Sri Sathya Sai International Organization

Seeking good company and spending all available time in that comradeship called holy company (satsang), will help the aspirant a great deal. You are shaped by the company you keep; a piece of iron turns into rust if it seeks the company of the soil. It glows, it softens and takes on useful shapes if it enjoys the company of fire. Dust can fly if it chooses the wind as its friend; it has to end as slime in a pit if it prefers water. It has neither wing nor foot, yet it can either fly or walk, rise or fall, according to the friend it selects.

Devotees come here from all parts of the world. Each of them asks: "I want peace." Here are three words: "I", "want", "peace". "I" is ego. "Want" is desire. Remove the ego and desire, you will have peace.

Service to God means service to the world. Wherever it is required, do service to others. But do all actions to please God. This is the primary duty of humanity.

We should not criticize others. We should not hurt others or make fun of them. We should love all. This is what mother Easwaramma taught everybody.

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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

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