Learning Through Reading

1313 · Jul 30, 2022

Most people spend the time allotted to them in life and the money they have earned on abundant, unhealthy food and drink, and also indulge in harmful amusements. What a waste of a precious opportunity! Although a human being belongs to the realm of nature, they are endowed far more richly than their fellow creatures physically, mentally, and morally. They have memory, language, conscience, reverence, awe, wonder, and an inexplicable feeling of dissatisfaction—the harbinger of detachment. They have a magnificent chance to visualize their identity with the Mystery that manifests in this Universe, but they are so steeped in ignorance that they behave like animals and have immersed themselves in suffering and vice! It is as if fire had forgotten its nature of burning, or water its nature of being wet! In the same way, human beings have forgotten their nature of aspiring toward Divinity, their ability to seek and uphold the Truth of the Universe of which they are a part; they have forgotten how to cultivate virtue, justice, love, and compassion within themselves in order to proceed from the particular to the One.

Sathya Sai Baba
Divine Discourse, July 2, 1966

1313 · Jul 31, 2022

In a helpless state, people lament and pray to God: "O God, why have You subjected me to this suffering, fear, and anxiety, and tested me in this way?" God gives us neither pain nor joy. Everything you go through, you have created yourself. God is merely a postman. He delivers all the parcels addressed to you. He will deliver whatever is addressed to you: postcards, money orders, and envelopes. Whatever result or effect their contents produce has nothing to do with the postman. Likewise, whatever happens to you is not given to you by God, but is the result of your own actions. There is a sound reason for joy and pain. We ourselves have earned this life experience, which is based on actions performed in this or previous lives. In difficult times, pray to God selflessly, with a pure and spiritual heart, for His “Special Grace” for protection and help.

(Divine Discourse “My Dear Students,” Volume 3, Chapter 3, June 30, 1996)

1313 · Aug 1, 2022

Prema (pure Love) is enough to realize the Supreme.
Prema is the absence of hatred, dislike, and prejudice. Prema also means the positive virtues of compassion and sensitivity, so that when you experience Prema, you grieve when others grieve and rejoice when they are happy.
God possesses four qualities, and only when you develop them will you be able to understand Him.
They are Divine Love (Prema), Beauty (Sundara), Sweetness (Madhura), and Splendor (Shobha).
It is enough to develop Prema for the other three qualities to develop within you.
When you are full of love for the Divine, which pervades all creation, this is the stage of Beauty.
When you immerse yourself in the sea of All-Encompassing Love, you reach the pinnacle of Sweetness.
When your mind loses its identity and dissolves into the Universal Mind, indescribable Splendor manifests!

BHAGAVAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA
Divine Discourse, November 23, 1966

1313 · Aug 2, 2022

Inner purity is more important than outer purity. By practicing perseverance and patience, we can acquire all the other important qualities as well, such as control of the mind, faith, self-renunciation, endurance, and concentration. This will lead to a state of inner purity. God is constantly present both within and without. Therefore, both the inner and outer spaces in which the Lord dwells must be cleansed and sanctified. Then the God who constantly dwells within you will protect you wherever you go.

Sathya Sai Baba
31/01/04

1313 · Aug 3, 2022

If you want to attain the ultimate Truth of your being and dissolve into the bliss of the principle of the Atma, you must develop complete control over your senses. As soon as a thought arises, you must examine the nature of that thought. Ask yourself: “Is this thought desirable, or does it hinder my spiritual progress?” Devotees should be very attentive from the very beginning and ensure that bad thoughts do not wander through the mind. For most people, it is impossible to remain completely without thoughts; but when bad thoughts arise, at least something can be done: do not give them shelter or encourage them.

Sathya Sai Gita

1313 · Aug 4, 2022

When the heart melts, love flows from it.
When love matures, it turns into beauty.
When beauty ripens and fills with essence, it becomes sweetness.
When you become intoxicated with this sweetness, everything seems magnificent and radiant. The whole process can be likened to the transformation of a flower into ripe, sweet juice. The main thing is to attain maturity. The Spirit is sweetness itself…
This divine tenderness illuminates the entire world.
And this beauty, this tenderness, this bliss—all of it is within you. Turn your mind toward God, and the entire universe will appear in a new light. Without this inner transformation, all the changes and innovations in the surrounding world of phenomena are worthless.
Only when the individual changes does the world change as well.

Sathya Sai Baba. How to Win the Love of God.
Discourses, 1989. Chapter 22

1313 · Aug 5, 2022

Man's foremost duty is to serve society with noble feelings. Regard the body as an instrument given by God to serve your fellow beings with love.
God is present in every being as the eternal witness. Truth is proclaimed as “Soham,” which is uttered with every breath: “So” with each inhalation and “Ham” with each exhalation. “So” means “That” (God), and “Ham” means “I.” This process takes place 21,600 times a day in every living being. Thus, every day, the inner voice reminds a person many times of their divine nature. But people act foolishly by not listening to their inner voice.
Who is the doer? Who breathes, who speaks, who listens, who acts? It is the inner true Self, which is the same in everyone. Develop this spirit of unity. The one who acts and the one who makes you act are essentially one. Understand that you are not serving others—you are serving yourself.

Sathya Sai Baba
24 02 2002, Prashanti Nilayam

1313 · Aug 6, 2022

Try changing your perspective. When you practice viewing the world from the perspective of the omnipresent Divine, you will begin to change. You will feel the power of Divinity in all Creation.
You cannot hide anywhere from God. Many people think that Swami does not see what they are doing. They do not realize that Swami has myriad eyes. Your eyes are divine too. But you are unaware of your true nature.
When you have faith in yourself, you will have faith in God. Love God with this highest faith. Then you will be drawn to God. Purity is needed for this. A magnet cannot attract a rusty piece of iron. Similarly, God cannot draw an impure person to Himself. Therefore, change your feelings and thoughts and develop the conviction that God is all that exists. The Lord will never leave you if you have this conviction.

Sathya Sai Baba
Divine Discourse, February 27, 1995

1313 · Aug 7, 2022

Someone berates and insults you; as long as such treatment remains beyond the reach of your sense organs, what is said does not affect you. But if the insulting words reach your ears, you become agitated and furious. What is the reason for this? Until there was contact between external events and the sense organs, the person remained undisturbed. Consider the opposite example: someone praises you and speaks of your wonderful qualities. Until the words of praise reach your ears, you do not rejoice or experience tender feelings. But as soon as you hear the words of praise, you rejoice in them and feel love for the speaker. What is the reason for disliking one person and loving another? It is contact with objects of the external world. The sense organs will respond calmly to what is happening only when they minimize their contact with the external world. Controlling the sense organs is not easy. An easier way is to develop equanimity toward everything.

Sathya Sai Baba
Divine Discourse, May 23, 1990.

1313 · Aug 8, 2022

All hearts are His property; they are His domain. But just as an aristocrat sits only in a clean place, although everything is his domain, so too the Lord dwells in a heart that has been purified. The Lord declared: "Where My devotees sing My praises, there I manifest Myself, Narada." I assure you that you are much more fortunate than previous generations. Surely, the accumulated blessings of many past lives have brought you this good fortune. You have Me, and now it is your duty to develop this relationship acquired through such happy fortune. Bananas and mangoes are kept in straw or dried grass so that they remain green. When the time comes, they are placed in a warm, enclosed space so that they become ripe and delicious. Meditation on God gives you the right temperature for your maturation, so that you become "sweet" and "delicious."

BHAGAVAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA
Divine Discourse, September 27, 1960.

1313 · Aug 9, 2022

Each person is the cause of their own destiny, whether good or bad. Everyone is a builder, an architect. Destiny, purpose, predestination, the will of God—each of these explanations is refuted by the principle of karma (the consequences of past actions). God and people can be reconciled and connected only on the basis of this principle of karma. When a person understands that God is not involved in causing suffering, that they themselves are its sole cause, when they do not blame another person, and when they realize that they are free to determine their future, then they move toward God with firm steps and a clear mind. If a person is experiencing misfortune now, it is undoubtedly the result of their previous actions. Accordingly, one must believe that happiness and good fortune are also in one’s own hands. If a person makes such a decision, happiness and good fortune can be attained.

Sathya Sai Baba
Sathya Sai Vahini, Chapter 13

1313 · Aug 10, 2022

Only when you find yourself in a desperate situation do you forget about selfishness and pride and call upon the Lord. The life of the Pandavas was so full of trials and difficulties that they constantly prayed to God. If I granted you complete prosperity and the fulfillment of all your desires, you would never even come near Me. Difficulties are a kind of bait with which the Lord draws you out of the ocean of worldly existence, just as a fisherman pulls a fish out of the water.

Kunti, the mother of the Pandavas, asked Krishna always to send her and her sons all kinds of trials so that they would constantly remember the Lord, pray to Him, and receive His Grace. Tirumalachar called such an attitude Surrender to God (Atma Arpanam). But since Atma is the Inner Divinity, what does it mean to offer oneself to Him? You must rid yourself of selfishness. Therefore, offer God your pride, your identification with the body, your sense of separateness, and all the delusions and attachments that have grown into selfishness. This will be your offering to God.

Give Me all the bad that is within you, take My Pure Divine Love in return, and I will teach you to see everything as happening according to the Will of God.

Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Divine Discourse, September 27, 1960

1313 · Aug 11, 2022

Immortality is true nirvana (liberation)! Samyak Drishti (spiritual vision) is the first step. Regard everything you see as divine. Let your vision be filled with love. Vision filled with love is the hallmark of a true human being. All is one; treat everyone equally. You will be able to comprehend unity in diversity only when you develop spiritual vision. Samyak Drishti helps you realize the presence of the Divine in everything. The Vedas proclaim: "Ekam Sat Viprah Bahudha Vadanti" (Truth is one, but the wise call it by different names). Look at the world through the eyes of truth. All is one; everyone is divine by nature. Give up multiplicity to attain unity. Vedanta asserts that the Atmic principle is the unity underlying diversity. There are many electric light bulbs, but the current flowing through them is the same. Similarly, the Atmic principle exists in everyone. A person's inability to understand this principle of unity is the cause of their ignorance. True humanity lies in realizing unity in diversity.

BHAGAWAN SRI SATHYA SAI BABA
Divine Discourse, May 7, 2001.

1313 · Aug 12, 2022

Let your faith be unwavering. Do not become a slave to others, not even to God! Test everything in the world for its strength. Check, try, gain your own experience—and, having finally found God, claim what is rightfully yours! But before you can claim that right, you will have to come to the examination and pass it, won't you? The challenges you face are not punishment; they do not mean that I enjoy seeing you in difficulty. They are meant to give you the joy of successfully passing your examinations!
Regard everything as a manifestation of God's will. Whatever happens to you, gain or loss, pain or pleasure, have firm faith that it is for your good... Have firm conviction that difficulties and suffering are ordained by God for your purification. There is a reason for everything God does.
God tests people in many ways. Trials are intended only to help your spiritual progress. Nothing can affect God. Why do you lose faith in Him? It is a sign of weakness. Do not leave room for such dispiriting doubts. Strengthen your faith and realize God through your devotion.

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
Sathya Sai Speaks. Volume II

1313 · Aug 13, 2022

HISLOP: Does God forgive even present karma?

SAI: There are three types of karma: past, present, and future. Present karma must continue. It is like a cart followed by a column of dust. If the cart stops, the dust will settle on it. One might wonder whether the cart can keep moving constantly without stopping, so that the dust remains behind it all the time. However, the cart does not necessarily have to travel along a dusty road. It can move onto a paved highway where there is no dust at all. The paved road is equivalent to God's grace.

There is a difference between the grace of God's mercy and the grace of bhakti devotion. A patient suffering severe pain is given medicine to relieve it. But God's mercy is an operation that completely eliminates the pain. They should not be confused. God's mercy completely eliminates karma. Just as medicine labeled “expires in 1968,” if used in 1972, will have no effect. The body is the bottle, and the karma inside it is the medicine. God puts an expiration date on the medicine so that it has no effect.

John S. Hislop
“Conversations with Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba”

1313 · Aug 14, 2022

People waste energy by indulging in evil thoughts, looking at the world with an unkind eye, listening to bad words, and performing unkind deeds.
Here is the truly royal road:
Let the eyes not see bad things, but see only what is good.
Let the ears not hear bad things, but hear only what is good.
Let the tongue not utter bad words, but utter only good ones.
Let the hands not perform evil deeds, but perform only good deeds.
Your time will become sacred only when you learn to apply these rules in life. This is your sadhana; this is the service you need to perform. And then the day will surely come when you conquer your mind and merge into the Divine.

Sathya Sai Baba
Summer Showers in Brindavan '93.

1313 · Aug 15, 2022

The worst of sins is finding fault with others. First correct your own mistakes and accept the good in others.
If you do not reap a harvest of love in your heart, then you are not a true Christian, a true Sikh, a true Hindu, or a true Muslim. You are a demon in human form. When you develop Love in your heart, you are truly God. Whether you become God or a demon depends on your feelings. Do not look for faults in others. Many criticized Buddha when He accepted Ambashali's invitation. But she was not the only one responsible for her bad character. There were many who encouraged her.
Five people are most often responsible for every sinful action.
The one who committed the sin;
the one who caused the sin;
the one who encouraged the commission of the sin;
the one who showed the ways and means of committing the sin;
and the one who witnessed the sin being committed.
All five will face the consequences of the sin.

Sathya Sai Baba
February 14, 1999
Sai Kulwant Hall

1313 · Aug 16, 2022

The world is constantly agitated by its very nature. How can your intentions to lead a peaceful and contented life be fulfilled in it? It is like trying to swim while avoiding the rises and falls caused by the waves of the sea during rough weather. Under such conditions, the best thing one can do is acknowledge this fact and stop worrying about the inevitable.

The word Manushya denotes a person who is master of their mind, or Manas. When people come to Me and complain that they cannot concentrate, I laugh at their weakness, for even a car driver is a master of the art of concentration. He pays no attention to the passenger's chatter behind or beside him. He watches the road ahead, and his attention is single-pointed.

If you have faith (Shraddha), then more than half the battle is already won. That is why in the Gita Krishna asks Arjuna: “Did you listen with single-pointed attention to everything I said?” And Arjuna, being a good student, replied that even in the midst of the battlefield, facing hostile armies, he listened to the Lord's words with utmost concentration. Learn such concentration, and this skill will prove useful to you.

Sathya Sai Baba
Markandeya Sanskrit College, Aukiripalli, 22-1-1960

1313 · Aug 17, 2022

Life is a mixture of good and bad, happiness and sorrow, and all of this should be endured with equanimity. All events should be experienced with an equal attitude. Everyone should resolve to face calmly whatever happens this year, considering it all a blessing. Welcome everything. Do not weep over failures. Consider that everything happens for your own good. People should rise above pleasures and troubles, successes and failures… Everything that happens should be regarded as a gift from God.
This world is a mixture of pleasure and pain, which are inseparable. Pleasure is the result of pain. By developing impartiality and equanimity, you should cultivate faith in God, fill your hearts with love for God, and selflessly perform your duty. This is a person’s foremost duty.”

Sathya Sai Baba
Brindavan, 04/04/1992

1313 · Aug 18, 2022

Sugar is the main cause of cancer.

To this day, no doctor has been able to determine the cause of cancer.
The cause can be discovered after careful consideration.
Some may say that chewing betel leaves causes cancer; some say that smoking cigarettes and hand-rolled cigarettes (bidis) causes cancer; and others claim that pollution causes cancer.
All of these contribute to the development of cancer, but they are not the main cause of its onset.
Upon deeper study, it becomes clear that the main cause of cancer is sugar!
Commercial sugar contains many harmful chemicals. It also contains bone powder.
This material can settle in any part of the body and cause certain problems.
Blood has two types of cells, namely red blood cells and white blood cells. The blockage of white blood cells in a particular place is the starting point for the development of cancer.
This condition is called leukoma (lukoma), and it is the most important factor in cancer.
As far as the harm caused by sugar is concerned, these chemicals primarily contribute to this leukemia.
Today, doctors say that people who chew betel leaves or smoke develop cancer. But are there not many people who do neither and still suffer from cancer?
Pollutants in the air, water, and food merely assist cancer, but the main cause of its appearance is refined sugar.
In olden times, sugar was not disguised with such artificial makeup. People usually used jaggery (made from sugarcane or palm-tree sap) or jaggery powder, and never suffered from such diseases. But today everything is polluted and artificial. By resorting to dubious ways of accumulating wealth and making money, people cause such dangerous diseases. What is the use of this money if the person is no longer there? Is a person not more important than wealth?
From Sai Baba’s divine discourse, 08/10/1983