Sri Sathya Sai International Organization

The second ceiling on desires is: ‘Don’t waste money. God is wealth.’ Since God is wealth, misuse of money is evil. Practise charity by gifting away money, food, clothes, houses, etc., instead of misusing it in extravagance. Misuse of money is not only evil but a sin as well.

Believe that you are Divine; conduct yourselves in accordance with that sovereign status; then, you will be blessed with the Anubhuuthi---the experience, the vision, the realization, the awareness, the bliss.

Offering obeisance (Namaskar) also signifies, doing good deeds. What is the inner significance behind the worship of nature consisting of the three gunas - Satwa, Rajo and Tamo? Heart should be pure, words should be pure and actions should be pure. These are the three forms of the three Gunas. These three are also called the three instruments (Trikarnamulu). Purity of thought, word and deed would enable one to receive the grace of God.

Recognizing one's mother as the very embodiment of all divine forces, one must show reverence to her and treat her with love. This is the true message that this nine-night festival (the Navaratri) gives us. The supreme Shakti manifests herself in the form of Durga, Lakshmi, and Saraswati. Durga grants us energy - physical, mental, and spiritual. Lakshmi bestows on us all forms of wealth - not just money but intellectual wealth, the wealth of character, and others... One's own mother is the combination of all these divine beings. She provides us with energy, wealth, and intelligence. She constantly desires our advancement in life. So she represents all the three goddesses that we worship during the Navaratri festival.

You recognise only the momentary results of the advent. But you should note that the Divine comes as Avatar only to teach mankind the truth about love….. Love alone is the fruit of love.  Love is its own witness.  There is no trace of self-interest in it. Because love exists for its own sake, it has no fear. It is to teach humanity the way of love that Avatars come in the world.  The world displays the diversity that has emanated from the One. The Divine demonstrates the unity that subsumes the diversity.  Recognition of this unity in diversity can be learnt only from the Divine.

Offer God real flowers grown in the garden of your heart, fragrant, beautiful, delighting. Try to see everyone as a ray of God.

First and foremost, one should worship nature (Prakruti) and then receive the blessings of the Lord (Paramatma). The former is Man’s effort (Purusha Prayatnam) and the latter is God’s grace (Daiva anugraham). Prakruti and Paramatma are like negative and positive. God (Paramatma) who is all powerful may be positive, but if there is no involvement of negative - Nature i.e., (Prakruti), there would be no creation. The basis for the whole creation is - Nature (Prakruti).

Think of God, and the gratitude you owe to Him for the human life He has gifted you and the various material, moral and intellectual talents He has endowed you with; do this before you commence any task or piece of work. You will certainly experience great benefit, and you will have peace, joy and success in your endeavours through Divine Grace.

Whoever worships the Supreme Lord should also worship the Divine in the form of Nature (Prakriti). He should love Nature and adore Nature. Nature is not different from the Supreme Self (Paramatma). Nature is the effect and God is the cause.

Try to sanctify every item of work by dedicating it to some Divine end. The Universe is the handiwork of God, and therefore, meaningful and moral.

All work should be done with a pure heart filled with devotion, just as cooking must be done in a clean vessel. Whatever good you may do without a genuine feeling of love is of no use. It is love in a pure heart that transforms work into worship.

Install the Lord in your heart and offer Him the fruits of your actions and the flowers of your inner thoughts and feelings. That is the worship I like most, the devotion I appreciate most.

Truth, Right conduct, Peace, Love, Nonviolence (Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi, Prema, Ahimsa) are not outside. They are within you. When you get angry, you lose your peace. Therefore, you should always remain peaceful and blissful. Being a human being, you should have human qualities. A true human being is one who is suffused with sathya, dharma, shanthi, and prema. When you develop these human qualities, you will enjoy peace at all times. Then you will always have a smile on your face.

What is needed today to save oneself from anxiety and fear, here and hereafter, is dedication, diverting the mind towards God.