Grace:
Quotes from Sathya Sai Speaks (SSS)
If you secure the Grace of Madhava, you are reinforced with so much strength that you
can carry out even the most difficult tasks. So get the Lord on your side and
draw upon His Grace for all your needs. SSS1, Chap.15
[W]hen the Grace of the Lord is
won, Jnana will prevail and the delusion of
separateness is powerless. SSS1, Chap.32
God's Grace can destroy the
effects of past karma or modify its rigor. Never doubt that. If the law of
Karma is so unbreakable, then why recommend Sadhana,
good living and cultivation of virtue? Prarabdha will
melt like mist before the Sun if you win the Grace of the Lord! The Grace of
the Lord is needed for the dawn of Jnana also. SSS1, Chap.32
It is only when you are blessed
with the Grace of the Lord, which is earned by Dharma, that you can have Santhi. A fish can have Santhi
only when it has water above and below and on all sides; so too, you must have
Grace all around you. There is no shortcut to this Grace; Namasmarana
is the safest route. Do not believe others who prescribe shorter routes; they
may talk of Pranayama and Hatha
Yoga. Be warned; they are fraught with danger. Do not lend ear to such, or read
and believe the books on physical yoga and start practicing the exercises. I
know of many cases of madness and other dislocations happening by practice from
the printed page. SSS2, Chap.34
The Grace of the Lord will
overwhelm all obstacles and the fruit of Sadhana will
be vouchsafed. Once you secure the Grace, you can fulfill all your wishes with
it; if you have the cloth, you can have any type of clothes: bush coat, coat or
pants. It is the Grace that gives value to life, authenticity to the Sastras, authority to the recipient. SSS2, Chap.34
If you win the Grace of the Lord,
even the decrees of Destiny can be overcome. There are certain drugs which come
in bottles on which the manufacturer has given an ultimate date beyond which
the drug loses its efficacy. Of course, the drug will be in the bottle, but
would no longer be effective. Similarly, Lord’s Grace can make it
inoperative. SSS2, Chap.14
If you have the Grace of God, no graha (planet) can harm you; maleficent influences even
from the most powerful combination of planets with which the astrologers
terrify you will disappear in a trice. In order to get that Grace, there are
two prescriptions: priyam vada
(speak lovingly), so far as the world is concerned;
and sathyam vada (speak the
Truth) so far as the next world is concerned. Prema (Love)
is the weapon; vichara (inquiry) is the wheel which
must be revolved perpetually to get the light of prema.
Until prema emerges, you have to be in the darkness
of hatred, where even the slightest movement creates fear and suspicion. SSS1, Chap.26
Medicines on their own cannot cure
diseases; it is Divine Grace that cures.
Only sacrifice can win God’s grace…Without God’s Grace, even the pulse
cannot beat. You are under the mistaken
notion that mere medicines can cure the diseases., If that were the case, what happened to all
those kings and rich men who access to best medical facilities? So, along with medicines, one should have
Divine Grace too. Medicine and Divine
Grace are like negative and positive respectively. Diseases can be cured only when both these
come together. So, along with taking
medicines, one should also pray for Divine Grace. Without Divine Grace, human body cannot be
sustained. Human body is most wonderful
and mysterious. Who is responsible for
the pulse beat? Who is making the heart
pump blood? All this happens because of
Divine Will. Divine power is responsible
for the growth of the body. There is no
point in merely feeding the body and sustaining it unless it is used to serve
the poor. Discourse given
January 19, 2001
[N]ot even an eyelid can open without the Lord's Will.
So try to get Lord's Grace and leave all questions to be answered by Him
according to His Fancy. SSS2, Chap.18
Like underground water, the Divine
is there, in every one, remember. The Lord is Sarvabhuthaantharathma
(Indweller in all beings), Sarvavyapi (all-pervading).
He is the inner Atma of every being. He is in you as
much as in every one else. He is not more in a rich being or bigger in a fat
being; His spark illumines the cave of the heart of every one. The Sun shines
equally on all; His Grace is falling equally on all. It is only you that erect
obstacles that prevent the rays of His Grace from warming you. Do not blame the
Lord for your ignorance or foolishness or perversity. Just as underground water
wells up in a gushy spring when a bore is sunk down to that depth, by constant
Ram Ram Ram Ram Ram, touch the spring of
Divinity and one day it will gush out in cool plenty and bring unending joy. SSS1, Chap.18
The Grace of the Lord is always
flowing like the electric current through the wire. Fix a bulb and the current,
to the extent of the wattage, will illumine your home. The bulb is the Sadhana you perform; the home is your heart. Come to Me
gladly; dive into the sea and discover the depth; there is no use dipping near
the shore and swearing that the sea is shallow and has no pearls. Dive deep and
you will secure your desire. SSS1, Chap.10
The current flows always along the
wire. You have only to take a connection and switch on. If the connection is
loose, then the flow of Grace will be disturbed and might even stop. It is you
that connects and disconnects. SSS2, Chap. 36
The Lord's Grace is like rain,
pure water, falling equally everywhere; but its taste gets changed according to
the soil through which it flows. So also the Lord's words are sweet to some,
bitter to others. The Lord's ways are mysterious; He blessed Vidura with the words, 'be destroyed' and Dussasana with the words, 'live for a thousand years;' He
meant that Vidura's 'I' will be destroyed and that
the wicked Dussasana will have to suffer the ills and
tribulations of this world for ten centuries. You do not know the real reasons
behind the actions of the Lord. SSS1, Chap.1
You are deluded by a false sense
of values. Why worry so much at not being able to touch these Feet? My Feet are
within your reach, at all times, wherever you are. "Sarvathah
Paani Paada",
"Hands and Feet everywhere." If you wail in agony, "Don't you
hear me?", My Ears are there to listen; if you pray from the depths of
your heart, "Don't you see my plight?", My Eyes are there shedding
Grace on you. Get out of Maya and become Prema; then
you get Prema only from Me. SSS2, Chap.18
The greatest instrument by which
success can be ensured for all your efforts is Bhakthi.
That will give health, wealth and prosperity too, for it will eliminate hatred
and faction and give more power to your elbow when you plow the land. A man
with Bhakthi will do every act as worship of the Lord
and so the act will be done better and more efficiently, without any
malingering or insincerity. It will also win the Grace of the Lord, and so, a Bhaktha (devotee) will be able to raise more crops and
enjoy greater health and mental happiness.
SSS1, Chap.
23
Be eager and earnest to know more
and more about the art of joyful living, happy unperturbed living. One can
advance only step by step and there is the danger of slipping down two steps
when you climb one. What matters is the determination to climb, the resistance
with which the sliding tendency is met, the yearning to rise to progress, to
conquer the lower impulses and instincts. If you have that, the hidden spring
of power will surge up within you; the Grace of the Lord will smoothen your
path. SSS1, Chap.24
To earn the good will of the
Master, there is one recipe: obey His orders without murmur. I am telling you
My truth, not in self praise, but so that you can understand Me. If I do not
tell about Myself, who can? Grace is showered on all who obey instructions and
follow orders. But the number of such is very small. Even though they are light
and easy, they are designed to make you go beyond Thriputi
- the three-fold distinction of the Pilgrim, the Path and the Goal; of Bhagavatha, Bhaktha and Bhagavan; of Lover, Loved and Love. You are in Ambarisha Thathwa (principle of
devotion) one moment and in Durvasa Thathwa (principle of anger) the next. This is wrong. You
should be steady, fixed in your resolve and in your conduct. That is why,
outside the Prasanthi Nilayam,
I serve in my discourses what you call "Vindu"
or Feast, but here, to you, I always administer "Mandu"
or drugs. This is the center, the Kendram, the
Headquarters of the Asthika army which is to
establish Lokakalyanam (world prosperity). Of course
I insist everywhere on piety and a high moral life; but here I lay down
stricter and more rigorous rules. SSS2, Chap.36
Winning the Grace of the Lord is
as easy as melting butter; that is why the heart of the Lord is compared to
butter. It is as soft as butter, they say. A little warmth is enough to melt
it; a little warm affection shown to a suffering companion, a little warmth
while pronouncing His Name, turning it over on the tongue, so to say. SSS2, Chap.36
Let the purity, which you are, get
manifested; endeavour to express it in your
activities; that is what pleases me and wins my Grace. SSS5, Chap.44
Cleanse the heart with the water
of Prema and the detergents, prayer and contrition;
so that the strains of desire might be removed.
Then God will pour His Grace into it.
You should give up Lokabhranthi and Dehabhranthi (attachment to the exterior world and to the
body) if you yearn for God… The waving
of the camphor flame at the end of the Bhajan
sessions is to remind you that your sensual cravings must be burnt away without
leaving any trace behind, and you must offer yourself to God for being merged
with His Glory. SSS6, Chap.23
When the sun rises, all the buds
of lotus in the lake will not open out in full bloom. Only those which are full
grown can blossom so; the rest have to bide their time and grow. His Grace is
the right of all, but it can be won by Sadhana only…I
am always steady, My Grace is ever there. To the outward eye, My action is
magic, miracle; to the inner eye, it is all Leela,
Will. The Hand that creates is the Hand that gives - there is no keeping back.
It is always for you and you alone. That is My Truth; know it and be
happy. SSS2, Chap.18
Bhakthi is the
easiest way to win His Grace and also to realise that
He pervades everything; in fact, is everything!
SSS1, Chap.2
Take everything as it comes;
cultivate contentment; do not multiply your wants and foster greed and despair.
You take off your warm clothing when you start feeling warm yourself. The coat
of desire has to be taken off when the warmth of Bhakthi
increases. Strive to secure Grace, do not strive to secure any lesser fruit. SSS2, Chap.43
I do not like people wasting the
precious moments of their limited years of life in idle talk or vain pursuits.
Nor do I like cowardly hesitation. Act; act with all your might and with all
your mind; make full use of the skill, capacity, courage and confidence that
you are endowed with. Then God will bless you. You must have heard of a Ramabhaktha who sat on the roadside by his upturned cart,
wailing his bad luck and calling on Rama to fit the
cart into position. Rama did not appear to raise the
cart and fix the wheel. He therefore began chiding his faith itself and to
doubt the experience of the sages who describe Him as the
The worldly outlook will deceive
you and land you in grief. You do not know which articles will satisfy your
inner cravings; you try to posses whatever attracts your eye. When you crave
for the thought of the Lord and the company of the Godly, then you are in Uttarayana. Bhishma too was in
that mood. He prayed "Asatho maa
sath gamaya". From
this transient world of decay, lead me to the ever lasting world of Bliss;
"Thamaso maa jyothir gamaya": Give me the
effulgence of Thy Grace and illumine my soul with truth; "Mruthyor maa amrtham
gamaya": Save me from the torture of birth and
death, destroy the cravings of the mind which produce the seeds of birth. That
prayer and that yearning of Bhisma gave him the
vision of
You must have that yearning, the
yearning of the stone to become a diamond. You must hold the hand of the Mother
and walk safe by Her side. You must hold fast and not give up. Be like the
infant monkey that clings to the mother and so is guarded and guided by her superior
strength and wisdom. The Lord is won by sincere agony, steady yearning. There
are some places where Sai Baba, the previous Sariram (body), is worshipped, but where this 'yearning' is
not considered important ! The person who goes to that place is asked by the
man in charge to come for seven Thursdays or eleven Thursdays or forty one days
and worship Sai Baba in order to get His full Grace,
as if it is just a matter of arithmetic. No. That is but a stratagem to gather
a sizable crowd, so that the shrine may be taken to be famous! Bhakthi does not lend itself to such treatment. True Bhakthi will overcome all obstacles and like a swollen
river, leap over bunds and banks and overwhelm all by its strength.
Difficulties are created to increase the 'yearning' and to sift the sincere
devotee from the rest. By the alchemy of smarana
(constant remembrance of God), even a rock is turned into clay. It cannot
become soft by merely carrying it on a specified number of journeys into a
shrine. SSS2, Chap.33
What other task have I than the
showering of Grace? By darsana, sparsana
and sambhashana, you share in that Grace. When that
melts and this melts, the two can merge. Treat Me not as one afar, but as very
close to you. Insist, demand, claim Grace from Me; do not praise, extol and
cringe. Bring your hearts to Me and win My Heart. Not one of you is a stranger
to
You must dive deep into the sea to
get the pearls. What good is it to dabble among the waves near the shore and
swear that the sea has no pearls in it and that all tales of their existence
are false. So also if you must realize the full fruit of this Avathar, dive deep and get immersed in Sai
Baba. Half heartedness, hesitation, doubt, cynicism, listening to tales, all
are of no avail. Concentrated complete faith - that alone can bring victory.
This is true of any worldly activity, is it not? How much more true must it be,
therefore, in the spiritual field? But if you have already attached yourselves
to some one Name and Form, do not change it, do not choose another in place of
the Premaswarupam. A hundred people might come to
your house and even treat you with affection, but you do not address them as
Papa or Daddy. Have your mind fixed on One; do not now and then allow clouds of
doubt, like "'Is He Great?" "Is He God?" to dim your faith.
Be bold. Acknowledge the glory that you have witnessed; proclaim the joy that
you have experienced; confess to the Grace that you have earned. When people
ask you whether you are going to Puttaparthi, for
example, and whether you too are doing Bhajana, say
"Yes" proudly, for there is no shame in walking on the right path ! SSS1, Chap.21
When you travel by train, you have only to
purchase the ticket, enter the proper train and take a seat, leaving the rest
to the engine. Why should you carry the bed and trunk on your head? So too, put
your trust in the Lord and carry on to the best of your ability. Have faith in
the Lord and His Grace; try to earn it by using the intelligence and the
conscience with which He has endowed you. SSS1, Chap.28
Here, I must tell you one
thing. Which dreams are real? Dreams relating to God are real. You see Me in the dream, I allow you to do Namaskaram, I bless you, I grant Grace…That is true; that
is due to My Will and your Sadhana. If the Lord or your guru appears in a dream,
it must be the results of Sankalpa, not due to any of
the other reasons which cause dreams. It
can never happen as a result of your wish. SSS5, Chap.35
Meritorious deeds will not confer
misery and sinful deeds can not give happiness.
One is bound to face the consequences of one’s actions. but one treats pleasure and pain alike when
one becomes the recipient of God’s Grace.
God’s Grace destroys mountains of sins and confers peace… One gets whats one does. If
one expects good results, one must cultivate good feelings. With purity of heart, steadiness of mind and
selfless actions, one can become the recipient of Divine Grace, which will
remove any amount of sufferings in a trice.
One cannot achieve anything without Divine Grace. So, one has to undertake such activities
which will confer Divine Grace. Peace
and happiness cannot be obtained from the external world. Only through Divine Grace can one be peaceful
and happy…Man is essentially good. So,
he ought to lead a life of goodness. But
today man wavers every moment. It is due
to the lack of Will power. Man should
have unwavering mind and steady vision.
Then he will not be subjected to any hardships. Only God’s Grace can
help man to overcome these negative tendencies. New Year Discourse, 01
January 2001
I must tell you one thing more. I
would ask you to appreciate the ordeals, trials and tribulations of the
pilgrims who come here. Treat them kindly, do not speak harsh words and add to
their troubles. When after weeks of blistering walk and hungry vigil they reach
this Heaven, treat them gently. Do not exploit their ignorance and try to get
maximum advantage out of it for yourself. There is a Dharma for even business;
do not overstep that limit. Then Badri Narayana will bless you; not that He will give you up, if
you act otherwise. Only, it will take a longer time! For, every living being
has some day or other to tread the right path and get merged in the Grace of
God. SSS2, Chap.9
Of course, the majority of persons
get glimpses of Viveka and Vairagya
off and on; but they soon forget the call and ignore it and cover it up by
excess or excuses. One step forward and one step back ... the journey does not
take them far. Even if some do take up Sadhana,
steadiness is absent. Like a ball of thread which slips out of the hand on to
the floor, it all comes off because the grasp is not firm. Steady effort alone
will bring success here, as in every other case. How can you expect quick
success in the control of the mind? It is very difficult to overcome its
vagaries, for it is many faced and very adamant. You are unable to understand Prakrithi, which is a reflection, a shadow of God; how then
can you understand God himself? No. Steady perseverance alone will tame your
mind; and it is only through a tamed mind that you can experience God. In this
case, you must become your own tutor; train yourself by using the spark of
wisdom that has been implanted in you. Once you try with all your might, the
Lord's Grace will be there to help you forward. The first step in the Sadhana is the cleansing of the speech. Talk sweet without
anger. Do not boast of your scholarship or attainments. Be humble, eager to
serve; conserve your speech. Practice silence. That will save you from
squabbles, frittering thoughts and faction.
SSS2, Chap.6
Do you know how much I feel when I
find that in spite of My Arrival and Bodha and Upadesam, you have not yet started this Sadhana.
You simply praise Me and strew compliments; that I am the Treasure house of
Grace, the
You might ask Me to speak about My
own mystery. It is not easy to understand it. When you have the chance, gather
all the joy you can. There is no use of bolting the door after the thieves have
robbed and fled. Seize the chance and do not repent later that you missed the
opportunity. Remember, you have to come to Me, if not in this Birth, at least
within ten more births ! Strive to acquire Grace; Grace is the reward for Sadhana; the highest Sadhana is
to follow the instructions of the Master.
SSS4, Chap.5
The blemish that affects the mind
is Maya. It is like a fierce dog that will not allow any one to approach the
Master. You can manage to by pass it, only by assuming the Rupam
or Form of the Master, which is called Sarupyam, or
by calling out for the Master so loudly that He comes down and accompanies you
into the house, that is to say, by winning His Grace, Samipyam.
Maya is His Pet and so, it will not harm you if He orders it to desist from
harming you. SSS4, Chap.1
Again, unless the people of this village
have deposited amounts in the bank, how can the bank honor the checks they draw?
Have you deposited devotion to the Lord, service to your kind, faith in your
spiritual practice? Then alone can you draw upon the Grace that is won by such
exertion; Grace is proportionate to exertion. SSS4, Chap.14
The craving for sense objects
cannot be given up fully; so, transform it into an instrument for worship.
Dedicate all your efforts to the Lord; accept all achievements and failures, as
proofs of the Grace of the Lord. His
Will decreed that they should so happen. Transform all the six passions into
instruments for spiritual uplift. SSS3, Chap.26
Bhakthi purifies
the heart, elevates the feelings and universalizes the vision. It also brings
down the Grace of God; for, the clouds have to come over the fields and pour
rain; the plants cannot rise up to drink the life giving fluid. The mother has
to bend to the cradle to fondle the child. Bhakthi
has that power, to bring the Lord down. SSS4, Chap.12
The gods once were so elated at
some victory they won, so proud and so forgetful of the Divine Grace that
helped them to foil their enemies, that they held a great banquet to celebrate
it. When they were engaged in the revelry, the Lord decided to prick the bubble
of their conceit. So He created a strange phenomenon which presented itself
before them and arrested their attention. They went near it out of fear and
wonder. It accosted them and when it was told that they were a company of gods
celebrating a victory, it challenged them to prove their mettle by using their
powers on a blade of grass that it placed on the ground. Agni,
the god of Fire, tried to burn it but was foiled; Vayu,
the god of wind, tried his best to sweep it off but couldn't. Thus, each god
tried to prove his worth by using all his skill on that tiny blade and it was
demonstrated that without the overall Grace of God, each of them and all of
them would have failed in the battle, instead of winning it. Humility was thus
taught to the exultant gods by the all-merciful Lord. SSS4, Chap.14
The Kauravas
had all the instruments for victory; wealth, might of arms, allies, fanatic
hatred of the enemy, Karna! But, they all became
dust, for, they never paid heed to the higher values of Dharma; they did not
equip themselves with the Grace of God, which is reserved for those who walk
the path of humility and peace.
I must speak also to the pilgrims,
for I see them also here in large numbers. If you come as on a picnic, without
the mental preparation necessary to receive the Grace of God, you are a
nuisance here. You spoil the atmosphere of the place. You have come to see
sights, not to strengthen your spiritual inclinations. You go from place to
place, like postal parcels, collecting impressions on the outer wrapper, not on
the core of your being. A blind man going places is not worried whether it is
night or day. So too, you do not differentiate between one place and another.
You behave equally unconcerned, equally senses-centered, in all types of
places. You do not allow the holiness of the place to act on your mind. SSS4, Chap.13
Death comes swooping like the
falcon on chicken feeding on the ground. The man who dies, prays to Me to
receive him; the persons who weep at his departure, pray to Me to keep him
alive. I know both sides of the picture, the past and the present, the crime
and the punishment, the achievement and the reward and so, I carry out what is
just, though modified by Grace. I am not affected one way or the other, by the
arrival into the world of some or the departure from it of some others. My
nature is Nithya anandam
(eternal Bliss). You can share in that Anandam by
following My instructions and practicing what I say. SSS3, Chap.27