illumine others dwelling in the darkness, Maya. One must light his own lamp from
the universal light of love and thence forward he can transmit illumination to
all who seek and strive. All lamps shine alike since they are all sparks of the
Param-Jyothi the Universal Luminosity, that is God.
653
IS the Universe real? Is it relatively unreal? This
problem has been agitating man since ages in all lands. The realists and the
idealists have argued on their explanations for centuries. The scientists or
realists believe that the Universe is a conglomeration of atoms in varying
patterns which have assumed manifold forms and names. But this is only partially
true. The Vijnana Vedins (the spiritually oriented) point out to the Dhoatik
Vedins (the materially oriented) that a firm base is essential for all these
transformations to happen. The Universe must have a basic force or energy or
phenomenon, as basic as clay is to the pot. That fundamental principle is,
according to them, the Atman.
654
THE human body is a temple-chariot; the Atman is
installed therein and is dragged by emotions, impulses, passions and urges,
along the streets of desire. Success and failure, joy and grief, gain and loss
are the dancers who accompany the procession of life. Here, too, many pour their
attention only on the chariot, its height, its decoration and its progress. Many
others are concerned with the dance of durabilities. The pain and pleasure due
to that is part of the procession. Few pay attention to the Atman, the crown and
consummation of human existence.
655
WHY is man so pathetically afflicted today with
fear and anxiety? Are we to search for the reasons outside us or do they live
within us? The reason lies in the false emphasis we have laid on things of the
material world, ignoring things of the spirit. The body that man bears is
essentially the receptacle of God. It is a temple where God is installed and
where God is the Master. It does not deserve all the attention you now pay to
fulfill its whims. It is equipped with very valuable instruments which can help
you in the journey but which you seldom use.
656
MANY are affected by the problem of what caused the
Cosmos. How did it come into being? They advance various theories and lay down
many opposing hypotheses. But there is no need for seekers to beat about the
bush so much. Just as a dream results when one is cut off from reality in a
state of sleep, the Cosmos is a result of being cut off from Reality by Maya, in
a state of ignorance. It is difficult to discover laws that explain or govern
its infinite mysteries.
657
WE find individuals and groups trudging to
Badrinath, Kedarnath, and Haridwar in search of peace and prosperity. They also
go to Tirupathi and Kashi. Have they jettisoned even a few of their animal
propensities? That is the test; that is the justification for the money and time
they have spent and the troubles they have undergone. When the animal is
conquered and Godhead is felt within reach, man can assert that all these
pilgrimages are within him. He has no need to travel from temple to temple. And
without achieving this victory, you have no right to claim that you are a
devotee of Rama or Krishna or of another incarnation of the Lord.
658
GOOD deeds like Puja, Japam, Dhyanam, the
observance of vow, etc., are "steps". Good thoughts like prayer for greater
discrimination and more chances to help others, also help. Slowly and steadily
cleanse the mind; sharpen the intellect, purify the senses, and win grace.
659
IT is because you feel the urge to use the body
with which you have been endowed, and for this higher purpose you are here in
Prasanthi Nilayam. The kinship among you and all of you with Me, is ageless; it
is eternal; it is not based on a worldly relationship; it is based on the
aspirations of the heart. It is Prasanthi Nilayam that is the abode of Supreme
Bliss.
660
THE Lord is described in the Purusha Suktha as "thousand-headed".
It does not mean that He has just a thousand heads, no more, no less. It means
that "the thousands of heads" before Me now have just one heart, which gives
life and energy to all, and that heart is the Lord. No one is separate from his
neighbour, all are bound by the one life-blood that flows through the countless
bodies. This is the special teaching of Sanathana Dharma, which the World needs.
661
THE Lord has endowed man with the body, and so,
every limb and every sense is worthy of reverent attention. Each must be used
for His Glory. The ear must exult when it gets a chance to hear the wonderful
tales of God. The tongue must exult when it can praise Him. Or else, the tongue
of man is as ineffective as that of frogs which croak day and night sitting on
the marshy bank.
662
THE human body has been given to you for a grand
purpose: realising the Lord within. If you have a fully equipped car in good
running condition, would you keep it in the garage? The car is primarily for
going on a journey, to get into it and go. Then only is it worthwhile to own. So
too with the body, proceed and go forward to the goal. Learn how to use the
faculties of the body, the senses, the intellect, and the mind for achieving the
goal and march on.
663
MAN must proceed ever towards "Balam" strength; he
should not take to untruth, wickedness, and crookedness, all of which denote a
fundamental fatal trait of cowardice, "Balaheenam". "Balaheenam" is born of
accepting as true a lower image of yourself than what the facts warrant. You
believe you are the husk. But really you are the kernel. That is the main
mistake. All Sadhana must be directed to the removal of the husk and the
revelation of the kernel. So long as you say "I am", there is bound to be fear,
but once you say and feel "I am Brahmam", "Aham Brahmasmi," you get
unconquerable strength.
664
I WANT that you all should build new houses for
happy living and install the Lord therein. I do not mean houses of brick and
mortar, but houses of good thoughts, good words, good deeds and good company,
where you could live calm and collected. Invite Me for the Grahapravesam of such
houses and I shall most readily agree. In fact, then the house is Mine already
and I do not need even an invitation to come and enter it. These houses are for
worldly comfort; that house is for spiritual joy. And My place of Residence is
the pure aspiring heart.
665
YOU are going about with a temple where God is in
the innermost shrine. The body is not a mass of flesh and bone. It is a medicine
for Manthras-Manthras which save when they are meditated upon. It is a sacred
instrument, earned after long ages of struggle, equipped with reason and emotion,
capable of being used for deliverance from grief and evil. Honour it as such;
keep it in good condition, so that it might serve that high purpose; maintain it
even more carefully than these brick houses and always preserve the conviction
that it is an instrument and nothing more. Use it for just the purpose for which
it has been designed and given.
666
IT is urgent that every one should inquire into the
true, the pure and the permanent; for there is at present a delusion about
values. Even the leaders of people are hugging the false hypothesis that
happiness can be had by means of wealth or health, housing or clothing, or the
cultivation of skills in handicraft and manufacture. The bird sits upon the
bough that sways in the storm, confident of its wings, not confident of the
bough on which it sits. So, you too should feel strong because of the wings, the
wings of Sraddha and Bhakti, not because of the bough of the objective World on
which you have perched.
667
YOU know from the experience of the Cauvery floods,
neither status nor castes nor wealth nor even health can help unless you know
the simple art of swimming. Need I say that crossing the ocean of Samsar,
reaching the other shore of the sea of Birth-Death, is similarly possible only
for those who know the art of Spiritual Sadhana. Those who are trying to build
the seaman community on a foundation of "Dhana", are building on sand; those who
seek to build it on the rock of "Dharma", are the wise.
668
DHARMA Moolam Idam Jagath. Dharma is the root of
this World. Obey it and you are happy. The evil man is a coward, haunted by fear.
He has no peace within himself. Respect for the parents who started you in life
and brought you into this World, together with the vast and varied treasure of
experience, is the first lesson that Dharma teaches. Gratitude is the spring
which feeds that respect. It is a quality that is fast disappearing in the World
today. Respect for the teacher, for the elders and for the wise is on the
decline. That is why Dharma is fast disappearing and losing its hold.
669
JUST as the body is the house you live in, the
World is the body of God. An ant biting the little toe of your foot is able to
draw your attention to the spot; and you react to the pain, making an effort to
remove the tiny enemy. You must similarly feed the pain, misery or joy or
elation whenever it is evinced in the entire land; you must make an effort to
protect the land from the enemy, however remote the place may be where the enemy
has presented himself. Be kin with all your kind. Expand your sympathies, serve
others who stand in need, to the extent of your skill and resources. Do not
fritter away your talents in profitless channels.
670
THE entire epic Ramayana hinges on two women and
two passions. Manthara representing Krodha (anger, resentment and vengeance) and
Surpanaka representing Kama (lustful passion). Manthara plotted to send Rama
into exile and Surpanaka caused the abduction of Sita and the destruction of the
Rakshasas as a consequence. The two women are insignificant characters in the
story; but the roles they play are key-roles, for they sparked off, by means of
the passions they represented, strong chapters of pain and grief. Krodha and
Kama are more destructive than atom bombs; but when Rama is installed in the
heart, they just fizzle out.
671
WELCOME the epic Ramayana as you welcome an
efficacious drug; it can cure deep rooted illness of the mind, the disabilities
of the inner senses, and the defects of the inner consciousness. It can clarify
your vision and make you strong and steady on the path towards God.
672
SANTHAAKAARAM Bhujaga Sayanam is one of the ways in
which the Divine is described. Bujaga is the cobra, the poisonous snake. Its
visha (poison) is the symbol of the evil influences of vishaya (Worldly desires).
The Lord is said to repose on the bhujaga, the evil filled multiplicity of the
World. Yet, the description says: He is Saanthakaaram (in absolute peace,
unruffled in the least). The Lord is unaffected, though He is immanent in the
Universe. Man too must be in the World, but not of it.
673
YOU must be careful about the food you take; the
Jiva and Guhya are the two great foes of man. The cravings of hunger and sex
drag you into perdition. Desist from catering to the tongue and its greed; do
not be a victim of lust or taste. Have Sathvic food and eat it in Sathvic
company. Be moderate in food and keep the senses strictly under control.
674
WHAT exactly is the aim and purpose of all the
Shastras, the Bhagavatham, the Puranas, these discourses and the Harikathas? It
is to tell man the truth about himself. There is no plot to mislead you. That is
not the desires of the Sages who wrote down these annals and their own
experiences. You know only the present and what is happening before your eyes.
You do not know that the present is related to the past and is preparing the
course of the future. It is like the headlines and titles of a film on the
screen; as the letters gleam one after the other, you read them and pass on to
the next that comes to view. Each new letter or word wipes out the one already
before your eye, just as each birth wipes out the memory of the one already
experienced.
675
PEOPLE who were charged with the social duty of
reminding the masses of their heritage, have been rendered dispirited and
mendicant. The Dharma laid down in the Vedas has to be experienced in order to
be appreciated; it cannot be merely talked about in tall language. The use of
the Vedas does not consist in mere recitation, though the reciters are doing a
valuable service, presenting them in correct form and style of pronunciation.
Vedas yield Ananda; Vedamatha is the Ananda Matha.
676
WHO am I? Every one of you has to know that this
question has to worry you sooner or later. And everyone has to discover the
answer. The senses, each specialising in one small field of cognition, are
powerless to give the answer; they are at best very inadequate even in their own
specialised provinces; there are sounds the ear cannot hear; there are colours
the eye cannot take in and interpret to us; and tastes beyond the ken of the
buds of the tongue. They are imperfect instruments for the study of the external
World. How can they serve to teach us about the intangible, invisible, inner
World of the self? The Vedantic vision alone can reveal to you: "Anoraniyam
mahatho maheemyam", "the smaller than the smallest and bigger than the biggest".
677
DHARMA is the road for individual and social
progress in this World and through this World to the next. It is external, basic
and fundamental. The principles may not be altered or adjusted to suit personal
whims or pressing problems that appear formidable to the eyes of some
individuals or group of persons. It is like the mother who has to be accepted,
not like the wife whom you can choose or discard.
678
IF you can inquire deeply and reason fearlessly,
you can appreciate the Indian point of view that, instead of seeking a lower
standard of Ananda by feeding the senses, one can get lasting Ananda by training
the mind to be ever in the eyes of the Cosmic, the Universal, the Lord as it is
called, when you impose a Name and a Form upon it, and enclose it in your
consciousness. Why does man get Ananda when he contemplates the Cosmic and the
Universal? Because he is the Cosmic, the Universal.
679
ALL hearts are His Property. It is all His Domain,
But just as the Zamindar sits only on a clean spot, though the entire area may
be his, the Lord will install himself only if the heart is cleansed. The Lord
has said, "Mad bhaktha yathra Gaayanthe, thatra thishtaami Narada", "Where my
devotees sing of Me, there I install Myself". I must tell you that you are
luckier than men of previous generations. The accumulated merit of many previous
births must have granted you this luck. You have got Me and it is your duty now
to develop this relationship that you have achieved by sheer good fortune.
680
IN four or five year's time, you will see Yogis and
Maharishis and Munis crowding here and you may not have such chances of asking
Me questions and getting the answer, of approaching Me and directly speaking to
Me. So, do not be like frogs around the Lotus, be like the bees. Plantains and
mangoes are kept, while yet green, in straw or dried grass or in a closed room
so that the heat may make them ripe and tasty. The meditation on God gives you
too the right temperature to ripen yourselves and become sweet and tasty.
681
THERE are seven things that have to be fostered for
the welfare of the World: the Cow, the Brahman-ward aspirant or the Brahmin, the
Vedas, Chastity, Truth, Non-attachment and Dharma. All these are now fast
declining and I have come to restore them in their pristine purity and strength.
Do not think that this Sathya Sai Gita was composed by some Bhakta and that he
reads it and explains it here. As he said, I am the inspirer and it is for your
benefit that he has summarised My Teachings in this way. "Ekkam Sathyam Vimalam
Achalam". It is said that the One Truth is pure and unshakable.
682
THERE are now thousands and thousands of educated
institutions in the world. But, there is a great difference between the rest and
those founded by Sathya Sai. The fundamental objectives of Sai institutions are
humility, adherence to discipline and application of what is learned in daily
life. If, what is learned is not put into practice, the student is like a cow
that does not yield milk; a fruit lacking in taste, a book bereft of wisdom. It
is not really man's task to stuff his head with transient knowledge and waste
time in acquiring it. He should not engage in valueless activities and fritter
away years of life. When man ruins himself , he descends to the level of the
beast. When man uplifts himself, he ascends to the level of God.
683
OF the four Yugas, the present Kaliyuga is far more
congenial than the previous three (Kritha, Thretha, and Dwapara) for the
acquisition of wisdom and the cultivation of discrimination (Viveka), for we now
have many simple paths available for liberating ourselves. The Scriptures say:,
"No age is equal to the Kali Age. Just through Smarana and Chinthana we can
reach the Goal". Smarana is the process of keeping the Lord ever in the memory;
and Chinthana is the process of thinking of His glory all the time. Many people
are scared because they believe that the Kali Age, in which we live, will
witness the ultimate Deluge. Others call it the Kalpa Age, the Age of Conflict.
This Age is the Golden Age for the seekers of God and for earning and learning
Viveka.
684
PILES of books are plentiful in bazaars; schools
abound; and there is no dearth of teachers. But wholesome learning and sincere
teaching are not to be seen. It is for this reason that these spiritually
oriented educational (Sai) institutions are being established to impart teaching
in proper ways in order to preserve the hearts of students in pristine purity,
stability and unselfishness; to develop them into workers dedicated to the
progress of Bharath, intent on removing the anxiety and gloom that spread all
over the land; and determined to revive the Glory of the Bharathiya Culture.
685
IF Divinity is absent, everything is devilry. So,
teachers and students must have faith in God and boldly call on God. This will
drive away the devilry that encompasses us. Of course, hesitation to address God
is only superficial. During examinations, every student prays to the Almighty.
When calamities happen, when loss is sustained, and when members of the family
are struck by disease and are in mortal danger, people do pray to God. Why, then,
yield to false pride and refuse to acknowledge God? This is sheer hypocrisy.
686
BHAKTI, to be effective, must be regularised
through self-discipline; it should not be allowed to grow wild and untended. You
rush forward to touch My feet or to prostrate before Me, ignoring the children,
the aged and the sick, upon whom you fall when you press forward towards Me. Do
not forget the Sai in those people, when you rush forward towards this Sai. The
merit of all the hardship you underwent to see and hear this Sai is as good as
canceled, when you inflict pain on the Sai who resides in them. That plus and
this minus add up to zero. In your frenzy to offer homage, you should not forget
others who have been waiting long for the chance; you must provide facilities
for their dharsan.
687
TRANSMUTING humanity into Divinity is the task
allotted to man. Word, thought and deed are instruments for this unavoidable
destiny. By unremitting practice, this has to be achieved. The priest in the
temple has to ring the bell with the left hand and wave the camphor flame with
the right hand, an exercise in manual coordination which comes only as a result
of practice. A new priest will use both hands and shake the camphor plate.
Vemana has said that, while the serpent has poison in its fangs and the scorpion
in its tail, man is capable of inflicting poison through his tongue, eyes, hand
and mind. He has to overcome this acquired tendency and remind himself that he
is "Amrithasya Puthra" (the Child of Immorality), conferring sweet nectar and
not death-dealing poison.
688
IF your circumstances do not allow you to partake
in this Sankeerthana, stay at home and sing the songs alone in the silent cave
of your heart. Do not do so according to a fixed measure, so many times or so
many songs at a sitting. The heart does not calculate in numbers; it confers
contentment which is immeasurable. That contentment can arise only through faith.
When the mind wavers, loyalty sits light; love disappears; and faction begins.
689
I HAVE come for the re-establishment of Dharma and
so, I always insist on people observing Dharma in all walks of life. Dharma is
the inner voice of God. It is the conscience that has shaped itself as a result
of centuries of experience and generations of asceticism and austerity; it is
the voice of history, warning you against the branch of its command.
690
FOR treading the Bhaktimarga, one needs not
scholarship, nor wealth, nor riches, nor ascetic rigours. Tell me what was the
lineage of Valmiki, the wealth of Kuchela, the scholarship of Sabari, the age of
Prahalada, the status of Gajaraja and the attainments of Vidura? - Prema was all
they had and it was all they needed. The Grace of the Lord is as the Ocean, vast
and limitless. By your Sadhana, your Japam, Dhyanam and systematic cultivation
of Virtue, this Grace is converted into clouds of Truth, and they rain on
humanity as Prema Showers, which collect and flow as the flood of Ananda back
again into the Ocean of the Lord's Grace.
691
YOU have come here to learn and practice detachment.
Get wet in the rain, while engaged in serving others. It does not matter if
death comes while serving; do not pause; if you are so determined, God will not
allow it to approach you. You complain "Swami has not softened towards me". Well,
melt His heart, yearn, show Him the warmth of a repentant heart and of a
sympathetic heart anxious to alleviate distress. Through deep detachment the
craving for sensual pleasure must disappear; that will cleanse the Chitha or
consciousness. God will then be reflected clear and the Reality can be
recognised. This results in Peace and Equanimity which is the highest bliss.
692
THE wise will not give place in their hearts to
covetousness and possessiveness. They know that there is a "Kshetragna" who is
the motivator of this "Kshetra"; "a knower of the field, who is the master of
this field". Vyasa, who collected the Vedas, composed the aphorisms that
demarcate the Divine Principle (the Brahmasatram) and wrote the Mahabharatha,
reputed to be the fifth Veda, could still not win mental peace. Those were
intellectual feats, flights of poetry and philosophy but not flowers that
blossomed from authentic experience.
693
IDEALS must become higher and grander. Desires must
become more and more selfless and sublime. Attachment must be transmuted into
nobler and subtler emotions. The story will be gripping only when there is
steady development towards the denouement. That is why one passes through the
crucible of joy and grief and emerges all the purer and stronger for the
experience. When a child's growth is stunted, it causes grief; when he starts to
grow normally, it causes joy, when the growth is abnormal, it causes grief again.
694
THERE is none to question Me if I do not act; there
is nothing I would lose if I do not engage in activity. Nor have I any great
urge to be active. But yet, you see Me very active. The reason is, I must be
doing something all the time, for your sake, as an example, as an inspiration,
as a piece of training. Those who are leading must themselves follow; and those
who command must themselves carry out what they expect others to do. I am
engaged in activity so that you may learn to transmute every minute into a
golden chance to enable you to move into Godhood.
695
MAN is endowed with many skills; he is offered many
lives; he is shown many paths. The purpose of all these gifts is to develop in
him the spirit of devotion and dedication and release him from the dual dribble
of joy and grief. When man visualises the Universe as God, its capacity to
confer the dual experience disappears; he knows the Truth and is calm. God is
One and One only; "Ekam eve Adhivitiyam Brahma" (One only, without a
second-Brahmam, which is the immanent principle). So one must endeavour to know
God, who is Truth.
696
THE internal foes can be destroyed by the light of
Jnana (the illumination that accompanies the Realization of the Reality). To
acquire that illumination, one has to cultivate the spirit of impartial, steady,
unfluctuating inquiry, based on the revelations made in the Vedas about the
nature of man and God and the relation between the two. The Vedas have to be
studied reverentially, for they give us the key to Jnana. The Veda is the
Philosopher's stone that turns all metals into gold, all students into Sadhakas
and all Sadhakas into Sages.
697
SEE how the insufferable heat of the Sun is
controlled and modulated and reduced by your bodily mechanism to the congenial
temperature of 98.4 degree F. So, you too should keep the destructive force of
your elemental passions born out of the clamour of Sabdha, Sparsa, Rupa, Rasa
and Gandha rigorously in check and bring it down to tolerable levels, yielding
comfort and congenial living. You yourselves create the Maya of which you are
the slave. Deny it the chance to lord over you and it will not harm you.
698
SHEER ignorance is the root cause for the
disrespect that is being shown to Indian culture and the fascination exercised
by the West. Do these people at least grasp the values of Western culture fully?
No, only the fringe and the foppery are adopted. How can a person, who is unable
to understand his own culture and heritage, understand the meaning and
significance of an alien culture?
699
THE most fundamental teaching of the ancient
culture of India is Love. For generations, the youth of this land have been
exhorted, encouraged and taught, by precept and example, to love the poor, the
helpless, the handicapped, the illiterate and the disabled, for the same spark
of Divinity that is in us, is also equally evident and active in them. Education
must endow man with this compassion and this spirit of service - intelligent,
timely and full. That is to say, education must not only inform but also
transform.
700
THE mind is like a boulder which the intellect
transforms into an image, as a sculptor does. If the intellect allows the senses
to dictate the design, the boulder will be shaped into a horrid idol. If,
however, the senses are sublimated by the spirit, the image wrought by the
intellect will be simply adorable. One must have the mind fully cooperating in
the spiritual discipline and not obstructing its progress at every step.
Liberation is the goal and the mind must help the pilgrim at every stage of his
journey. The Mind should not admit any activity that is contrary to Dharma or
injurious to spiritual progress.
Index
Introduction
Pearls 1- 100
Pearls 101 - 200
Pearls 201- 300
Pearls 301- 400
Pearls 401- 500
Pearls 501 - 600
Pearls 601 - 700
Pearls 701 - 800
Pearls 801 - 900
Pearls 901 - 1008