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Posted to net by http://saibaba.tk the site which offers 500 mp3 sai bhajans ,
collection of miracle photos and latest news 

These sayings by Sathya Sai Baba are posted daily on the Ashram Blackboard.  
 They were compiled into book form by an ardent devotee.  Since this printed 
 version had limited copies, another devotee later reproduced the original into 
 a computer format to facilitate wider publication of the book and to allow for 
 viewing as a "daily saying" on  devotees' computers world-wide.  There is no 
 copyright on the original book or on this program.  These disks are distributed 
 free of charge to devotees with the hope that they will be spread to other 
 devotees.  The only requirement is that the material continue to be distributed 
 free and cannot be published for monetary gain.

With Swami's Grace it is hoped that these sayings will fill devotees' hearts 
 with joy for many days to come.  
 OM SAI RAM	

------------------------------------------------------------------------


	An ardent devotee, who wishes to remain
          anonymous, has woven this resplendent garland of
          1008 petals, each one suffused with the honey-dew
          of the Grace of the Divine Master. Over the last
          three years, each day, he called out, from the
          Divine Discourses of Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba,
          compiled in English by the noble soul, Shri. N.
          Kasturi, a glittering piece to serve as "Thought for
          the Day." Not one day passed by without the
          'Thought' being written out and displayed on a
          Board attached to a tree in the vicinity of the
          Poorna-Chandra Auditorium in Prasanthi 
          Nilayam,. It has been to us, in Prasanthi Nilayam, a
          common sight, every day, of Devotees
          congregating in front of the Board, after the
          morning Darshan, to have their minds soaked in
          the "Thought for the Day" and to gather the
          strength and competence to take one step toward
          the Divine Master.
 
           With the Blessings of Bhagavan Baba, this
          Devotee has completed this labour of love - putting
          1008 Gems inside the covers of a handy Book that
          any Devotee can have as the priceless possession for
          his life-time. He has prayed to Bhagavan Baba to
          bless him with leave to place copies of this Volume,
          free of cost, in the hands of the students and the
          Teachers of the Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher
          Learning and other Devotees who come with a
          ardent desire to sit at Bhagavan's Lotus-Feet. The
          contents of the Book, primordial, authentic,
          perennially sweet, and ennobling, can be read over
          and over again, at all times of the day. By the
          Grace of Bhagavan Baba, such reading will help to
          intensify the process of purification of the reader's
          mind. The Avatar is here to act as our Guru.
          Bhagavan has made his advent on Earth for our
          benefit, and to give us the opportunity to learn the
          Truth, and establish the foundation for our spiritual
          advancement. We, who are at the Divine Lotus
          Feet, are fortunate because we have been given a
          chance to move away from the pattern of life, in
          which we are enmeshed, in the twilight zone of
          Illusion - a state which obscures the Truth and
          prevents us from realizing lasting happiness. At
          this juncture, we should resolve, with all our
          hearts, to surrender to the Divine Master. By this
          act, we will experience Bliss, the supreme goal in
          life, and leave behind the miseries and
          disappointments of the past and the present and
          move into a future full of Divine Grace.
 
                         Says Bhagavan Baba:
 
              "The choice is yours and the timing is yours.
                I shall always be here, waiting for you."
 
          This Volume, "Thought for the Day,"
          constitutes a bridge that will help us, when we are
          on it, to learn to concentrate, and to acquire the
          ability to contemplate and finally reach the stage of
          meditation on the vision of Reality and the Divine
          presence.
 
 
                 In his Avatar as Krishna, Bhagavan has said:
 
 
                 "Knowledge is superior to Practice;
                 Meditation is superior to Knowledge;
                 Superior to Meditation is Renunciation
                 of the Fruit of Action;
                 From Renunciation arises immediately Peace"
 
           Meditation holds the Golden Key to the Glory
          of Renunciation and the sacred Kingdom of
          ever-lasting Peace. This Volume, "Thought for the
          Day", is a powerful instrument placed in our
          hands to facilitate our entry into the domain of
          'Meditation' that will lead us to 'Divinity'.
 
          The architect of this compilation in English
          makes this plea:
 
          "Let this sacred text of Divine Thoughts,
          rendered in the English language, find its bloom in
          all the other languages of the World. Anyone,
          willing to take up this task, is free to do so, subject
          to the compassionate condition that the product
          will be placed in the hands of Devotees free of
          cost."
 
          By the Grace of Bhagavan Baba, may this noble
          aspiration find fulfillment!
 
          With the Book in our hands, we stand
          immersed in the milky ocean of the Lord's
          Compassion. And, then, we are warmed by the
          Radiance of the Divine Master - a Radiance that
          of an order of magnitude so great that no mortal
          can find words to describe it. In every breath that
          we take, in every atom of our behaviour and in
          every manifestation of our intellect, we should
          strive to become worthy recipients of the Divine
          Master's Love and Compassion.
 
                                 AUM SRI SAI RAM
 
                                   JAI SAI RAM
 
                                                 S. Sampath
                                           Vice-Chancellor,
          Prasanthinilayam,        Sri Sathya Sai Institute
          May, 1992                      of Higher Learning
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------

                            AUM SRI SAI RAM
 
 
 
              "Suklambaradaram Vishnum Sashivarnam
               Chathurbhujam Prasanna Vadanam Dhyayeth
               Saravavignopa Shantaye"
 
 
       One who wears a white dress; One who is omnipresent; 
       One who shines like the Moon; One who has four hands; 
       One who has a beautiful and shining face; 
       One who wards off all obstacles. I meditate on Him. 
  
                                AUM SRI SAI RAM
 
 
 
 -----------------------------------------------------------------------

1.      TODAY is the Birthday of Rama who is Dharma 
          itself. He is Veda Dharma in Human Form. He is 
          Anandaswarupa and Dharmaswarupa. On this 
          holy day of Ramanavami you must immerse 
          yourself in the Atma as Dharmaswarupa as the 
          motivator of the moral life. Rama is "Atma Rama" 
          in every being. There is no place where Rama is not. 
          He is imminent and eternal. Rama for you should 
          mean the Path He trods, the ideal He held aloft, and 
          the Ordinance He laid down. They are eternal and 
          timeless. Now you worship His Form, you repeat 
          His name; ignoring His orders. Without practicing 
          the discipline laid down by Rama to purify the mind, 
          all else is mere show, empty rituals. Contemplate on 
          this unique day to obtain Godhood. Use it not for 
          feasting, picnics, hikes, watching films, playing 
          games, gambling, etc. The Immortal had come in the 
          form of Rama to show the way to Immortality.
        
 2.      THE four brothers Rama, Lakshmana, Bharatha
          and Satrughna represent the Rig, Yajur, Sama and
          Atharva Vedas. When man neglects the Divine aspect
          of their natures and the awareness of the Omnipresent
          and Omnipotent OM, he falls prey to the impulses
          and instincts dominated by the ego and develops faith
          in material gains. He spends his life in amassing wealth,
          power and authority over fellow-beings and believes
          that holding others under his sway is a desirable
          achievement. If there were a vacancy in Heaven, he
          would surely apply for the position of God, for he
          believes that he has all the necessary attributes.
       
  3.     THE Ramayana has a deep undercurrent of significant 
          meaning. Dasaratha means: he who 
          rides in a chariot of ten, that is to say, Man. He is tied 
          up with three Gunas or three wives, as in the
          Ramayana. He has four sons, the Purusharthas; 
          Dharma (Rama), Artha (Lakshmana), Kama
          (Bharatha) and Moksha (Satrughna). These four aims 
          of man have to be systematically realised, always with 
          the last one, Moksha, clearly before the
          eye. Lakshmana represents the Buddhi or intellect
          and Sita is Truth. Hanuman is the Mind and 
          the repository of courage, if controlled and trained.
          Sugriva, the master of Hanuman, is Discrimination.
          With these to help him, Rama seeks the Truth and
          succeeds. That is the lesson of the Epic to every man.
        
 4.      RAMA is Dharma personified. "Vignahavak
          Dharmah". Rama is the Supreme Exemplar of
          the Virtues that man must cultivate so that he
          might live as a master, husband, son, brother,
          friend or even foe. The other three brothers of
          Rama personify the other three ideals. Bharatha
          is the embodiment of Sathya; Satrughna of Shanti;
          and Lakshmana of Prema. Study the Ramayana
          with the aim of imbibing from it the ideals for
          happy living, for making this life worthwhile and
          you will be amply rewarded. Then you can deservedly 
          style yourselves "Devotees" of the Lord.
        
 5.      THE Ramayana is a guide-book, a sacred text, an
          inspiring scripture for every man in all lands,
          whatever his creed or condition might be. It imparts
          poise, balance, equanimity, inner strength and
          peace. Peace is the best treasure, without it
          power, authority, fame and fortune are all dry and
          burdensome. Thyagaraja has sung that there can be
          no happiness without inner peace.
        
  6.     WHY is it that the world reveres Rama and
          revolts at Ravana? Rama is not the uncle's
          son or Ravana the step-mother's child! It is 
          the kinship of the spirit, innate goodness, responding
          lovingly, adoringly to the goodness in Rama; and
          reacting revoltingly to the wickedness of Ravana. It
          is not enough, nor is it essential that you should
          repeat the name of Rama loudly; respect it in the
          fullness of love and admiration. If you have no
          spring of love in you, dig into your heart with external
          instruments like Puja, Stotra, etc. and it will start
          to flow.
        
  7.     VIBHISHANA, Ravana's own brother, chastised
          him for his willfulness and lust and urged him
          to save himself, his kingdom and his kith and kin by
          restoring Sitha unharmed to her Lord. When Vibhishana 
          went over to Rama, Rama knew that he had
          a pure heart and that he could not survive the
          poisonous atmosphere of Lanka. So He took him
          and saved him. The Lord likes to be called 
          "Aarthathraana-paraayana" more than any other name, for
          He is most happy when He rescues those in agony.
        
  8.     YOU talk glibly of Ramarajya, but how can it be
          established if you do not emulate Rama? He
          was "Vignahavaan Dharmah", the very Embodiment
          of Dharma. He never deviated from it. Dasaratha
          means one who is master of the ten Senses, the five
          Karmendriyas and the five Jnanendriyas; that is to
          say, the successful Sadhaka. Such a person can
          have the holy progeny of the four Purusharthas-Dharma 
          (Rama), Artha (Lakshmana), Kama
          (Bharatha) and Moksha (Sathrughna). Become a
          Dasaratha and save that holy progeny as a gift from
          God.
        
  9.     HANUMAN succeeded in coordinating his
          thought, word and act. Therefore he had the
          unique distinction of being great in physical
          strength, mental stability and virtuous character.
          He shines as an invaluable gem among the personalities 
          of the Ramayana. He was also a great
          scholar, who had mastered, of all things, the six
          schools of grammar. He knew the four Vedas and
          the six Sastras. The Gita says that a scholar is one
          who sees the same Divine force motivating
          everyone. "Pandithaha Samadarsinha". Hanuman
          was a good example of this outlook.
        
  10.   HANUMAN spoke to the brothers in sweet,
          gentle and pleasing words. Rama was struck
          by the grammatical accuracy of his sentences. They
          readily answered all his queries; and Hanuman was
          satisfied with their bona fides. He offered to take
          them to his Master and Monarch. The Dharsan
          (sight) and first Mana of Rama had removed all his
          sins; their Sparsan (touch) burnt away all the consequences 
          of his deeds in previous lives; and their
          Sambhashan (conversation) filled his mind with joy.
          That is the experience of all who welcome the impact of Divinity.
       
   11.  HANUMAN became the messenger of Rama.
          There are three classes of messengers: those
          who do not understand the orders of the Master or
          do not care to understand and who operate to the
          detriment of the work assigned them; those who do
          only just as much as the order literally communicates; 
          and those who grasp the purpose and significance of the 
          orders and carry them out unflinchingly until the purpose 
          is achieved. Hanuman belonged to the last category.
        
  12.   YOU find some one parades all of a sudden
          some -ism- as new and revolutionary socialism,
          for example. Socialism, which means, recognising
          the equality of every individual with every one else
          was in fact practiced in India long ago. Rama, undisputed 
          Sovereign of a vast Empire, gave heed to
          the flippant scandal uttered by an irresponsible
          laundry-man during a quarrel with his wife, and
          sent his Queen, the very dear person for whom
          had waged a war of tremendous carnage, into exile,
          regardless of the fact that she was pregnant at the
          time. Every one's voice was given equal weight in
          the empire ruled over by Rama.
        
  13.   THE vanaras, while building the bridge across
          the ocean, carried huge boulders on their heads
          repeating Rama-nama all the while; and that made
          the rocks weigh less. It is even said that they wrote
          the name on the stones and that made them float.
          Each time they handled or lifted a stone, they sang
          Rama-nama in unison and so they were a happy lot
          doing Puja, not work, which is unpleasant. Rama's
          Grace helped all to overcome obstacles. Take the
          name and make your work light: that is My advice
          to you.
        
  14.   I INSIST on your seeking and remaining in good
          company, Sathsangha. Being in the midst of such
          spiritual heroes, you can fight against evil with a
          greater chance of success. Once, when Garuda the
          sworn enemy of snakes went to Kailas, he saw the
          snakes that Siva wore round His neck, His arms, His
          waist, and His Feet. The snakes were safe now and
          they hissed with their puffed hoods at the celestial
          bird which could not do them any harm since they
          were in such Divine Company. Garuda said: "Well!
          Glide down from the Body and I shall kill everyone
          of you"! That is the value of the Sath one has
          reached. Sathsangha is valuable, for it is like keeping 
          a pot of water inside a tank of water; there will
          not be any loss through evaporation.
           
    15. PRIDE is one of the worst sins in the spiritual field.
          If you feel conceited that you are Bhaktha of Hare,
          He will "hare" (destroy, in Telugu) you. Remember,
          Sarangathi should be like the attitude of Lakshmana.
          Rama said: "Take Sita and leave her in the forest". Implicit 
          obedience! There is no other way. That is
          Lakshmana. That is Sarangathi; the rest are deserving,
          only of "Sarangathi", the arrow of Rama.
        
  16.   WHEN the queen Kaikeyi persuaded her husband to 
          agree to her two requests - enthroning her son Baratha 
          as the Crown Prince and sending the legitimate heir, Rama, 
          into exile for fourteen years - Lakshmana, another brother 
          of Rama and Bharatha, did not acquiesce tamely. He 
          argued that man must meet every little crisis with courage and
          self-reliance and that he should not yield craven-like
          to the machinations of intrigue. He boasted that his
          arrow can avert the crisis. But the arrow is an inferior weapon, 
          even a negligible weapon when compared with the 
          efficiency of Love. Rama heard him coolly and advised 
          him to desist from that hasty Karma, "Dharma must 
          guide Karma"; then alone can it be praise-worthy and successful.
        
  17.   THE path of spiritual discipline, which is most
          beneficial to man, is laid down in a simple and
          sweet manner in the great Scriptures of Ancient
          India. They explain, through example and precept,
          the Divine Principle inherent in the Universe and
          inspire mankind to gaze with awe and reverence at
          the handiwork of God and His inscrutable Leela
          (sport). They prompt man to march along the
          pilgrim road of sacrifice in the happy company of
          Sages, so that the body feels the vision of the Eternal
          which can be gained and enshrined in the heart for ever.
        
  18.   WHEN Sri Rama decided to end His Avatar
          career and walked into the flooded Sarayu
          river, a dog too followed the concourse. When
          asked why it had attached itself to the entourage, it
          said, "I desire to enter Heaven with you all. I was
          in my previous life a full-fledged Yogi; but I slipped
          and fell from the straight path of self control. I became 
          the slave of conceit. I expounded the Vedas as
          my fancy dictated, in strange but attractive ways.
          So, I have now become this animal that takes delight
          in barking, biting and baying. The persons who encouraged 
          me then by praise are now the fleas and
          the flies that crowd on my skin and pester me.
          Help me, Lord, to escape from the disgrace. I have
          worked my Karma; I have lived out my sentence".
        
  19.   WHEN Rama is installed in the heart, every thing will 
          be added unto you - fame, fortune, freedom, fullness. 
          Hanuman was a mere monkey-leader until he met Rama. 
          He was a Minister in the Court of his Master. But 
          when Rama gave him the commission to seek Sita, 
          that is to say, when Rama was installed in his heart 
          as Guide and Guardian, Hanuman became immortal.
        
  20.   DASA means "ten" and Ratha means "Chariot".
          Hence Dasaratha (the father of Rama) in fact
          symbolises "man" who operates with his ten sense-organs 
          such as the eyes, the ears, the nose etc. His
          three wives symbolize man's three Gunas (attributes) 
          and his four sons, the four Purusharthas
          (purposes). Lakshmana also represents the Buddhi
          (Intellect) of Rama. Hanuman is the mind, the
          repository of courage, while Sugriva stands for
          Discrimination. With these to help him, Rama 
          succeeds in finding Sita, the lost Truth. This is the 
          lesson of the Ramayana to everyone.
        
  21.   THERE are many who spend much time in
          mechanically reciting the name "Rama" or systematically 
          reading the Ramayana according to a
          fixed time-table, or who worship the images of
          Rama, Sita, Lakshmana and Hanuman as a daily
          ritual, with noisy pomp and pedantry; but like a
          person who puts a foot forward only to draw it back
          again, these persons do not progress at all as the
          years elapse. Without gaining purity of thought
          and intention, compassion and the urge to serve,
          these outward expressions and exhibitions are but
          ways of cheating yourself for having society applaud 
          you as a great devotee. Your sight must become an insight; 
          it must be turned within and used to purify and clarify your mind.
        
  22.   THE greatest formula that can liberate, cleanse
          and elevate the mind is Rama-nam, the Name
          of Rama. Rama is not to be identified with the hero
          of the Ramayana, the Divine offspring of Emperor
          Dasaratha. He was named Rama by the Court-Preceptor 
          because it was a Name which was already
          current. Vasishta, the Preceptor, said that he had
          chosen that Name since it meant: He who pleases.
          While everyone pleases the self, nothing pleases the
          caged individualized self more than the free universal 
          individualized self. The self is therefore referred
          to as Atma-Rama, the self that confers unending joy.
        
  23.   HANUMAN was ordered to discover the
          whereabouts of Sita and he implicitly, without
          question, obeyed and succeeded. He did not calculate 
          the dangers of the journey and hesitate; and he
          did not feel proud that he was chosen for the high
          adventure. He listened; he understood; he obeyed;
          and he won. The name Ramadutha, Messenger and
          Servant of Rama, that he earned thereby has made
          him immortal. You must earn the name, Sai Rama
          Dutha. Have fortitude and self-control; use good
          and sweet-words; and examine each act of yours on
          the touch-stone of My preference.
        
  24.   THE toughest fiber is anger. It is the stickiest dirt.
          When you get angry, you forget mother, father
          and teacher; you descend to the lowest depths. You
          lose all discrimination in the excitement; even
          Hanumantha set fire to the whole of Lanka when he
          was incensed by the Rakshasas who set fire to the tip
          of his tail; and he lost sight of the fact that Sita was in
          the Asoka Vana. It was only after he had exulted in
          achievement for a little while that he remembered it
          and then he started condemning himself for his anger.
        
  25.   RAMA is extolled as the ideal son who acted
          according to his father's wish regardless of his
          own happiness. But Bhishma is a better example in
          this respect. He acceded to a whim of his father and
          in so doing made even a greater sacrifice than Rama.
          Dasaratha made Rama an exile in the forest for fourteen 
          years to satisfy the claims of Truth, while Santhanu 
          made his son give up the throne as well as a
          wedded life to satisfy a sensual desire of his senile
          body. As a matter of fact, it is not the obedience to
          the father's whim that is important; it is the adherence 
          to Sathaya and Dharma, which is Rama's forte.
        
  26.   RAMANAMA Feast is cloying to some tastes,
          but it is something ever fresh, that gives undying 
          sweetness to the heart that is filled with the
          love of God. One single name will yield fresh
          sweetness and fresh joy every time it is rolled on
          the tongue. I have to tell you the things I have told
          you often before; for until digestion is well established, 
          medicine has to be taken. The face has to be
          washed day after day. One meal is not the end of
          the story; you have to eat, again and again.
        
  27.   RAMATATWA is known only to Rama. What can
          the rest know? At best, they can have but a
          glimpse of Rama's grace; and even then, only if they
          are immersed in intense inner prayer for God. Think
          of Him. Call out for Him; He melts. Whatever form
          He may be shining in, that intensity will make you
          recognise Him. He may be a cowherd boy, standing
          under a tree with a flute at His lips. You will see Him
          and adore Him and place Him in your heart. You
          extol the Lord as Love, Mercy and Grace.
        
  28.   EVERY step in the career of the Avatars is 
          fire-determined; Rama knew that the coming of 
          Surpanaka was the prelude to the coming of Ravana.
          He had asked Sita to enter the fire and remain in it
          as just an outer manifestation. Even before the
          human manifestation, the Lord had decided that the
          Shakti must also accompany Him. Ravana's tapas
          were so strong that only a major sin could make the
          blessings he had won from the Gods null and void.
     

  
  29.   DO not ask God for anything. Let Him deal
          with you as He wills. Did Jataya ask that Rama
          should come to him and perform the last rights?
          Did Sabhari plead with Rama? Earn the qualifications - 
          holiness, purity faith and universal love - then
          He will approach you on foot, to console, comfort
          and save. If you have purity of heart and mastery
          over the senses, His Grace is your right.
        
  30.   EGO plays all kinds of tricks in order to get unholy 
          pleasure. During the construction of the
          bridge to Lanka to take the army across, Hanuman
          heaved a boulder on the raging waves of the sea as
          part of the bridge! It floated. Rama heaved another;
          it sank. Hanuman's ego was tickled, naturally. He
          laughed in derision; at that very moment, his
          boulder sank! And the boulder that Rama had
          thrown rose from the bottom of the sea and floated!
          Hanuman's ego was pricked into nothing. That was
          the purpose for which Rama had willed that His
          boulder should sink!
        
  31.   RAMA Nama will save you, if you have at least
          the Pithru Bakthi and Mathru Bakthi that Rama
          had. If not, Rama Nama is merely a movement of
          the lips. Meditate on the Ramaswarupa, the 
          Ramaswabhawa, when you recite or write Rama Nama.
          That will give exercise to the mind; and it will be
          made healthy and strong in the spiritual sense.
          Make the Dharmaswarupa your Atma Rama on the
          Janmadina of Rama. That is My advice and My
          Blessing.
        
  32.   MAKARA Sankaranthi is a holy day because
          the day takes you from darkness to increasing
          light. From today, the sun enters upon the 
          Uttarayana taking a northward direction for six
          months. When your Drishti (Sight) is on 
          BRAHMAN and when you have Uttamaguna 
          it is Uttarayana, and when your Drishti is on Prakriti it is
          Dakshinayana. When you have fever, the tongue
          will be bitter. The bitter tongue is "Dhakshinayana".
          When you are healthy, your sweet tongue tastes
          well, it is Uttarayana. The real Uttarayana is when
          you crave for the thought of the Lord and the company 
          of the Godly. Bhishma spent days in bed with
          pain, as he felt death, when the sun starts
          towards north is auspicious. Bhishma yearned for
          the vision of Krishna in Uttarayana. Become fit for
          the vision of God, cultivating Prema in your heart,
          full of fragrance and uncontaminated by the pests of
          greed and egoism.
        
  33.   WITHOUT the flowers, the plant yields no fruit.
          Without the emerging fruit, ripeness cannot happen.
          Without intense Karma, Bhakti cannot emerge.
          Without Bhakti, how can Jnana be found?
          Somaka the wicked, spurned and suppressed the
          Veda. But did he reap any happiness?
          The ten-headed monster coveted and kidnapped
          another's wife. But did he achieve any gain?
          The close-fisted Kaurava refused a pinpoint of land to
          his closest Kin. But did he keep his loot?
          The terror-bound Kamsa sought out and slaughtered 
          each new-born baby; but did he escape from
          death? Wicked men, even now, shall meet this fate.
          Take this Sai word as the word of Truth.
      
    34. HERE are the three vows that Krishna had
          taken; they are mentioned in the Bhagavad
          Gita for all humanity to read, know and believe:
          "For the protection of the good and the punishment
          of the bad, for the establishment of the Moral
          I shall concretise Myself, age after age.
          Whoever is wholly immersed in My contemplation, 
          with no other thought, I shall be ever with
          Him; and I shall bear the burden of his welfare.
          "Surrender unto Me, giving up all the other duties
          and obligations. I shall liberate you from all sin; do
          not grieve". The armlets are reminders of these tasks on which
          He is set.
        
  35.   VYASA is the Lokaguru, he is Divine Effulgence.
          Vyasa sought to bring home, through the
          Puranas, the need for mastering the egoistic impulses, 
          as the Sloka says:
          
                        Ashtaa dasa puraneshu
                        Paropakara punyaya
                        Paapaaya para peedanam.
          
          Two statements can summarize all the eighteen
          Puranas composed by Vyasa. "Do good to others;
          avoid doing harm". Doing good is the drug; 
          avoiding harm is the regimen that must accompany the
          treatment. That is the cure for the disease of suffering 
          from joy and grief, honour and dishonour,
          prosperity and adversity and the dual thong that
          bothers man and deprives him of equanimity.
        
  36.   THE Lord will be the Guide of whoever installs
          Him as his Sarathi. He will not consider that
          position inferior. He is the Sanathana Sarathi, come
          to be the Sarathi of all. He is the Lord for all who
          seek a Master, a support. The Atma is the Master in
          every one; and Krishna is the "Universal Atma" personified.
        
  37.   THE moment Krishna was born, the chains that
          bound his father fell off; the doors that had
          been bolted flew open; and the prison guards were
          immersed in the Ocean of Bliss, so that they could
          not recognise any event or thing in the material
          world. The fire of hatred that was burning in them
          was cooled; and darkness gave place to the dawn of
          wisdom. The sky showered raindrops to soften the
          earth and lay down dust. How can the element
          operate against the Divine Will?
        
  38.   KRISHNA has three separate meanings - (1)
          the word Karsh is one root from which the name is
          derived. It means, that which attracts; Krishna 
          attracts hearts to Himself by His sportive pastimes,
          miraculous victories over the forces of evil, His
          charming conversation, His Wisdom and His personal 
          beauty. (2) The word is also related to the root,
          Krish: to cultivate, a field, for growing crops. The
          word means, He who removes the weeds from the
          heart of Man and sows seeds of Faith, Courage and
          Joy. (3) It is related to the root Krish, meaning
          something above and beyond the three attributers
          and the three eras; and "na" means Sath-Chith-Ananda.
        
  39.   KRISHNA had taken three Vows and the
          Kankans were symbolic of His determination 
          to fulfill them. They were, as mentioned by Him
          in the Gita: (1) "Dharmasamsthapanaya
          Sambhavaami Yuge Yuge". (I shall incarnate myself,
          in every age, to revive and resurrect Dharma) - (2)
          "Yogakshemam Vaham Yaham" (I shall bear the burden 
          of ensuring peace of prosperity for all who rely
          on me) - (3) "Mokshayishyami maa sucha" (I shall
          save all those who surrender wholeheartedly to Me
          and I shall liberate them from the cycle of birth and
          death).
        
   40.  KRISHNA dealt with the World as with a Sitar,
          pulling its heart-strings to arouse the melody
          of comradeship, heroism, love, affection, compassion
          and conviction. But, of these, the two emotions of
          love and compassion were characteristically His and
          His own. His breath was Love! His behaviour was 
          Compassion! Adore Him, placing a garland of tears
          around His neck; washing His feet with tears,
          springing from joy at the contemplation of His
          Love! That very worship will endow you with the
          wisdom that Sages seek and the Bliss that the Books
          extol!
        
  41.   THIS is the genuine Bharathiya Vision to transform 
          life into a pilgrimage towards the God
          resident in oneself; a steady march along the
          straight path to Bliss. There is no such steadiness
          now. Fancy and Fantasy rule the mind of man. You
          desire one thing in the morning; at noon you change
          over to something else. That desire will not persist
          until evening. If your desire is fulfilled, you praise
          God and parade your devotion. But if it does not
          prevail, you throw God overboard and parade your
          disbelief!
        
  42.   NARADA, who moves always by and with the
          Lord, feels that God is beyond his understanding; 
          Balarama who came as His own brother
          could not fathom His personality. How then can
          you grasp My Mystery? How can those who strut
          about in well-ironed bush-coats fathom the Truth? I
          know some that are here, who sold their Faith to 
          hollow men and started talking about My dress and
          My Hair! If you dare, seek My Truth. Come,  
          surrender unto Me. Do not teach treason to your
          friends and to other seekers. Dress and manners
          have become polished now; but the inner man has
          deteriorated in virtue and faith!
        
  43.   DETACHMENT is a plant of slow growth;  if
          you pluck the tender plant to look for the
          pods, you will be disappointed. So too, long and
          constant practice alone is rewarded by the Peace
          that God offers. Grace is acquired by Surrender as
          Krishna has declared in the Gita.
        
  44.   WHEN the Gita directs you to give up all Dharma 
          (Set Codes of morality), it does not ask
          you to also give up all Karma, and when you do it
          for God, through God and by God, the Dharma of it
          does not matter; it has to be acceptable; and it is
          bound to benefit you. The statement is not an invitation 
          to licentiousness or complete inactivity; it is a
          call for dedication and surrender to the highest in
          Man, namely GOD.
        
  45.   OF all the Slokas in the Bhagavad Gita,
          Ramakrishna was especially impressed by the
          one that emphasized the attitude of Atmanivedana
          or Saranagathi:
          
                  Manmana Bhava Madbakto
                  Madyaji Maam Namaskuru
                  Mamevaishyasi Yuktvaitvam
                  Atmanam Matparayanah.
          
          "Become one with Me; be devoted to Me; sacrifice to
          Me and bow down to Me. Unify yourself, thus
          you will surely come to Me".
        
  46.   THE Mahabaratha declares: "What is not in
          Bharath does not deserve reverential consideration"; 
          and in Bharath, the message has always been:
          tolerance, respect for all faiths and the practice of
          the essential teachings of love and service with
          giving up of hatred, envy and pride.
        
  47.   PERFORM all acts with as much love as you
          would offer God. In Truth, you eat for the satisfaction 
          of the "I" in you and dress up to please the
          self-same "I". The husband loves his wife for the
          sake of the "I". And who is this "I" that is persistently 
          inherent in everyone? It is God Himself. "Iswarah Sarva 
          Bhoothanaam" says the Gita: the Lord
          resides in the heart of every being. He is the Atman
          in every being. He is the Atman in everyone, the
          Paramatman.
        
  48.   PONDER over your "sthithi" (present condition),
          "gathi" (direction of movement), "sakthi"
          (capabilities), and "mathi" (inclination). Then enter
          upon the path of Sadhana step by step, so that you
          approach the goal faster every day, every hour,
          every minute. Arjuna became entitled to the Gita
          Upadesh from the Lord Himself, because he evinced
          the "Vishada", the "Vairagya", the "Saranagathi",
          the "Ekagratha", essential to assimilate The Great
          Message. When the yearning for liberation has 
          become intense, beyond expression, man can set aside
          all social conventions, worldly norms and codes of
          conduct that do not subserve that high purpose.
        
  49.   KRISHNA does not speak of whoever among
          men who pronounces the "Pranava" at the moment 
          of death, etc. The word He uses "whoever" is
          without any qualification of sex. He does not say
          "Whoever that is authorized" or "Whoever among the
          deserving". The clear intention of the Lord is to encourage 
          women, as well as men, to take up Pranava-Upasana. 
          You would have seen that I do not discourage anyone 
          from the Upasana. It is the royal road to spiritual victory 
          which all are entitled to use.
        
  50.   THE Gita says that, if you give up all Dharma
          and take refuge in Him, then He will save you
          from Sin and wipe your tears. Giving up Dharma
          does not mean that you can bid farewell to virtue         
          and righteous action; it means, you have to give up
          egoism that you are the doer. Be confirmed in the
          faith that He is the "doer" of every deed. That is the
          genuine "giving up".
  
 51.    I AM in your heart all the time, whether you
          know it or not. Draupadi called out for the Lord
          of Dwaraka, Sri Krishna, when she was cruelly
          assaulted by the wicked cousins of her husbands,
          and so the Lord responded but after a little delay.
          He had to go to Dwaraka and come from there to
          Hastinapura where she was! He told her that she
          could have received Him in the fraction of a second had
          she called out, "Oh Dweller in my heart", for He
          dwells there as everywhere else.
  
 52.    THE elders in Brindavan who reveled in scandalizing 
          Krishna - successors have been born
          for them even now - set an ordeal for Radha to test
          her virtue. She was given a mud pot with a
          hundred holes and asked to bring water in that pot
          from the Yamuna to her house! She was so full of
          Krishna-consciousness that she never knew the condition 
          of the pot. She immersed it in the river, as usual
          repeating the name of Krishna with every
          intake of the breath and every exhalation. Every
          time the name Krishna was uttered, a hole was
          covered, so that by the time the pot was full, it was
          whole. That was the measure of her Faith. Faith
          can affect even inanimate objects.
  
 53.    IN Realty, Truth is God; Love is God; Dharma
          is God. The Gopis and Gopalas saw in Krishna
          the Embodiment of Truth, Love and Dharma. What
          He said was Truth; what He was became Love,
          what He did was Dharma. They were so immersed
          in Krishna-Consciousness that they saw everywhere
          and in everything nothing but Krishna. Krishna for
          them did not exist as a separate entity in the home
          of Nanda; He was right in their own consciousness,
          at all levels of it. These Gopis and Gopalas were
          true Bhakthas indeed.
  
 54.    WHATEVER is dedicated and offered to God
          can never be lost. People can gain enormous
          benefit by offering even a little to God. "A leaf or a
          flower, a fruit or a little water" - that is enough, if
          offered with devotion. Draupadi gave Sri Krishna
          the fraction of a leaf sticking to the side of a vessel
          and God granted her endless good fortune.
          Kuchela gave a handful of parched rice and
          received from the Lord awareness of His endless
          Glory.
  
 55.    THE Lord had Maya as His consort, so to say,
          and He had a son called Manas. This Manas,
          to continue the parable, had two wives. Pravritti
          and Nivritti (Attachment and Detachment). Of
          course, Pravritti was His favourite wife and she
          had a hundred children. Nivritti was ill-treated
          and neglected; and she had just five. That is the
          symbolism of the Kauravas and the Pandavas.
          Though all the children lived in the same kingdom,
          ate the same food and learnt from the same Teacher,
          their natures differed widely from one another. The
          Kauravas, children of the attachment, were greedy,
          cruel, self-centered, and vain. The Pandavas, five of
          them, each one represented a Supreme Virtue, so
          that they could be said to symbolize Sathya, Dharma, 
          Shanti, Prema and Ahimsa. As they were so
          pure and born of Detachment, the Lord became
          their Guide.
  
 56.    THE Gita speaks of Bhakthi, Jnana, Karma as
          Yogas; and by Yoga is meant what Pathanjali
          intended it to mean: "Chiththa Vrithi Nirodha",
          that is to say, "the stilling of the agitations of the
          consciousness". Vishnu is the supreme exemplar
          of this calm, for He is "Saanthaakaaram
          bhujagasayanam", the very picture of peace and
          calm, though reclining on a thousand-hooded
          snake, the snake being the symbol of the objective
          world with its poisonous fangs. Being in the
          world but not of it, not bound by it - that is the
          secret.
  
57.   THE riches that you should strive to amass are
          not fields, factories, bungalows or bank-balances
          but the wisdom and experience of oneness with
          the Grandeur of the Universe and the Force that
          runs it without a hitch. Arjuna is called Dhanajaya
          by Krishna because he had won (Jaya) such
          Dhanam (riches) that saves man; and that cannot be
          taxed, stolen or transferred. The method of winning
          these riches is Sadhana.
  
 58.   GIVE joy to all. Prema or Love is the means
          to achieve this ideal. When Love can bring even
          God nearer to you, how can it fail where man
          is involved? Krishna could not be bound by any other
          means. That is the reason why SAI has declared:
          "Start the day with Love; spend the day with Love,
          fill the day with Love; end the day with Love.
          That is the way to God".
  
 59.    KRISHNA was known to all as Almighty, All-knowing, 
          All-encompassing, and All-fulfilling.
          Yet, the enthusiasm to do Seva promoted Him to
          approach Dharmaraja, the eldest of the Pandava
          brothers, on the eve of the magnificent Raja Suya
          Yaga that he had planned to perform and offered to take
          up Seva of any kind. He suggested that He might be
          given the task of cleaning the dining-hall after the
          guests had partaken of the feast! Krishna insisted on
          outer cleanliness and inner cleansing. Clean clothes
          and clean minds are an ideal combination.
  
 60.    DURING the battle of Kurukshetra, which
          climaxed the Mahabharatha story, Krishna
          served as the "driver" of the chariot of Arjuna
          throughout the day till dusk on the field and caused
          the adjournment of the fight. He led the horses to
          the river, gave them a refreshing bath and applied
          healing balms to the wounds suffered by them
          during the fierce fray. He mended the reins and the
          harness and rendered the chariot battle-worthy for
          another day. The Lord sets the example for the
          Devotees to follow. He teaches that Service done to
          any living being is offered to Him and is accepted
          by Him most joyfully. Service rendered to cattle, to
          beasts, and to men is laudable Sadhana.
  
 61.    THE World is today in deep distress because the
          common man and his leaders are all distracted
          by lower desires and lower motives, which require
          only the lower skills and meaner impulses of man.
          This is what I call "devaluation". Though man is inherently 
          Divine, he lives only at the animal level.
          Very few live even in the native human level.
  
 62.    KRISHNA does say: "whoever among men who
          pronounce the Pranava at the moment of
          death", etc. The word he uses is "whoever" without
          any qualification of sex. He does not say "whoever
          is authorized or whoever is among the deserving". 
          The clear intention of the Lord is to encourage 
          women as well as men to take up Pranava
          Upasana. You will see that I do not discourage 
          any one from the Upasana. It is the royal road to 
          spiritual victory which all are entitled to use.
  
 63.    BHISHMA, for example, has to be revered and
          accepted as an inspiration, even more potent
          than Rama so far as homage to the father is concerned. 
          In order to cater to the carnal cravings
          which he could have ordinarily condemned, he
          denied himself gladly, spontaneously, without
          demur and for the entire period of his life, both
          wedded life and royal status. The Vedic injunction,
          "Pithru Devobhava" was honoured by him in the fullest 
          manner.
  
 64.    THIS created Universe has two aspects, one is
          impermanence (Anityam), the second one is
          unhappiness (Askulham). In the Gita, Krishna has
          said, "Anityam Asukha Lokam Imam Prapy
          Bhajaseva Maam". Nothing in this World can give
          happiness that is true and lasting. Mistaking the
          World as "All" and forgetting the Atman, which
          alone is eternal and the only refuge, is the greatest
          folly of man today. Man is pinning all his hopes on
          slippery work and is madly running after
          amassing and hoarding wealth. Of course, material
          needs are to be taken care of but within limits and
          not at the cost of spiritual values. Money and mansions 
          are not the only wealth. Hoard the wealth of
          the Spirit. Character is wealth; good conduct is
          wealth; and spiritual wisdom is wealth.
  
 65.    WORKERS and peasants - that is the slogan
          nowadays. These two classes were given
          their due share of social importance and honour
          during the Krishnavathar. Now, people are honoured
          even if they grow not food but cash crops.
          Foreign exchange is what we are after and so,
          people are encouraged to produce what others
          can buy not what we need; such as milk and a variety of
          milk products which are highly nutritious foods.
          Balarama, the elder brother and an Avathar in his
          own right, had as his weapon the plough. It
          declared agriculture as a consecrated occupation.
  
 66.    EGOISM is the most dangerous illusion that has
          to be exploded and destroyed. Bhima had it; but
          when he could not lift and lay aside the tail of a
          monkey, who was really Anjaneya himself, that
          bubble was exploded. Arjuna had it one day after
          the battle. When Krishna brought the chariot back to
          camp, he wanted that Krishna should get down first, 
          like all charioteers; the Master must get down
          later, after the Charioteer opens the door for him.
          Krishna refused and insisted that Arjuna should
          alight before He should. At last Krishna
          won. Arjuna got down and as soon as Krishna
          left His seat and touched the ground, the chariot
          went up in flames. In fact, if Krishna had gotten down first,
          the various fire-arrows which had the
          power of burning the chariot would have hit the target;
          but due to the presence of Krishna, their igneous
          powers could not manifest themselves. After knowing 
          this, Arjuna was humbled and his egoism had a
          powerful shock. He realized that every action of
          Krishna was full of significance.
  
 67.    THE Gita advises "Karmasamyasa", that is to say,
          Karma without attachment to the fruit thereof.
          There are Karmas which have to be done as duties
          related to the status in "Samsara" and, if these are
          done in the proper spirit, they will not bind at all.
          Do all Karma as actors in a play, keeping your identity 
          separate and not attaching yourself too much to
          your role. Remember that the whole thing is just a
          play and the Lord has assigned to you a part; act
          well your part; there all your duty ends. He has
          designed the play and He enjoys it.
  
 68.    IT is when you are in a desperate situation that
          you call upon the Lord, forgetting your pride and
          your egoism. The Pandavas were so full of misery in
          a worldly sense that they always had an attitude of
          prayer. If I had given you all the comforts and opportunities, 
          you would not have come to Puttaparthi.
          Trouble is the bait with which the fish is pulled out
          of the water. Kunti asked that Krishna should continue 
          giving her and her sons all kinds of misery so
          that He may grant them His Grace continuously.
  
 69.    THE Gita prompts you to seek the answers and
          directs you to experience them. It helps you to
          control the "Chittha", the agitations of the mind; it
          destroys delusion. It develops true knowledge; it
          makes you glimpse the splendour of the Lord and
          confirms your faith. You say at one moment: "Baba
          does everything, I am but an instrument; but the next
          moment the same tongue says: "I did this; I did that;
          Swami did not do this for me". If you never step into
          wrong, you can be ever certain of His Grace.
  
 70.    THE Mahabharata, for example, is basically the
          story of the five Vital Airs of Man (the Pancha
          Pranas) overcoming the hundred obstacles in the
          path of upward progress. The eldest of the Five Pandava 
          brothers is Dharmaraja (Morality, Righteousness); 
          he is ably supported by Bhima (physical
          strength devoted to Divine Service and charged
          with Devotion), Arjuna (steady pure Faith in God),
          and Nakula and Sahadeva, who represent Steadfastness 
          and Equanimity. When these Five are exiled,
          the Hasthinapura (body) is inundated with 
          Adharma (unrighteousness).
  
 71.    IN the Manasa-Sarovar (the deep, placid mind-lake)
          of every man lurks a poisonous cobra with 
          six hoods: Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment, Pride
          and Hate, infesting the air and destroying all who are
          near it. The Name of the Lord, when it dives into the
          depths, forces it to come up to the surface so that it
          may be destroyed. So, allow the Divine in you - the
          Krishna, Lord over the mind - trample on the
          hissing hood and take out the vicious viper; let it
          vomit the venom and become Sathvic and sweet.
  
 72.    LIKE all Avatars, Krishna announced His advent
          to the World bit by bit, step by step, testing
          every time how far the Reality will be accepted by
          the masses. The signs and miracles were intended,
          then as now, to proclaim the Avatar.
  
 73.    THE mystery and splendour of God can be
          grasped only by a pure mind and a clear vision.
          That is why the Lord granted a new eye to Arjuna in
          order that he might not be confounded by his glory.
          A resolution adopted by the mind is like a stone
          thrown into a Sarovar or lake. It produces ripples
          that affect the entire face and unsettles equanimity.
          A good resolution or "Sankalpa" sets up a series of
          such thoughts, each contributing its quota to the
          process of purification and strengthening.
  
 74.    THE One is comprehensive of all this. So, it has
          no wants, no desires and no activity to realise
          anything. Sri Krishna tells Arjuna: "Name Partha
          asthi Karthvyam, Thrishu lokeshu Kinchava Partha". 
          (There is nothing I have to do in any of the
          three Worlds). He has willed the World as his sport.
          He has laid down that every deed must have its
          consequence. He is the dispenser of the consequences 
          but he is not involved in the deeds.
  
 75.    ONE can also be rid of Maya if one can discard
          the three Gunas from one's make-up. The
          "Sathyaguna" too has to be transcended; why? The
          Gita directs that even the eagerness to be liberated is
          a bond. One is fundamentally free. Bondage is only
          an illusion. So, the desire to close the bond is
          the result of ignorance. Krishna says, "Arjuna, become 
          free from the three Gunas". In truth, the word
          "Guna" means "rope", for all three "Gunas" bind the
          "Jiva" with the rope of desire. Liberation means
          liberation from delusive attachment or "Moha";
          "Mohakshaya", decline in the desire caused by attachment 
          to sensory pleasure.
  
 76.    CONSIDER for a moment how long worldly triumphs 
          last. They are but the play of the scintillating 
          name and form of the Divine which is the
          core of every being. Earn the vision that sees the
          Divine inherent in all. We are not troubled when
          something is good; only when it is bad. This is because 
          goodness is natural. In our evil aberration, we
          are worried and alarmed when we slide into wrong
          or pain or sorrow. This is because Nature plans us
          to be right, to be happy and ever in a state of joy. It
          is a pity that man has lost his understanding of this
          Truth.
  
 77.    VYAS sympathized with man who was caught
          in the coils of do's and don'ts, of success and
          failure, of desire and despair. He demarcated many a
          path which leads man along to fulfillment. The fulfillment 
          consists in up-rooting the animal that lurks in
          man and reaching out to the Divinity. That is his
          essence.
  
 78.    DHYANA is not mere sitting erect and being
          silent nor is it the absence of any movement.
          It is the merging of all your thoughts and feelings to
          God. Without the mind becoming dissolved in God,
          Dhyana cannot succeed. The Gita declares genuine
          Dhyana as "Anayaschinthayanthomaam Ye Janah
          Paryapasathi" (Those persons who adore me
          without any other thought or feeling). Krishna has
          assured such persons that He would carry
          their burden and be by their side, guiding and
          guarding them. Persons adept in this Dhyana are
          very rare; most people go through the external exercises 
          only. So they are unable to win Grace.
  
 79.    LIFE is a song, sing it. That is what Krishna
          taught through his life. Arjuna heard that song
          in the battlefield where tensions were at their
          highest and when the fate of millions was to be
          decided by the sword. Krishna sang the Gita for Arjuna 
          to listen to. Gita means "Song", and he sang because 
          he was "Ananda" wherever He might be, in
          Gokulam, on the banks of the Yamuna or at
          Kurukshetra between the warring armies.
  
 80.    WHY does He attract all to His Presence? To
          plough the heart, prepare it for receiving the
          shower of Grace, to grow the seeds of Love, weed it
          of all evil thoughts which smother the crops of joy
          and to enable it to gather the harvest of Wisdom.
          That wisdom finds its fulfillment in Krishna Himself,
          for Krishna also means the pure Essence, the
          Supreme Principle, the "Sath-Chith-Ananda".
  
 81.    WHERE there is Dharma there Krishna is; so,
          think for yourself, each one of you, how far
          have you deserved the Grace of the Lord? You draw
          Him near; you keep Him far. You entangle yourself,
          bind yourself, and get caught in the trap. No one is
          your foe except yourself. No one else is your friend.
          You are your only friend. The Guru shows you the
          road and you have to trudge alone, without fear or
          hesitation.
  
 82.    THE word Dharmakshetra is the first word in the
          Gita. In the very first verse of the Song Celestial, 
          the Kurukshetra (field of Action), in which the
          Maamakaah (my people, as the  blind
          Dhritharashtra described them through fond attachment 
          and egoistic delusion), people
          motivated by greed and passion, and the Pandavas
          (the other people, the good and righteous, the sons
          of the Fair one, the Progeny of the pure), is spoken
          of as already transmuted into Dharmakshetra (field
          of Righteousness). For victory is always for
          Righteousness and not for greed and passion which
          blind men.
  
 83.    IF you ask Me, I will say that the Gita is like a
          balance: scales, needle and all. The scale on the
          left is the 7th sloka of the 2nd Chapter, speaking of
          "Karpanya Dosha". The fulcrum is the 22nd sloka of
          the 9th Chapter, beginning with 
          "Anayaschinthayamshomaam";
          and the scale on the right is the
          sloka in the 18th chapter, speaking of 
          "Sarvadharmaam Parithyajya". See how apt the fulcrum sloka
          is. It speaks of single-minded attention, "steady, like
          the needle of a well-adjusted balance". Really, the
          Gita begins with two scales and a fulcrum: the two
          armies of Righteousness and Unrighteousness with
          Krishna, the Teacher, in the middle.
  
 84.    BHAKTI is of various types according to the
          Damskara of the devotee and the state of his
          mind and the stage of his development. There is the
          Shanta Bhakti of Bhishma, the Vatsalya Bhakti of
          Yasodha, the Madhura Bhakti of the Gopikas. Of
          these the Dasya attitude is easiest and the best for
          the majority of aspirants at this time. It means
          "Saranagathi" and "Prapathithi" out of Shanti Bhakti.
  
85.    THE fire of sorrow and joy burns when the fuel
          of Vasanas is fed into the furnace of the mind.
          Take away the fuel and the fire dies out. Take away
          the Vasanas, the force of the impulses, promptings
          and urges and you become your own master. This is
          done in Yoga by various physiological and
          psychological exercises. But Bhakti is the easier
          means for this end. Namasmarana is enough: it is
          said that the name Sitarama sufficed in the Tretha
          Yuga; the name Radha-Shama sufficed in the
          Dwapara Yuga; and in the Kali Yuga, I tell you, all
          Names have that capacity.
  
 86.    PRAKRUTHI is Dhara, Earth and Creation. Think
          of it always. Long for it. Pine for Dhara, Dhara,
          Dhara and you find you are pining for Radha,
          Radha. So, Radha is the Becoming and Krishna is
          the Being; the desire of Being becomes the longing
          of the Becoming for the Being - this is the Radha-Krishna 
          relationship, which has been sung by seers
          and poets, calumniated and caricatured by ignorant
          critics, appreciated and apprehended by aspirants,
          and analyzed and realised by sincere scholars of
          spiritual lore.
  
 87.    WELCOME all the blows of fate, all the misfortunes 
          and miseries, as gold welcomes the
          crucible, the hammer and the anvil in order to get
          shaped into a jewel; or as the cane welcomes the
          chopper, the crusher, the boiler, the pan, the sprayer
          and the dryer, so that its sweetness may be
          preserved and used as sugar by all. The Pandavas
          never demurred when disasters fell thick upon
          them. They were happy that they helped them to
          remember Krishna and call upon Him. Bhishma was
          in tears on the arrow-bed, when he was about to
          pass away. Arjuna asked Him "why" and he replied,
          "I am shedding tears because the miseries undergone 
          by the Pandavas pass through my mind". Then
          he said, this is done in order to teach the Kaliyuga a
          lesson; never to seek power, position or pelf but to
          submit to the will of God in a completely resigned
          way, so that you may be ever happy and unmoved.
  
 88.    THE Gita speaks of Bhakti, Jnana, Karma, as
          Yogas. By Yoga is meant what Patanjali intended 
          it to mean "Chiththa Krishthi Nirodha", that
          is to say, "the stifling of the agitations of the consciousness". 
          Vishnu is the supreme example of this
          calm, for He is "Saanthakaaram bhujaga Sayanam",
          the very picture of peaceful calm, though reclining
          on a thousand-hooded snake; the snake being the
          symbol of the objective World with its poisonous
          fangs. Being in the World but not of it, not bound by
          it, that is the secret.
  
 89.    THE Individual is Arjuna, the Universal which
          inspires him is Krishna: Led by the Universal,
          the Individual has to oppose the attractions and
          delusion of the Manifested, the Maya, and the Prakruthi, 
          that is, the Kaurava hordes. The battle
          depicted in the Epic is the inner battle, between the
          temporary and the eternal, the particular and the
          universal, the sensual and the super-sensual, the
          seen and the seer. The Atma is described as a streak
          of lightning in the blue cloud. It is a Gita (streak in
          Telugu). Discover the Gita, then the purpose of Gita
          study is fulfilled.
  
 90.    WHEN Dharmaraja, the eldest of the Five Pandavas 
          came to know - after the death of
          Karna which they effected successfully - that Karna
          was his brother, his agony knew no bounds; he was
          struck disconsolate and was torn by despair. If only
          he had known the truth, all that grief could have
          been avoided. So too, until you know that all are
          altars where the name God is installed and all are
          moved and motivated by the Grace of the self-same
          God, you are afflicted by hate and pride; once you
          know it and experience it, you are full of Love and
          reverence to all.
  
 91.    WHEN Krishna leapt down from His Chariot
          with the wheel-weapon in His hand to slay
          Bishma, Arjuna jumped down with Him and holding 
          both His Feet he prayed "Oh Lord, you have
          given word that you will not wield any weapon. Let
          it not be said that you broke your word to save me
          from Bhishma, I am prepared to die". That was the
          measure of his Bhakti. Bishma too had equal Bhakti.
          He did not step forward to fight the new challenge
          nor did he question the Lord. He stood silent drinking 
          in the charm of the Lord and filling himself with
          the vision of the magnificence of the Lord. That was
          the measure of the dedication to His will.
  
 92.    KRISHNA is slandered by ignorant, prejudice
          critics as "jaara" and "chora" and extolled by
          seekers and sages with the same appellations, "jaara"
          and "chora". He stole the hearts and the owners were
          glad of it. He shed light, awakened people and
          made those, whose hearts he stole, richer and happier. 
          He destroyed all craving for sensual pleasure
          and sensual knowledge and filled the entire being
          with thoughts of the Divine. How then can He be
          referred to as "jaara" and "chora"? When the blind
          leads the blind in this way, both have to fall into the
          pit.
  
 93.    IN the Mahabharatha, the most noteworthy theme
          is Dharmasthapana. When the Pandavas were
          called into the forest, it was as if the Five Pranas of Dharma, 
          the sustaining forces of Dharma, were exiled.
          Dharmaraja is the Prana of the Right Conduct, Bhima,
          of the protective Might of Dharma; Arjuna, of the Faith
          and Devotion needed as its Foundation, Nakula and
          Sahadeva, of the sraddha essential for the Practice of
          Dharma. When the Pandavas went to the forest, Hastinapura 
          was reduced to Astinapura, a city of bones,
          without flesh and blood.
  
 94.    KRISHNA was the Purushothama, Arjuna the
          Narrothama; It was a friendship between The
          Embodiment of the Highest and the Embodiment of
          the Best. Krishna was the Avataric Person. Arjuna was
          the anandic person; it was a coming together of the
          Avathramurthi and the Anandamurthi. Arjuna was
          often addressed by Krishna as Kurunandana. This
          name has a deep significance. "Kuru" means "act, activity, 
          Karma"; Nandana means "happy, delighted".
          Kurunandana therefore means "he who is delighted
          while engaged in activity". Throughout the eighteen
          chapters of the Githa, Arjuna is alert and active, participating 
          vigilantly in every turn of argument.
  
 95.    PRACTICE the constant presence of God and,
          learn to offer all your activities at the Feet of the
          Lord as an act of worship. Then they will be free
          from fault. Krishna advised Arjuna to enter the
          fight and, at the same time, told him not to have
          "hatred" towards "enemies". These may appear to be
          two irreconcilable attitudes, for war is rage (passion, 
          attachment) and renunciation of hatred is
          Vairagya (absence of raga). Arjuna asked Krishna
          how he was to reconcile these two attitudes. Krishna 
          said, "Maamnusmara yudhyacha" (keep Me ever
          in thy mind, and fight. Do not cultivate the egotistic
          feeling that it is you who is fighting. I am using you
          as My instrument).
  
 96.    THE Pandava brothers were highly fortunate.
          The eldest, Dharmaraja, rose to be the emperor.
          The second was the Indomitable Bhima, armed with
          the terrible mace. The third was Arjuna, son of the
          Lord of the Gods, Indra. The lord poured His Grace
          on Arjuna and deigned to serve him in battle as his
          charioteer! In spite of all these advantages, they
          were subjected to the severest tragedies in life.  What
          is the lesson that their lives teach? No one can
          predict what calamity will overtake one and at what
          time. Every thing depends on the will of
          Providence; it all happens according to the Divine
          Plan.
  
 97.    THE question on the battlefield was not who
          was the Kin of whom, but who was right and
          who was wrong; fight for justice, fight for truth,
          fight for these as akshatriyu is in duty bound, and
          leave the result to the Dispenser of all. Krishna told
          Arjuna: "I am surprised that you should weep, for
          you are Gudakesa, the conqueror of sleep and ignorance. 
          You do not kill, so don't be so conceited; nor do they die. 
          They have many more things to do; and so they are real  
          deathless". "The sentence of death has been already pronounced 
          on their bodies by Me, and you have but to carry out
          My Orders", Krishna said.
  
 98.    KRISHNA felt that it was time to reveal His
          Truth and so He just showed all creation in
          His Mouth when His mother asked Him to show
          her His tongue, when she suspected He had eaten
          sand. He made even the longest rope too short to
          bind Him. It became the talk of the place and every
          one felt he had all the fourteen Worlds in Him!
          Avathars choose the time and the mode of announcement 
          of their Advent and Their Glory. Even
          in this Avathara such miracles had to be done when
          I decided that the time was opportune for taking the
          people into My Secret.
  
 99.    WHEN the righteous Pandavas were harassed
          by wicked Kauravas, the beauteous Krishna
          appeared and saved them. The lord can never
          design violence and blood shed. Love is His instrument, 
          non-violence His Message. He achieves the
          correction of the evil-minded through education
          and example. But it may be asked, why did Kurukshetra 
          happen? It was a surgical operation and
          therefore cannot be described as an act of violence.
          The Surgeon saves life through the beneficial use of
          His Knife.
  
 100.  CONSIDER the Name Krishna which the
          Avathar bore; what a significant Name? Krishna 
          is derived from the root "krish" which means (i) to
          attract (2) to plough and cultivate and (3) the
          Divine Principle beyond time, space and causation.
          Krishna, like all Avathars, attracts not only seekers,
          Saints and Sages but the simple, the innocent and
          the good. He draws also the curious, the critics, the
          Skeptics and those who suffer from atheism. He
          draws them towards Himself by the irresistible
          charm of His Person, by His invincible Look, His
          Voice, His Flute, His counsel and His undaunted
          Heroism! He is ever in a State of Bliss, spreading
          Harmony, Melody and beauty around Him; He
          sings every where in the peaceful Pasture lands of
          Brindavan and in the blood soaked battle field of
          Kurukshetra.
  
 101.  THE Githa was Arjuna and Krishna, though
          Krishna supplemented it with Captious
          explanations of  why and wherefore. Arjuna
          admitted that he was a prapanner. He had to
          surrender to His Wait, so that there was no need for
          Krishna to argue with him. He was
          convinced of the correctness of His command. Still,
          in order that Arjuna might fight with a full heart,
          He gave him the reasons which supported the
          course that He laid down for him. I too want
          you to know why I designed it so you should act in
          a particular manner, and I do not like you to
          behave in another manner.
  
 102.  BISHMA was a Bhakta and by winning the Lord's
          Grace he was clothed with more Majesty and
          splendour than any early emperor. What majesty
          have these scepter-holders? They cannot claim to
          have inner peace, inner joy, they know not the joy
          of sharing love with all. Bhishma surrendered to
          the Lord when He challenged him with the
          su-darsana (Vishnu), that is to say, when He offers
          su (good) dharsana (vision) one must be wise
          enough to surrender, give up all, that is what
          Bhishma did.
  
 103.  ARJUNA exclaimed Krishna as the Omnipresent,
          Omnipotent and Omniscient God, when the
          foe was defeated day after day. But when his son
          Abimanyu was killed in the conflict he raved in the
          grief that Krishna had not guided him properly and
          guarded him efficiently. His mind wavered with
          every wind of fortune. To many the mind is the
          master of the intellect also. One must be vigilant
          and preserve the impartiality of instrument called
          Reason of Intellect. Clarify reason, then it will reveal
          God everywhere, even in you once you accept
          God as the core of the universe, and you have
          that strong and steady faith.
  
 104.  FILL every moment with energy enthusiasm and
          effort. The Epics teach you how to succeed in
          this. The Mahabharatha describes how and when every
          other of the hundred Kauravas died. The eldest
          Duryodhana was challenged by Bhima to meet him
          in a duel, when at last he fell on the ground, Bhima
          struck his head with his foot in order to add insult
          to injury. Duryodhana's pride was hurt, a Kshatriya,
          such as he, could not pass that insult by. He retorted
          even when he was dying. Do not exult that you have
          done some big heroic act by tramping on my head!
          In a few seconds dogs and vultures will be doing
          that act. It does not require a hero to plant his foot
          on a dying man. You dared not do this when I was
          capable of hitting back, you coward! That kind of
          awareness of one's potentialities and quick
          response to all happenings must be present in you
          too. Heroism gushed out even when he was passing
          away!
  
 105.  KRISHNA, whose advent you should celebrate,
          is not the cowherd boy who charmed the village
          folk with His flute, but Krishna the indefinable
          inscrutable Divine Principle that is born in the navel
          of the body (Mathura) as the product of Divine
          Energy (Devaki) that is then transported to the
          Mouth (Gokulam) and fostered by the Tongue
          (Yasodha) as its source of sweetness. Krishna is the
          Visualisation of the Atma that the repetition of the
          Name grants, the vision was gained by Yasodha,
          you must foster that Krishna on your tongue. When
          He dances on it, the poison of tongue will be ejected
          completely, without harming anyone as happened
          when as a child He danced on the hoods of the
          serpent Kalinga.
 
  
 106.  PURITY of motive is the best guarantee that you
          will have Peace. An uneasy conscience is a tormenting 
          compassion. Righteous action will have no
          bad effects, to disturb your sleep or health.
          
               If there is righteousness in the heart, 
               there will be beauty in character;
               If there is beauty in character,
               there will be harmony in the home;
               When there is harmony in the house,
               there will be order in the nation;
               When there is order in the nation,
               there will be peace in the World.
          
          So, be righteous; avoid all prejudices against
          others on the basis of caste, creed, colour, mode of
          worship, status, or degree of affluence. Do not look
          down upon any one; look upon all as Divine as you
          really are.
  
 107.  ALL Faiths are inter-related and mutually indebted 
          to each other for the principles they
          teach and the disciplines they recommend. The
          Vedic Religion was the first in time; Buddhism,
          which appeared about 2500 years ago, was its son;
          Christianity, which was influenced much by the
          Orient was its grand-son. And Islam, which has the
          Prophets of Christianity as its base, was the great 
          grandson. All have Love as the Fundamental Discipline 
          of the Mind in order to chasten it and merge
          man with the Divine.
   
 108.  VINAYAKA is called the child of two mothers,
          Gowri and Ganga. You are the pet children of
          four mothers, each of you; Sathya, Dharma, Shanti
          and Prema. Do not ridicule them by your act. Honour
          them and be grateful to them. Do not claim "Anyaya"
          (Injustice), "Akrama" (Undiscipline), "Asathya" (Falsehood
          and "Anachara" (Evil behaviour) as your
          mothers. Instead, expand your heart, taking in all
          humanity into the circle of your kin, even the birds,
          beasts, worms, and insects, trees and plants. The Vedic
          Prayer asks that the aspirant's heart may be expanded
          "Brhathe Koromi" - I make myself Vast! The vastest is
          "Brahman" which comes from the same root,
          "brh", to enlarge.
  
 109.  I EAT as you do, move about as you do, talk in your
          Language and behave as you can recognise and
          understand, for YOUR sake - not for My sake! I turn
          you towards the Divine, winning your confidence,
          your love, your submission, by being among you, as
          one of yourselves, one whom you can see, listen to,
          speak to, touch and treat with reverence and devotion.
          My plan is to transmute you into Seekers of Truth
          (Sathya-anveshko). I am present everywhere at all
          times; My will must prevail over every obstacle; I am
          aware of the past, present and future of your innermost 
          thoughts and carefully guarded secrets. I am
          "Sarvatharyami", "Sarva Sakthi" and "Sarvajna". Nevertheless, 
          I do not manifest these powers in any capricious 
          manner or merely for display. For I am an
          example and an inspiration, whatever I do or omit to
          do. My Life is a commentary on My Message.
  
 110.  LOVE must be manifested as Service or Seva.
          Seva must take the form of food for the hungry,
          solace for the forlorn, consolation for the sick and
          the suffering. Jesus was himself out in such Seva.
          The heart full of compassion is the temple of God.
          Jesus pleaded at the sight of the poor. Jesus is worshipped 
          but His teachings are neglected. Sai is being
          worshipped but His teachings are neglected. Everywhere 
          pomp, pageantry, hollow exhibitionism and
          Lectures, Lectures and Lectures! No activity, no
          love, no seva. Heroes while lecturing are Zeros
          while putting what is said into practice. Develop
          Compassion. Live in Love. Be Good, Do Good and
          See Good. This is the way to God.
  
 111.  THE nature we have around us and with us is
          the vesture of God. We have evidence of His
          Beauty, Goodness, Wisdom and Power all around
          us; wherever we turn our eyes. But the art of
          recognising Him is strange to us and so we deny
          Him and live on in darkness. We have all around
          us, in the atmosphere, the music emanating from all
          the Broadcasting Stations of the World, but they do
          not assail your ear at any time. You are not aware of
          any Station; but, if you have a receiver and if you
          tune it to the correct wave-length, you can hear the
          matter broadcast from any Station; if you fail to
          tune it correctly, you will get instead of news only
          nuisance! So too, the Divine is everywhere above,
          around, below and beside, near as well as far. For
          cognising it, you require not a "Yantra" (machine)
          but a "Mantra" (mystical formula potent with a
          psychological undertone). Concentration of Dhyana is
          the fixing of the exact location of the Station in the
          Band; Love is the correct tuning in; realising the
          Reality and the Bliss it confers is the happy clear
          listening!
  
 112.  THE Divine is a wine that would intoxicate you.
          It is produced by the nectar that the Name of
          the Lord is saturated in. Taste it and you forget
          everything else; you are transformed. Man is, they
          say, a monkey that has lost its tail; Well, he must
          lose many more attributes of the monkey before he
          is entitled to call himself Man. He must dedicate his
          thought, word and deed to God and surrender to
          His Will. Then only is this animal entitled to become
          a Man in whom the Divine is enshrined.
  
113.  THE body is the ball filled with the air of Divinity;
          it is kicked in play by six players on the side (the
          six foes: Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment, Pride and
          Hate); and six on the other (the six friends: Truth,
          Right, Peace, Love, Compassion and Fortitude); the
          goal-posts are on each side, and if the ball is hit
          so that it passes through them, they achieve
          "Dharmavidya" (Moral attainment) and victory. Or else,
          their kick results in an "out"! Learn to speak what you
          feel, act what you speak; do not allow them to be at
          cross-purposes. Man, with the feelings of a demon
          fuming with hate, engages in fighting, holds Peace
          Conferences and prides himself on his Plans for Peace! 
          Transform the heart into a Tabernacle of Peace, then 
          Conferences to deceive oneself and others become 
          unnecessary. What can mere talk achieve?
  
 114.  DISCIPLINE trains you to put up with disappointments; 
          you will know that the path of life
          has both ups and downs, that every rose has its
          thorn. Now, people want roses without thorns, life
          has to be one saga of sensual pleasure picnic all the
          time. When this does not happen, you turn wild and
          start blaming others. If each one cares for his own
          pleasures, how can Society progress? How can the
          weak survive? Mine, not thine, this sense of greed is
          the root of all evil; this distinction is applied even to
          God! - my God, not yours! Your God, not mine!
  
 115.  GOODNESS, compassion, and tolerance:
          through these three paths, one can see the
          Divinity in one-self and others. Softness of heart is
          condemned by people today as weakness, cowardice,
          and want of intelligence. The heart has to be
          hardened, they say, against pity and charity. But
          that way lies war, destruction, and downfall. Love
          confers lasting happiness and peace. Sharing can
          reduce grief and multiply joy. Man is born to share,
          to serve, to give and not to grab. When you have
          faith in God as a precious truth in the altar of your
          heart, you will welcome, with equal alacrity, the
          blows and blossoms of fortune.
         
 116.  HAVING come to this place and availed yourselves 
          of this opportunity to treasure in your
          hearts the things you have seen and heard, resolve
          to plunge into a practice of them. Your resolution
          and your practice must happen simultaneously.
          Have a master-plan and start from tomorrow the
          execution of the program, drawn in consultation
          with others. This must happen in all countries. Do
          not think that only the Andhra State is Sai's. All are
          Sai's. All are one. We must endeavour by all means
          to realise and establish this Truth in this Kali Yuga.
          This is the message I am giving you today. I am
          fulfilling all your desires. So you must fulfill this
          one desire of Mine. I bless that you have long life,
          good health, Ananda, Peace and Prosperity; and that you
          will dedicate your physical, mental, intellectual and
          spiritual strength and skills for the service of the
          country and of all mankind.
  
 117.  THERE are some ignorant persons who laugh at
          "Bhajans" and other acts of worship and consider 
          them a waste of valuable time. Those persons
          might laugh at your pouring bags of paddy seeds
          on a slushy field and condemn that act too as
          waste of valuable food-material. But you know that,
          for every bag of paddy-seed, Mother Earth will give
          back grain tenfold or even twenty fold, in a few weeks. 
          Time spent in contemplation of God or adoration 
          of the Divine is indeed well spent, for it
          rewards you with a rich harvest of mental peace
          and courage.
  
 118.  WHEN Jesus was emerging as the Supreme Principle 
          of Divinity, he communicated some news
          to his followers. The statement of Christ is simple.
          (He, who sent me among you, will come again) and
          he pointed to a lamb. The lamb is merely a symbol, 
          a sign. It stands for the voice BA-BA. The announcement 
          was "The Advent of BABA". - "He will
          wear a robe of red, a blooded robe". He will be short,
          with a crown (of hair). The lamb is a sign and symbol
          of Love. Christ did not declare that he will come
          again, he said, "He, who made me, will come again".
          That BABA is the Baba; and Sai, the short curly hair
          crowned, red-robed Baba has come.
  
 119.  MANY believe that a pilgrimage to holy places
          is conductive to spiritual progress. They journey 
          to Tirupathi, Rameswaram, Badrinath or Amarnath 
          and pray for the removal of their mundane
          troubles. They vow to remove their hair if, through
          Divine intervention, they win a prize in the State
          Lotteries, as if God is in need of hair. This trick of
          bargaining is only cheating oneself in an attempt to
          cheat God. Do not pray to God for wealth or fame,
          positions of power or for the fruits of your
          actions. The genuine seeker will pray for nothing
          else but God.
  
 120.  HUMAN lives are now passing on and on, filth
          over filth, bent, broken, diseased, distressed
          and disheartened. To enrich their lives and to make
          the human heritage worthwhile, I have come, I am
          evincing all this enthusiasm to teach you the prayer
          attitude to Seva, for Love expresses itself as Seva,
          Love grows through Seva, and Love is begun in the
          womb of Seva. And God is Love. The Avatar is a
          Child to the children, a Boy to the Boys, a Man
          among men, a Woman among women, so that the
          Avatar's message might reach each heart and
          receive enthusiastic response as "Ananda". It is the
          compassion of the Avatar that prompts His every
          action.
  
 121.  HAVE no thorn of hate in your mind. Develop
          Prema towards all. Desire is a storm; Greed is
          a whirlpool; Pride is a precipice. Attachment is an
          avalanche; Egoism is a volcano. Keep these things
          away, so that you can do Japa or Dhyana; they do
          not disturb the Equanimity. Let Love be enthroned
          in your heart. Then there will be sunshine and a cool
          breeze and the gurgling waters of contentment feeding 
          the roots of faith.
  
 122.  THE title "Sathyam Sivam Sundaram" is full of
          meaning. It speaks of HE, imminent in every
          one of you. Sathyam is the basic reality of you all;
          that is why you resent being called a liar. The real
          "you" is innocent, you will not accept an imputation
          that is false. The real "you" is joy, happiness, and
          auspiciousness. It is not Savam but Sivam, it is Subham, 
          Nithyam, and Anandam. How then can you
          bear being called ugly? The Atma has got entangled
          in the body which it does not like; it is weighed
          down by shame, when you identify it with the body
          and attribute to it the weaknesses and deficiencies
          of that physical vehicle.
  
 123.  I NEVER speak through another; I never possess
          another or use another as a vehicle of expression.
          I come direct, I come straight, I come as I am to
          confer Peace and Joy.
          I do not accept from you flowers that fade, fruits
          that rot, coins that have no value beyond the national 
          boundary. Give Me the Lotus that blooms in your
          Manasa-Sarovar, the clear, pellucid waters of the
          lake of your inner consciousness. Give Me the fruits
          of holiness and steady discipline. I am above all this
          worldly etiquette which enjoins you to see elders
          with some fruit or flower in your hand. My World is
          the World of the Spirit; there, values are different. If
          you are happy with faith in God and fear of sin, that
          is enough "Service", enough "Kainkaryam" for Me.
          It pleases Me so much.
  
 124.  YOU must speak soft and sweet words to
          everyone. Do you like the voice of the crow?
          No, you drive the crow away when it starts to caw;
          its speech is harsh, it is too loud for your ears. You
          must have heard the Koel, the cuckoo, haven't you?
          That bird looks very much like the crow; it grows in
          the nest of the crow with the baby crows; it is fed
          by the mother crow, along with her own kids. But
          no one will throw a stone at a "Koel"; every one likes
          to hear its sweet voice. Speak soft and sweet; then
          every one will like you.
  
 125.  NO service is too low or mean; every emergency 
          is immediately noticed and attended to.
          They need not be sorry that during those days they
          had no time to sit for Dhyana or do Japa or even to
          go out on Nagarsankirtan! Why? You can have the
          Name on the lips, when you sweep the streets or lift
          a corpse in the morgue or when you walk towards
          or away from the area of distress. People may dub
          you mad! But be elated that you are not affected by
          the insanity they suffer from!
  
 126.  THE mind plays many tricks with you, the chief
          of which is to foster the ego and hide the
          Prompter and the Power within. You must have
          heard of an Accountant in the Court of the King of
          Death, Chitragupta, by name. He maintains a
          Register of the good and the bad deeds done by
          each living being, and on death, he brings the book
          to the Court and strikes the balance between debit
          and credit. Yama, the king, then meets out the
          punishment that can expiate and educate. This
          Chitragupta has his Office in the mind of man, all
          the time, awake and alert. The word means the
          secret picture; what he does is to picture all the
          secrets from promptings that blossom into activity;
          he notes the warning signals as well as the occasions 
          when those signals were ignored or wantonly 
          disregarded. You must see that the warning of
          the Divine against the merely human or even the
          bestial inclination, is heeded.
  
 127.  YOU have the chance to see, experience and be
          sanctified by the incarnation of the Lord; this
          chance you have received as a result of the accumulation
          of merit in many previous lives. That merit has
          brought you here when I came down. For this
          chance, Rishis and Devas have prayed long in the
          past. Having won this chance, strive to taste the
          sweetness and achieve the Bliss of Merging without
          wasting even a single moment. The rays that
          emanate from Me are of three grades: the "Sthula",
          filling this Prasanthi Nilayam; the "Sukshma", pervading 
          the Earth; and the "Karana", covering the entire 
          Universe. The people who have the privilege of
          living in this Prasanthi Nilayam are indeed lucky,
          for they are nearest to the "Kiran" (rays). The
          "Sthulakirana" makes a man a "Sadhaka"; the
          "Sukshma" makes him a "Mahatma"; and "Karana"
          converts him into a "Paramahamsa".
  
 128.  I  NEVER deviate from Truth. Since I recline on
          Truth, I am called Sathya Sai; Sayi (as Seshasayi)
          means reclining. The name is very appropriate, let
          me assure you. It is only those, who fail to follow
          My instructions and deviate from the path I lay
          down, that fail to get what I hold out before them.
          Follow My instructions and become soldiers in MY
          army; I will lead you on to victory. When someone
          asks you in great earnestness "where the Lord is to
          be found", do not try to dodge the question. Give
          them the answer that rises up to your tongue from
          your heart. Direct them. He is here in Prasanthi
          Nilayam. All Avatars teach, as the first step in the long
          road of "Sadhana", the giving up of attachment. In
          the Thretha Yuga, the Yoga-Vasistha taught the
          same rule. In the Dwapara Yuga, Krishna taught
          Arjuna to give up Vishaya-Vasana, attachment to
          the objective world. People utter with apparent faith, 
          "Krishna, Krishna, Krishna", but they never give up 
          "Thrishura" (Thirst) for worldly goods or fame. In each 
          Yuga, you have the Avatar of the Lord come to redeem, 
          review and rebuild. At the present time, Mahasakthi,
          Mayasakthi, and Yogasakthi have come all together
          in One Human Form. Your endeavour should be to
          draw near and earn Grace therefrom.
  
 129.  WHAT is the immortal part of man? Is it the
          wealth he has accumulated, the residences he
          has built, the physique he has developed, the wealth
          he has acquired and the family he has reared? No,
          all that he has done, developed or earned are
          destroyed, he has to leave them all to the ravages of
          time. He cannot take with him even a handful of
          earth, the earth he loved so much. If only the dead
          could take with them a handful each, the earth
          would have become so scarce that it should have
          been rationed by now! Discover the Immortal "I"
          and know that it is the spark of God in you; live in
          the companionship of that vast measureless
          Supreme and you will be rendered vast and
          measureless. Consider all objects that you collect
          here as given on "Trust" to be used in this
          caravanserai during your pilgrimage in this
          Karunakshetra.
  
 130.  UNLESS you brighten your vision with Love,
          you cannot see the Truth. Love helps you to
          see God in everyone and everyone as Divine. The
          Jagath is not false, it is not a trap; it is the splendour
          of God, His reflection. He reflected and the Jagath
          happened! It is His own substance, manifesting as
          multiplicity, as latent or potent energy-matter.
          When activity is in accordance with awareness that
          is befogged or belittled, dried up or deluded, there
          Dharma is decadent and the Avatar appears among
          men!
  
 131.  EVERY one must learn the secret of happiness
          which consists in refusing to shed tears for anything 
          less than God. You have won this human
          body, this human life, as the reward for many lives
          spend in acquiring merit. You have won this
          chance, this unique good fortune of being able to get
          Dharsan of Sai. Plunging deep into the waters of
          this tumultuous ocean of Samsar, you have heroically 
          emerged from its depths, with this rare Pearl in
          your hands - the Grace of Sai. Do not allow it to slip
          from your clasp and fall into the depths again. Hold
          firmly on to it. Pray that you may have it forever
          and be filled with the joy that it confers. This is the
          way by which you can render this life fruitful.
  
 132.  UTILISE the World as the means to an end; do
          not desire to stay in it. It is a caravanserai,
          where you can rest a while during your pilgrimage
          to the source. It is a bridge wide and strongly built.
          Can any pilgrim build a house there on for himself?
          The Cosmos is changing constantly. The minutes
          that are past cannot be retrieved, even if tempted by
          a billion rupees. The past is not ours any more; the
          present slips from our grasp; and the future is uncertain. 
          You come naked into the world, You go out
          of it without informing the survivors of the address 
          where you can be contacted. In spite of this,
          attachment grows and you cultivate bounds. This is
          the great illusion.
  
 133.  THE grace of God cannot be won through the
          gymnastics of reason, the contortions of Yoga or
          the denials of Asceticism. Love alone can win it;
          Love that needs no requital; Love that knows no
          bargaining; Love that is paid gladly as a tribute to
          the All Loving; and Love that is unwavering. Love
          alone can overcome obstacles, however many and
          mighty. There is no strength more effective than
          Purity, no bliss more satisfying than Love, no joy
          more restoring than Bhakti and no triumph more
          praiseworthy than Surrender.
  
 134.  HIN means "Hinsa" (Violence) and "du" means
          "dura" (distant); so HINDU means a person 
          who is devoid of violence, who loves and sympathizes, 
          who helps and serves - not one who hides
          and hits, harms and draws blood. The same sky is
          over everyone's head; the same earth supports
          everyone's feet; the same air enters everyone's
          lungs! The same God brought all forth, brings up all
          and brings about the end of this earthly career. Why
          then this inhuman role of foe and fanatic; of fight
          and feud?
  
 135.  I AM the embodiment of Love; Love is My Instrument. 
          There is no creature without Love; the
          lowest loves itself at least. And its "self is God". So,
          there are no atheists, though some might dislike
          Him or refuse Him, as malarial patients dislike
          sweets or diabetic patients refuse to have anything
          to do with sweet! Those who preen themselves as
          atheists will one day, when their illness is gone,
          relish God and revere Him.
  
 136.  STRUGGLE to realise the Atma, to visualise God;
          even failure in this struggle is nobler than success
          in other worldly attempts. The buffalo has horns; the
          elephant has tusks, But what a difference? To live in
          the body, with the body, for the body is the life of a
          worm; to live in the body with God is good, for God
          is the life of man. The dull, activity-hating Thamasic
          persons have ego and their love is limited to their
          kith and kin. The Rajasic, active, passionate persons
          seek to earn power and prestige and love those who 
          will contribute to these. But the Sathwic, the pure, the good
          and equanimity-filled love all as embodiments of
          God and engage themselves in humble service.
  
 137.  THERE are three types of approaches towards the
          Lord; the Eagle type, which swoops down on the
          target with a greedy swiftness and suddenness which,
          by its very impact, fails to secure the object coveted;
          the Monkey type, which flits hither and thither, from
          one to another, unable to decide which is tasty; and
          the Ant type which moves steadily, though slowly
          towards the object which it has decided is desirable.
          The ant does not hit the fruit hard and makes it fall
          away; it does not pluck all the fruits it seeks; it appropriates 
          just as much as it can assimilate and no
          more. Do not fritter away the time allotted to you
          for sojourning on the earth in foolish foppery and
          fanciful foibles which always keep you outdoors.
          When are you to walk indoors into the warmth and
          quiet of your own interior? Retire into solitude and
          silence now and then; experience the joy derivable
          only from them.
  
 138.  WHAT is the sanctity of Sivarathri? Your
          answer, "Linga emerges from Swami's Udara
          (abdomen)". "Today is the fourteenth day of the
          dark of the month, when the moon is all but invisible, 
          just a minute fraction remains visible to
          man. The mind is the source of all the entangling
          desires and emotions. The mind is, therefore, almost
          powerless this day; if only this night is spent in vigil
          and in the presence of the Divine, it can be fully conquered 
          and man can realise his freedom. Vigilance
          this night is to be secured by "Sadhana", this is by
          means of "Bhajan" or the reading of sacred texts.
  
 139.  RAMA, Krishna and Sai Baba appear different because 
          of the dress each has donned, but it is the
          selfsame Entity, believe Me. Do not be misled into
          error and loss. The time will soon come when this
          huge building or even vaster ones will be too small for
          the gatherings of those who are called to this place.
          The sky itself will have to be the roof of the
          Auditorium of the future. I will have to forego the
          car and even the airplane when I move from place
          to place, for the crowds pressing around them will
          be too huge; I will have to move across the sky; yes
          that too will happen, believe Me.
  
 140.  SEE all as Narayanaswarupa and worship all
          with Prema. Even My nature can be understood
          by you only when you wear the glasses of Holiness.
          Holy things can be cognised only by the Holy
          Seeker. You get what you search for; you see what
          your eyes crave for. The doctor is found where
          patients gather; the surgeon stays in the operation
          ward; so too, the Lord is ever with the suffering and
          struggling. Whenever people cry out in agony "Oh
          God", there God will be.
  
141.  YOU very often condemn the mind as a monkey;
          but take it from Me, it is far worse. The monkey
          leaps from one branch to another; but the mind
          leaps from the heights of the Himalayas to the
          depths of the sea, from today to tens of years ago.
          Tame it by the process of Namasmarana. Make it as
          Ramdas did into a Badrachala, a stable and steady
          mountain. That is the task I assign to you. Make
          your heart an Ayodhya by means of Ramanama;
          Ayodya means a city that can never lie captured by
          force. That is your real nature: Ayodhya;
          Badrachala. Forget this and you are lost. Install
          Rama in your heart; and then no outer force can
          harm you.
  
 142.  THINGS are not so important; the transcendental 
          truth of things is of value. You must
          visualise the spiritual in the material, the gold in the
          jewels, the Divine in the diversity of character and
          conduct and seek to know the Atma. All are equal
          in birth and in death. Differences arise only during
          the interval. The Emperor and the beggar are both
          born naked; they sleep equally silently; they bow
          out without even leaving their new address. Then
          how can their reality be different? There can be no
          doubt on this score. All are basically the same.
  
 143.  LISTEN to Me. When you wake up, feel that you
          are entering the stage to play the role assigned
          to you by the Lord; pray that you may act it well
          and earn His approbation. At night, when you retire
          to sleep, feel that you are entering the green-room
          after the scene, but with the dress of your role on;
          for perhaps the role is not yet over and you have not
          yet been permitted to take the dress off. Perhaps,
          you have to make another entrance the next morning. 
          Do not worry about that. Place yourself fully at
          His Disposal; He knows; He has written the play
          and He knows how it will end and how it will go
          on; Yours is but to act and retire.
  
 144.  WHEN the mind of man is unattached to the
          ups and downs of life, but is able to maintain
          equanimity under all circumstances, then even
          physical health can be assured. The mental firmament 
          must be like the sky, which bears no mark of
          the passage through it of birds or planes or clouds.
          Illness is caused more by malnutrition of the mind
          than of the body. Doctors speak of Vitamin deficiency; 
          I will call it the deficiency of Vitamin G, and I
          will recommend the repetition of the Name of God,
          with accompanying contemplation of the glory and
          grace of God. That is the Vitamin G. That is the
          medicine; regulated life and habits are two thirds of
          the treatment, while the medicine is just one third
          only.
  
 145.  CARRY on your highest duty - following the four F's: 
          
                         Follow the Master; 
                         Face the Devil; 
                         Fight to the End; and 
                         Finish the Game. 
          
          Then you win My love in full measure. Love is My
          highest Miracle. Love can make you gather the affection 
          of all mankind. Love will not tolerate any
          selfish aim or approach, Love is God. Live in Love.
          Then all is right; all can be well. Expand your heart
          so that it can encompass all. Do not narrow it down
          into an instrument of restricted Love.
  
 146.  THE tongue is the armour of heart; it guards
          one's life. Loud talk, long talk, wild talk, and
          talk full of anger and hate; all these affect the
          health of man. They breed anger and hate in others;
          they wound; they excite; they enrage; they estrange.
          Why is silence said to be golden? The silent man has no
          enemies, though he may not have friends. He has
          the leisure and the chance to delve within himself
          and examine his own faults and failings. He has no
          more inclination to seek them (fault) in others. If
          your foot slips, you sustain a fracture; if your
          tongue slips, you fracture some one's faith or joy.
          That fracture can never be set right; that wound will
          fester for ever. Therefore, use the tongue with great
          care. The softer you talk, the less you talk and the
          sweeter you talk, the better for you and the World.
  
 147.  BIRTH is the consequence of "Kama" (desire,
          lust); Death is the consequence of "Kala" (Time,
          the lapse of Time). The God of Desire (Kama) was
          reduced to ashes by Shiva; the God of Time is Kala
          or Yama. He was subdued by sin. So, one has to surrender 
          to Siva (God) if one has to escape the consequences 
          of these two frightfully fatal forces. If between
          "Kama" and "Kala" you take refuge in Rama, then you
          can escape the rigour. For Rama is the Atma who has
          no "Kama" and is unaffected by "Kala".
  
 148.  WHEN you seek to learn swimming, you will
          have to enter the water and struggle with the
          strokes. When Bhasma (Vibuthi) is given, doubt
          haunts some people whether Swami is wishing that
          the recipient should be a Saivite! It is a symbol of
          the indestructible basic substance which every being
          is. All things become ash; but ash remains ash, however 
          much you may burn it. It is also a sign of
          renunciation, of sacrifice and of "Jnana", which
          burns all "Karma" - consequently into ineffective
          ash. It is a sign of Iswara and I apply it on your
          brow to remind you that you too are Divine. It is a
          valuable "Upadesa" about your identity. It also
          reminds you that the body is liable any moment to
          be reduced into a handful of ash. Ash is a lesson in
          detachment and renunciation.
  
 149.  THE river of human life meanders along,
          through many a valley, leaps over many a
          cliff, loses itself in many a marsh and seeks to
          empty itself in the ocean of Divine Grace; though,
          what happens is that it falls into the undrinkable
          expanse of salt. The flood flows from the heights
          to the depths; only the flames of fire do ever rise
          from the depth to the heights. That is why we
          speak of "Jnanagni", the Fire of Wisdom of Realisation. 
          Man suffers because he has developed
          hunger as vast as the sky, with a throat as narrow
          as a needle. His throat must become as vast as the
          earth; his heart must blossom wide through
          Shanti and Sahana; that is through equanimity
          and fortitude. Then the desire of man for full lasting 
          undiluted "Ananda" can be attained.
  
 150.  LIFE on earth is as on the ocean, ever restless
          with the waves of joy and grief, of loss
          and gain, the swirling currents of desires and the
          whirlpools of passion, greed and hate. To cross
          the ocean, the only reliable raft is a heart filled
          with the Love of God and Man. Man is born for a
          high destiny, as the inheritor of a rich heritage. He
          should not fritter away his days in low pursuits
          and vulgar vanities. His destiny is to know the
          Truth, live in it and for it. The Truth alone can
          make man free and happy. If he is not prompted
          by this high purpose, life is a waste and a mere
          tossing on the waves, for the sea of life is never
          calm.
  
 151.  YOUR car is not meant to be kept a showpiece 
          in a glass garage. It is meant for the
          roads, for taking you fast and safe to the place
          where you want to go. So too, your body must
          serve the purpose of your journey. Journey to
          where? Not, as it has been happening, to the
          cemetery. You have nobler things to do than
          merely die! You must know your own Reality
          before you die and merge in that Supreme Joy. Eat
          just enough to keep the body trim; use the body
          to discover this Reality, namely, God. Sanctify
          every moment of your sojourn here with pious
          deeds and sacred thoughts.
  
 152.  IT is to persuade you to engage in Namasmarana 
          that I am concluding My discourses with singing a few 
          Namavalis. An Officer of the Indian Civil Service has to write on
          the slate, A, B, C and D and pronounce those letters,
          in order to teach his children the alphabet. When
          you find him doing so, you do not infer that he is
          himself learning the alphabet, do you? Therefore, do
          not be surprised if I sing Bhajan songs; I am but
          initiating you into this most efficacious Sadhana.
          Strengthen yourself, purify yourself, and educate
          yourself by this "Namasankeertan". Do it loudly and
          in company. Let those who join you listen and imbibe 
          the nectar of the Name.
  
 153.  WHEN you call out in all sincerity, the response
          will certainly come. Give up all low desires
          and call from the anguished heart. Do not pray from
          the lips, as you do now, from the puja room which
          is but a corner of the kitchen. You worship the Lord
          with an eye on the dishes or cooking on the oven, with
          a nose inhaling hungrily the smells of the hot curries.
          Your thoughts of God are vitiated by "Vishavasana",
          attachment to sensory objects. There is a vast gap between 
          what you say and what you do; and between
          what you are capable of and what you accomplish.
  
 154.  FOOD received by foul means and clothing procured
          through ease and comfort are the main things in
          life. Do not think that ease and comfort are the main
          things in life. Disappointment, disease and distress
          are the lot of all, rich and poor, educated and uneducated, 
          young and old. They are the common lot
          of all. Let not your pure, immaculate hearts be
          rendered dirty by false-hood and wrong. Do not soil
          your tongue using it for uttering dirty words. Utter
          the name of God; it acts like a spark which can burn
          into ash a big hill of cotton! All evil thoughts,
          wicked plans and plots will disappear like fog
          before the Sun when the Name of God is remembered 
          sincerely.
  
 155.  ONCE man is free from undue attachment to the
          body and its appurtenances, he is liberated
          also from the pulls of joy, grief, good, bad, pleasure,
          pain, etc. He is firmly established in equanimity, fortitude 
          and undisturbed balance. There man discovers 
          that the World is one in God; that all is Joy,
          Love and Bliss. He realises that he himself is all this
          apparent World, that all the multifarious manifestations 
          are the fantasies of the Divine will, which is
          his own Reality. This expansion of one's individuality 
          to cover the ends of the Universe is the
          highest leap of man. It gives supreme "Ananda", an
          experience for which sages and saints spent years of
          prayer and asceticism.
  
 156.  MAN has been enslaved by money. He lives a
          superficial, hollow, artificial life. This is indeed 
          a great pity. Man should seek to possess only
          as much money as is most essential for his living.
          The quantity of riches one must earn can be compared 
          to the shoes one wears; if too small, they
          cause pain; if too big, they are a hindrance to physical 
          and mental comfort. When we have more, it
          breeds pride, sloth and contempt for others. In pursuit 
          of money, man descends to the level of the beast.
          Money is of the nature of manure. Piled up in one
          place, it pollutes the air. Spread it wide; scatter it
          over fields; it rewards you with a bumper harvest.
          So too, when money is spent in all the four quarters
          for promoting good works, it yields contentment
          and happiness in plenty.
  
 157.  MOVE forward towards the light and the
          shadow falls behind you. Move away from it
          and you have to follow your own shadow. Go every
          moment one step nearer to the Lord and then,
          Maya, the shadow will fall back and will not delude
          you at all. Be steady; be resolved. Do not commit a
          fault or take a false step and then repeat it! Have the
          "Thaapam" (the deliberation, the decision, the discipline) 
          first; that is better than "Paschaath Thapam"
          (regret for the mistake made).
  
 158.  GIVE something divine if you want the Divine.
          Prema, Shanti, Dharma and Sathya are Divine.
          Do not try to get it for a flower that fades, a fruit
          that rots, a leaf that dries and water that evaporates.
          There are some who write and speak as if they have
          known Me, all that is to be known of Me. I can only
          say this: they can never know Me and My nature,
          even if they are born and reborn a thousand
          times. To know Me, one has to be like Me, rise to
          this height. Can ants discover the depth of the
          Ocean?
  
 159.  IN this Kali age, the wicked have to be reformed
          and reconstructed through love and Compassion. 
          That is why this Avatar has come unarmed. HE
          has come with the message of Love. The only
          weapon which can transform the vile and the vicious 
          is the Name of the Lord uttered with Love.
          The Name is redolent with Divine Glory. So when it
          is turned over in the mind, it transmutes it into an
          instrument for liberation from delusion.
  
 160.  THREE disciplines are essential to become
          aware of Divinity in all and in the Avatar; no
          activity should be taken up with individual aggrandizement 
          in view; intellect and emotion must be
          directed to the revelation of the Resident of the
          Heart, Atma; and every act should be done sincerely, 
          with Love, with no yearning for acquiring personal 
          profit, fame or benefit. Above all, listen to the
          voice of God within. As soon as one contemplates a
          wrong act, the voice warns, protests and advises
          giving up. It pictures the shame that has to be suffered, 
          the punishment that has to be faced and the
          disgrace that it entails.
  
 161.  IF God is implanted in the heart, you will see
          God everywhere, even in the objective World.
          "Sarvam Brahmamayam" is a fact. Resolve this day
          to engage only in virtuous deeds, good thoughts,
          and good company. Let your mind dwell on elevating 
          thoughts. Do not waste a single moment of your
          time talking in idle gossip, vain boasting or
          demeaning recreations.
  
 162.  THE journey into the inner consciousness, to
          calm the storms that rage, is more important
          than the journey to the Moon or Mars. The latter
          may be more spectacular, but the former is the more
          beneficial. Life without goodness, good thoughts,
          good actions and good words is like the sky in the
          night without the moon or stars. It is like a wheel
          without a hub or spokes! No one can push a boulder
          away while standing on it; you cannot be free from
          anxiety while all the entrances through which it
          sneaks in are open. Stop catering to the senses and
          feeding the desires that haunt you.
  
 163.  THE ceremony of Brahmopadesam is
          Upanayanam, because the word means, "taking
          near", taking the young aspirant near Brahman, that
          is to say, introducing him to Brahmajynasa, the path
          of Brahma. It is one of the Samskaras, that is rites
          which reconstruct the personality, reform the mind,
          purify it and rebuild it. It makes the person receiving 
          it a "Dwija", twice-born! The boy is born first into
          the World; now he is born into the Sadhaka World.
          He becomes a Brahmachari, a person who walks
          towards Brahma.
  
 164.  SEE God in every being and then true "Sneha" will
          blossom. This type of true "Sneha" can come only
          when you follow the advice of Krishna. "Adveshta
          sarva bhoothanam maitrah karuna evacha Nirmano
          nirahamkaarah Sama dukher Sukha Kshami":
          "He who has no trace of hatred towards any
          creature, who is friendly and compassionate
          towards all, who is free from the bondage of  "I" and
          "mine", who takes pain and pleasure as equally welcome 
          and who is forbearing in spite of provocation". 
          Grow these qualities in you, for they are the
          signs of true "Sneha". It is only when you are
          proceeding on the God ward journey along the nine
          stages of Bhakti that you can attain this Divine ideal
          of true friendship.
  
 165.  MOHAMMED, who sought to establish the
          primacy of the One Formless Absolute, had a
          large share of persecution, defamation and privation. 
          Jesus, who attempted to rebuild mankind on
          the basis of Love, was crucified by little men who
          feared that their tiny tower of hate and greed will be
          toppled by his teaching. Harischandra, who had
          resolved never to waver from Truth, was subjected
          to ordeal after ordeal, each more terrifying than the
          previous one. Those who seek to know God must
          steel themselves to bear insult, injury and torture
          with a smile.
  
 166.                              YUGADI
          
          THE word "Yugadi" means: the day of the Inauguration 
          of the "Yuga or Age". On this day
          dedicate your life anew to the spiritual discipline,
          giving up all habits that interfere with the constant
          remembrance of God. Nature puts on a neat garb of
          green, but man alone continues with his old
          prejudices, out-worn habits and moth-eaten principles, 
          which tarnish and demean him. The spiritual
          discipline prescribed by the Scriptures for the Kritha
          (Yuga) Age is Dhyana; for the Tretha Yuga it is
          Dharma; for the Dwapara Yuga it is Archana or
          Ritual worship; and for the Kali Yuga it is Namasmara 
          and Seva. With the constant remembrance of
          God, worship the Lord, leaving the result to the 
          All-powerful, All-knowing and All-Merciful. The New
          Panchangam reveals the position of the Sun, Moon
          and Stars. Saint Thyagarja sang that Rama's Grace
          can counteract the evil effect of Stars. Expand yourself. 
          Take in all. Grow in Love. That is the new dress
          you have to wear and shine on this day.
  
 167.  I AM showing you by My example. You must fill
          every moment with useful beneficial activity. You
          talk among yourselves, "Oh Swami is having his rest hour; 
          Swami is sleeping", but I have never craved,
          for a minute's rest or sleep or relief. Shall I tell you
          at what time I feel restful, relieved and content?
          When I know that you are all earning supreme Bliss
          through detachment and spiritual discipline; not
          until then. I am ever engaged in some activity or
          other for your benefit. Things that I could get done,
          I do not entrust to others; I do them myself, so that
          they may learn self-reliance and get experience
          thereby.
  
 168.  YAMA or the God of death is described as dragging 
          his victims to his abode by means of the
          rope or "Paasa". Well, He has no rope-factory there,
          for supplying him with the rope he needs. You
          manufacture the rope yourself and have it ready
          around your neck; he has only to take hold of the
          rope and pull you along! It is a three-stranded rope,
          the strands being "Ahamkaram" (Egoism);
          "Vishayavasana" (sense-attachment); and "Kama"
          (Desire).
  
169.  LEARN a lesson from the tree. When it is heavy
          with fruits, it does not raise its head aloft in
          pride, it bends low, stoops, as if it does not take any
          credit for its accomplishment and as if it helps you
          to pluck the fruit. Learn a lesson from the birds.
          They feed those who cannot fly far. The bird
          relieves the itch of the buffalo by scratching it with
          its beak; they help and serve each other with no
          thought of reward. How much more alert must man
          be then with his superior skills and faculties? Service 
          is the best cure for egoism.
  
 170.  I WOULD advise you to dwell always on one
          Name of God, one personification of one of His
          innumerable attributes of Glory. Then there is the
          expansion of your Love, the removal of hate and
          envy from your mental composition, seeing the God
          whom you adore in every other person intently as
          you see Him in yourself. Then you become the Embodiment 
          of Love, Peace and Joy.
  
 171.  REMOVE the cataract and the vision becomes
          clear. So too, remove the feeling of inferiority
          that dwarfs you now; feel that you are
          "Atmaswarupa", "Nityaswarupa", and "Anandaswarupa"; 
          then every act of yours becomes a
          "Yajna", a sacrifice and a Puja. The ear, the eye, the
          tongue and the feet become tools for your uplift, not
          traps for your destruction. Transform "Thamogunam"
          into "Thapogunam" and save yourself.
  
 172.  REMOVE the weight from your head by transferring 
          all burdens to the Lord, leave everything 
          to His will and His Law. Feed your mind with
          sweet and wholesome food: "Satsanga", "Satpravatana",
          and "Sarveswara Chintha"; then you are full of joy. I
          am "Anandaswarupa"; come and take "Ananda" from
          Me and, returning to your avocations, dwell on that
          "Ananda" and be full of "Shanti".
  
 173.  THE greatest single cause for darkness in the
          World today is envy. When one is happy and
          contented, others envy him and strive to ruin his
          peace of mind. When any one is acclaimed as great,
          malice moves others to invent calumny in order to
          tarnish his reputations. This is the way of the
          World. There is in life the tragedy of ignorance and
          selfishness. They force man to take the wrong road;
          and suffer calamity.
  
 174.  A STRONG will is the best tonic. The will becomes 
          strong when you know that you are a
          child of Immortality or a person who has earned the
          Grace of the Lord. Medicine and hospitalization are
          for those who doubt and hesitate and argue about
          this doctor being more efficient than the other and
          this drug being more powerful than the rest. For
          those who rely on the Supreme Doctor, His Name is
          the drug that cures.
  
 175.  YOU can call me on the phone, but I will not be
          available for all those who do not have the sincere 
          and steady yearning for the Lord. For those
          who say "No, You are not my Lord", I say "No".
          For those who say, "Yes", I too echo "Yes". If I am
          available in your heart, I will be available over the
          phone. But remember, I have My own special Postal 
          and Telephone Systems. They operate from the
          heart straight to the heart. There are rules and
          regulations for the operations of the Systems which
          the Sastras declare. You can find them there.
          I am glad that devotees have today acquired this
          new convenience at Prasanthi Nilayam.
  
 176.  TRUTH can reflect itself in your intelligence
          only when it is cleaned by "Thapas". "Thapas"
          means all acts undertaken with higher motives and
          all acts indicating yearning for the spirit;
          repenting for past blunders; staunch determination
          to adhere to virtue; self-control; and unyielding
          adherence to equanimity in the face of success or
          failure. "Thapam" means heat, burning intensity and
          earnestness of endeavour. It is "Thapas" that fosters
          Renunciation and discipline.
  
 177.  THE Rama and Krishna Avatars performed the
          mission of restoring Dharma and fostering virtuous 
          living, besides punishing the wicked and teaching 
          the World that vice will not succeed. Man is an
          amalgam of Humanity, Animality and Divinity. It is a
          tragedy if he cannot get rid of the Animality; and it is
          a greater tragedy if he cannot cultivate his Divinity.
          Contemplation of the Rama and Krishna Avatars and
          their Leelas and Mahimas is the surest method of cultivating 
          the Divine in Man.
  
 178.  GOD has four qualities and it is only when you
          cultivate them that you can understand Him.
          They are: Prema (Love), Beauty (Soundarya), Sweetness 
          (Madurya), and Shoba (Splendor). The development 
          of Prema is enough to add into you the other
          three. When you are full of Prema for the Divine in
          all creation, that stage is Beauty; when you are immersed 
          in the sea of Universal Love, you reach the
          acme of Sweetness; when your mind loses its identity 
          and merges in the Universal Mind, then there is
          Splendour indescribable.
  
 179.  MY task is not merely to cure and console and
          remove individual misery. It is something far
          more important. The important task of the mango
          tree is to produce mango-fruit. The leaves, the
          branches and the trunk of the tree are useful in their
          own way, no doubt, but the main aim is the fruit. So,
          also from the plantain-tree, the fruit is the main
          gain. The leaves and the edible core of the stem are
          all incidental. So too, the removal of misery and distress 
          is incidental to My Mission. My main task is
          the re-establishment of Veda and Shastra in the
          heart of Bharthavarsha and the revival of
          Knowledge about them in the people. This task will
          succeed.
  
 180.  NARADA once asked Krishna the secret of the
          attraction His flute play had on the cowherds
          of Brindavan. "Do they run to You or do You run to
          them?", he queried. "Among us there is neither I
          nor they; how can a picture be separated from the
          cloth on which it is painted? I am imprinted on their
          hearts so inseparably and so inextricably", Krishna
          replied. Have God imprinted on your hearts; be ever
          so inextricably established in Him - that is My message 
          to you.
  
 181.  THIS Sai has came in order to achieve the
          Supreme task of uniting the entire mankind as
          one family through the band of brotherhood, of affirming 
          and illumining the Atmic Reality of each
          being in order to reveal the Divine, the
          basis on which the entire Cosmos rests, and of instructing 
          all to recognise the common Divine
          Heritage that binds man to man, so that man can rid
          himself of the animal and rise into the Divine which
          is his goal.
   
 182.  DO not get elated at the riches, status, authority,
          and intelligence, which have been given to you
          on trust, so that you may benefit others. They are all
          signs of His Grace, opportunities for service and
          symbols of responsibility. Never seek to exult over
          others' faults; deal sympathetically with the errors
          and mistakes of others; hear only good things about
          them; and do not give an ear to scandals.
  
 183.  NOW, there is a wave of anxiety spreading over
          the World as a result of rising prices; and attempts 
          are frantically being made to bring down
          the level. The fundamental cause for the rise in
          prices is the decline in the price of man. Man must
          realise his pricelessness; he should not regard himself 
          as a cheap nut or bolt that has no higher purpose 
          in life. He should know that he is the imperishable, 
          unconquerable Atma; and the body is only a
          vehicle for the Atma.
  
 184.  DOES thou know why you are given eyes? To
          see whatever can be seen? No! No! To fill the
          eyes with the vision of God who resides on Mount
          Kailas. We have to cast our looks at sacred sights.
          We must visualise in everyone only the good and
          the Godly. That is the purpose for which God has
          equipped us with eyes. He has not gifted them to us
          to observe and judge others, to follow people into
          the bazaar or to see unsightly films.
  
 185.  THE snakes move in curves, not in a straight
          line; man too, when he is following the senses,
          has to move in a crooked path. He has greater
          poison in him than the snake; his venom is to be
          found in his eye, his tongue, his hands, his mind, his
          heart and his thoughts - whereas the cobra has it
          only in its fangs. The cobra raises its hood and
          sways in joy when it hears music - so, man too, when
          he realises the stage of  "nirvikalpa", (steady unchanging 
          establishment in the ultimate Reality), dances in
          heavenly Bliss.
  
 186.  GOD is the source of all Love; Love God, Love
          the World as the vesture of God, no more and
          no less. Through Love, you can merge in the Ocean
          of Love. Love cures pettiness, hate and grief. Love
          loosens bonds; it saves man from the torments of
          birth and death. Love binds all hearts in a soft silken
          symphony. Seen through the eyes of Love, all
          beings are beautiful; all deeds are dedicated; and all
          thoughts are innocent. The World is one vast kin.
  
 187.  GOD is all powerful; God is everywhere; God is
          all-knowing. To adore such a formidable limitless 
          principle, man spends a few minutes out of the
          24 hours and uses a minute idol, image or picture!
          It is indeed ridiculous; it is practically futile.
          Adore Him so long as you have breath and so long as you
          are conscious. Have no other thought than God,
          have no other aim than knowing His command; no
          other activity than translating that command into
          action. That is what is meant by Surrender.
          Surrender yourself unto Him.
  
 188.  GOD is the guardian, the corrector, the admonisher 
          and the saviour; so, people must get
          into the habit of calling on Him as a living
          presence. The temple helps to soften the hearts! It
          instills the virtue of compassion and charity. Greed
          and cruelty will spread in an atmosphere that has
          no devotion and adoration to God. Make yourselves
          into moving temples. Become aware of the God that
          resides in you. It is He who protects you, provides
          for you and prevents you from falling  prey to pernicious 
          propensities.
  
 189.  THERE are three types of persons: those, who
          confess their own faults and mention the excellence 
          of others, are the highest type; those, who
          highlight their own excellence and decry the faults
          of others, are worse; those, who parade their own
          faults as excellence and deride the excellence in
          others as faults, are the worst. The last type is
          nowadays most rampant.
  
 190.  GOD has no will or want; He does not confer or
          withhold; He is the eternal witness. To put it in
          the language that you can understand: He is like the
          postman, who is not concerned with the contents of
          the letters that he hands over to the addressees; one
          letter might communicate victory; another defeat;
          and you receive what you have worked for. Do
          good and have good done in return; be bad and
          accept the bad that comes back to you. That is the
          law; and there is really no help (or) hindrance.
  
 191.  THE relief and joy that you give to the sick and
          the sad reach me, for I am in their hearts and I
          am the One they call out for. God has no need of
          your service; does He suffer from pain in the legs, or
          ache in the stomach? Try to serve the Godly; be
          "dasanudasas", the servants of the servants of the
          Lord. The service of man is the only means by
          which you can serve God.
  
 192.  THYAGARAJA said that, if he is armed with the
          Grace of Rama, the planetary missiles can never
          injure him. Purandaradasa, another great saint,
          asked, "What are eyes for?" and answered the question 
          himself, "To visualise the Lord". "Eyes that do
          not yearn to see you, are black balls; ears that do not
          hear your praise, are narrow mountain caves where
          jackals live; and the tongue that does not relish the
          repetition of your Name, can only croak like a frog",
          says Purandaradasa.
  
 193.  ALL who come embodied are Avatars, that is to
          say, advents of the Divine, Manifestations of
          God. What then is the special feature of Rama,
          Krishna, Buddha and Christ? Why do you celebrate
          their Birthdays with such reverential enthusiasm?
          The specialty is this: they are Aware; you are unaware 
          of the Atma which is the Truth. Awareness
          confers Grace, Glory, Majesty, Might and Splendour. 
          Awareness confers Liberation from bonds,
          time, space and causation, and sleep,
          dream and wakefulness. Avatars are ever alert,
          aware and alight.
  
 194.  THE name of God, if recited with love and faith,
          has that power. Once the mother of Agastya
          boasted that her son drank all the waters of the
          ocean; but the mother of Hanuman, who was there,
          said; "Why go to that extent? My son leaped over it
          in a trice". But there was the mother of Rama with
          them. She said, "Your son leaped over the ocean,
          uttering my son's name. Without it, he was helpless". 
          The name has that overmastering power. It
          can bring unheard of and unimagined strength and
          courage.
  
 195.  FOR Namasmarana, no expense is involved; no
          materials are needed; there is no special place or
          time to be provided. No qualification of scholarship
          or caste or sex has to be proved. When a bit of iron
          is rubbed to and fro on a slab of stone, heat is
          generated; only the rubbing has to be vigorous and
          continuous. When you do so at intervals and with
          poor pressure, the iron will not get hot. So too, in
          order to get sufficient heat to melt the soft heart of
          the Lord, rub the name "Ram",  "Ram",  "Ram",  "Ram"
          vigorously and unremittingly; then, the Lord will
          shower His Grace.
  
 196.  THIS is the best time to tell you something about
          the authenticity of this Advent. I only wish to
          communicate the Truth. There are many who can
          not bear or tolerate the Splendour that I am
          manifesting, the Divinity that is expressed in every
          act, the wonders and amazing happenings that are
          the result of Grace; these people label these as acts
          of mesmerism or miracles or feats of magic! They
          hope to bring these down in the estimation of
          people. Let me tell you this; mine is no mesmerism,
          miracle or magic. Mine is genuine DIVINE
          POWER.
  
197.  LIFE sustained by food is short; life sustained by
          the Atma is eternal. Do not lay claim to long
          life; but to Divine life. Do not pine for more years
          on earth, but for more virtues in the heart. Buddha 
          knew and made known to the World the Truth.
          Everything is grief. Everything is empty. Everything 
          is brief. Everything is polluted. So the wise
          man has to do the duties cast upon him with discrimination, 
          diligence and detachment. Play the
          role but keep your identity unaffected.
  
 198.  IN order to escape being tossed about on the
          waves of joy and grief, one should cultivate unconcern 
          (upeksha), an attitude of welcoming
          either as a sign of Grace. Sri Ramakrishna said that
          if you must avoid the sticky fluid in the jack fruit
          from contacting your fingers when you peel it, you
          have to apply a few drops of oil on them. So, too,
          said he, "If you do not want the World and its reactions 
          to stick to you, have a few drops of unconcern
          applied on your mind".
  
 199.  THE foundation for real peace is, according to
          the Vedas, the quality of Maithree. Maithree
          means amicability, friendship, compassion and,
          kindness. It can also be taken to mean "My three",
          that is to say, my word, deed and thought shall be
          in accordance with words, thought and deed; that is
          to say, we shall speak, think and act together
          without friction or faction, in an atmosphere of love
          and understanding. That is what is wanted in the
          world today: My three.
  
 200.  ALL men are Mine; so the whole World has to be
          saved from the consequences of ignorance or
          limited knowledge. I will get all My people near
          Me, for they are Mine, and I am theirs. Then, I will
          start teaching and training them, until they become
          entirely ego-free. For the last 25 years, it has all
          been sweetness, kindness, soft persuasion; hereafter,
          it will be different. I will drag them, place them on
          the table and operate. That is to say, I have no
          anger or hate. I have only Love. It is Love that
          prompts Me to save them and to open their eyes,
          before they get deeper into the morass.
  
 201.  MAN alone can rise through effort to higher
          stages of spiritual evolution. No other
          animal can do so. Animal trainers of the Circus can
          train a tiger to perform various tricks, but they
          cannot change his nature. They cannot make it
          live on grass and completely deprive it of meat. But
          man is different. His nature can be changed by
          means of his own disciplined effort. He can control, 
          by his will, the evil thoughts and ideas that
          arise in his mind. This is why birth as a human
          being is considered a rare gift.
  
 202.  FAITH in God will instill faith in themselves and
          in others and the World will be happier thereby.
          The Americans might walk on the moon, or the Russians  
          picnic on the planet Mars, but they have both
          to return to Earth, which is their common home.
          One can claim genuine victory only when one has
          reached not the dead satellite, but the living star,
          not the Chandra, but Ramachandra, the Lord who
          rules over the inner satellites, the inner planets, the
          inner motives and aspirations.
  
 203.  LIFE is a jungle, where there is a great deal of dry
          wood which harbours worms and insects. No
          one cleans the floor of the forest or cuts away the
          undergrowth of bush and bramble. To wade
          through the thorns and the leech-ridden floor of the
          jungle, one has to wear boots. So too, one has to
          wear the boots of sense-regulation, if one has to pass
          through the jungle of life without harming oneself.
  
 204.  THERE are three desires which every "I" cannot
          escape from. "I must live" is the first. The will
          to live is overpowering and paramount. This is
          the urge for immortality. "The desire to know" is the
          second. This too is unquenchable thirst and is an
          indication of the position of which the "I" is the
          inheritor. "The desire for joy" is the third, prompting 
          man behind the senses into the outer World for
          pleasures. This evidence shows that deep in the
          core of the "I" there is a spring of "Ananda" which
          seeks its mate and its fulfillment.
  
 205.  THERE is no Vidya which our students are not
          proficient in. They develop all the virtues and
          they saturate every act of theirs, including their
          skills and studies, with those high and pure
          qualities. To demonstrate that this process will
          yield joy, peace and prosperity, I have these students 
          as My instruments. They would themselves
          act as ideals. They are the source of My delight and
          they sustain My hopes. (They are My "Aasaya", My
          "Ananda" and my "Ahaara") These students, and
          those of the same stamp are the pioneers in My task
          of mending the present World and ushering in a
          new World.
  
 206.  PARENTS set bad examples uttering falsehood,
          scandalizing others, gambling, drinking, behaving 
          violently, inflicting injury, becoming addicted to
          nightclubs, pictures and drinking parties and quarreling 
          after arriving home past midnight.
          How can children, used to such low sights and
          sounds, learn to become bright fresh fragrant
          flowers of the Sanathana Garden of India?
  
 207. THE student of today is not able to realise what
          he should primarily be concerned with. It is
          only in name that he is a "Vidyarthi", the seeker of
          knowledge. In practice he is only a "Vishayarthi", a
          seeker of worldly pleasures. It is the duty of every
          human being to understand and respect his parents.
          Similarly, in a nation, it is the duty of every national
          to assimilate and appreciate the historical and cultural 
          background of his nation and consider these
          two factors as his father and mother. In fact, one
          who is ignorant of the historical and cultural
          heritage of his country is like a stupid person who
          has no knowledge of his parents.
  
 208.  TODAY the student-world is tossed in confusion; 
          not only in confusion but in downright
          insanity. They wear white clothing; but the hearts
          are still dark.
          
                    Heads are full of evil thoughts
                    Ears are open for scandal-tales,
                    Eyes delight in peeping unseen;
                    Minds crave for wicked plots;
                    Reason pursues plan to cheat.
                    When Vidya perceives these in man,
                    It will not stay a moment there.
         
          When this is the condition, how can one earn
          Vidya? Of course, man's present situation and status
          are determined by his acts and thoughts in the past.
  
 209.  SAMSKRITI the word for culture and
          civilization is derived from the word
          samskara, which means the dual process of
          removing the dust and dirt of vice, and planting
          the virtues of Sathya, Dharma, Shanti and Prema.
          Samskara is also the name for certain obligatory
          rites of initiation and purification prescribed by
          the Vedas for the spiritual upliftment of man.
          Their number is forty-eight in all, but they could
          be reduced to ten and if needed, even to one; the
          final fulfilling one, of recognising one's identity
          with Madhava, Siva, or Brahman. Nara is but
          Narayana seen through the limitations of
          primal ignorance.
  
 210.  AN Iron box is essential to keep safe precious
          stones; so too, the body is essential to keep safe
          the precious gift of virtue, faith, love and discrimination. 
          The parents gave it and so they have
          to be respected by speech, action and behaviour.
          How can you expect the Heavenly Father to
          respond to your prayers if you do not respond to
          the demands of the earthly Father? The first step in
          Dharma is gratitude; the first duty of the child is
          reverence to the parents. When the first step is absent, 
          ascent is impossible.
  
 211.  IF a school has poor discipline and if its students
          are led away by self-seekers into the wilderness,
          the fault lies on the parents, elders and the Committee 
          of Management. The Committee often is only a
          "Come-for-Tea" affair.
  
 212.  HOWEVER superfine the paper, however artistic 
          the envelope and however poetic the composition 
          of the letter, it will not reach the addressee
          by post when it lacks the 50 paise stamp! So too the
          trappings, vestures, shawls, moles and rosaries are
          ineffective; they cannot reach the addressee - God.
          What will take their prayers to the addressee is the
          50 paise stamp: dedication or Bhakti.
  
 213.  I WANT each one of you to grow into a strong,
          steady and straight person. Your eyes should not
          seek evil sights; your ears should not seek evil tales;
          your tongue should not seek evil speech; your
          hands should not seek evil acts; your minds should
          not seek evil thoughts. Be pure and be full of Love.
          Help those who are in a worse condition and serve
          those who need your help.
  
 214.  GOD appears in human form; He promotes pasture 
          of cattle and agriculture in order that the
          food must sustain the Head and render it intelligent
          and clear enough to realise God. The body has to be
          nourished for the sake of the Head, so that "Gnana"
          can be attained and Liberation gained. Food-Head-God: 
          this is the chain of events.
  
 215.  MOST of the names of the Divine have but two
          letters or syllables; the significance of the
          number two, Rama, Krishna, Hara, Hari, Datta,
          Sakti, Kali etc., is that the first syllable represents
          Agni (Fire principle), which burns up accumulated
          demerit or sin; and the second represents the Amritha 
          principle, the restorative, refreshing and the
          reformation force. The two processes are necessary
          for the removal of obstructions and the construction
          of the structure.
  
 216. WHEN you live in the World of desire, you
          must be prepared for both Joy and Grief. Invite 
          the Minister Boga, and along with him you must 
          be prepared for the visit of his Private Secretary
          Roga! On the other hand, invite the Minister Thyaga
          or his colleague Yoga, and you will be happy to
          receive their Private Secretary Boga who plays a
          minor role in the presence of his Master.
  
 217.  MAAM anusmara - with Me in memory ever!
          Do not distinguish this task as Bhajan, or
          Bhojan (eating) or Pujan (adoration of God). All
          acts are Pujan, for food is given by Him, eaten by
          Him, for His sake to yield strength for His work.
          Each moment is worthwhile, for He gives it; He
          uses it; He fills it; He fashions it; and He fulfills it.
          When He is fused with every breath, you can
          achieve the sovereign task of merging in Him.
  
 218.  BHAKTI is not to be calculated on the basis of
          the institutions one has started or helped, the
          temples that one has built or renovated, the donations 
          one has given away; nor does it depend on the
          number of times one has written the Name of the
          Lord or on the time and energy one has spent in the
          worship of the Lord. These are not vital at all; no,
          not even secondary. Bhakti is Prema, unsullied by
          any tinge of desire for the benefit that flows from it
          or the fruit of consequence of that Love.
  
 219.  GOD is as eager to save you as you are eager to
          be saved; He is Prema, He is Karuna, for all
          who flounder on the road. He is called 
          "Bhakta - Abhista - Prada" (He who grants the desires of the
          Devotees). You say that I laugh within Myself, that
          I roll my hair on My fingers and draw them right
          over My face, but let me say why? A sign of My
          "Ananda" is the success of  the Bhaktas in capturing My
          heart.
  
 220.  THE human body has been secured as a reward
          for many lives of meritorious activity. Being
          valued as a boat which can help us cross the ocean
          of change "Samsara", it has to be tended with grateful
          reverence. The Baghavad Gita calls the body
          "Kshetra", which means "a field"; one can sow holiness 
          or sin and gather a harvest commensurate with
          the particular quality. Choose the crop that you
          need before you sow the seeds.
  
 221.  THE bird, in the physical cage wherein man is
          imprisoned, is always, from the moment of
          birth to the moment of death, chirping "Soham"
          declaring "Jiva and Deva are One". It is this affirmation 
          that is the justification for the gift of life.
          When that chirp does not emanate from the breath,
          the body is a corpse: Savam! When it manifests,
          illumines and fills the cage with the "Divine
          Fragrance", it is a Tabernacle: Sivam! Identify yourselves 
          with the Manthra, the bird chirps and the
          breath repeats.
  
 222.  THE Vedavids marked three stages in the Life of
          man and assigned one aspect of God to preside
          over each stage. The first, where man is deep in
          activity of some sort or other in Karma, is
          presided over by Vasu. The second, under the
          protection of Rudra, is filled with reverential worship 
          of the God in all, discovered through the impact 
          of Love. The third is the stage of Gnana, the
          supreme Wisdom, presided over by the Source of
          illumination, Aditya or the Sun.
  
 223.  THE World is a furnace and a factory where man
          has to shape his destiny by his honest, untiring
          effort. He, who takes up this challenge and spends
          his allotted years and the skills and intelligence
          with which he is endowed, in purposeful activity, is
          really entitled to the status of a KARMA YOGI.
  
 224.  DUTY is God; Work is Worship; and there is a
          dictum: "Heads in the Forest; Hands in
          Society"; Do deeds that are holy and beneficial, untarnished 
          by ego and the greed to benefit. Start on
          the sacred pilgrimage to the Divine Goal and make
          every minute of your life holy and purposeful.
          Then surely, this Earth, your field of work, will be
          transformed into a Karmakshetra and a
          Dharmakshetra.

225.  A DEVOTEE once lamented, saying, "Oh God!
          you have forgotten me"! This is never possible;
          it is the devotee who forgets that he is the child of
          God, that God is his never failing friend and guide.
          God is all knowledge, all power, and all mercy.
          Faith in God has to be constant and firm in the face
          of every challenge by fate or fortune.
  
  226. A PERSON might appear poor, distressed, and
          depressed to ordinary mortals; he might not
          have the exterior demonstration of devotion, but
          God could be ever installed in his heart, guiding
          and guarding him. He might be doing all acts as
          acts of worship to the God residing in his heart.
  
 227.  WE, who are crossing the ocean of Samsara (the
          chain of birth and death), need to cultivate
          the art of swimming through "Bhagavath
          Chinthana" (Meditation of God). However learned
          we may be, if we do not have this training and cultivation, 
          we are bound to sink. Life is a boat which
          enables us to cross the ocean of Samsara with the
          aid of Meditation on God.
  
 228.  WHEN you spend your hours in thoughts
          about God, you are also free from evil ways.
          You will not be tempted to abuse others or harm
          them in any way. You live in Love, accepting all the
          events as His gifts. Homes such as yours are, really
          speaking, Heavens on earth; the Joy that bubbles in
          your hearts is the symbol of Vaikunta; the earnestness 
          and care that you evince in your work is the
          sign of Kailas, the abode of Siva. Hearts dedicated
          to these ideals are indeed "golden".
  
 229. WE cannot describe God in the vocabulary
          learnt upon the Earth. We have to experience
          the Bliss of realising Him as the core of our being.
          Man is endowed with a sense of wonder and awe,
          the sense which makes him either a participant
          (Karma Yoga), an inquirer into the mystery (Gnana
          Yoga) or a devout adorer (Bakthi Yoga).
  
 230.  EVERYDAY before you begin work, pray to God
          for a few minutes at least; and, at the end of the
          day, when the work is over, gather in some consecrated 
          spot, a temple or mandir and offer grateful
          thanks to the Lord, singing His name and meditating 
          on His Majesty. That will make you real Karma
          Yogins, even heroes of the Karma Path.
  
 231. ONE does not have to search for spiritual
          power, going around the World and spending
          a lot of money. Be in your own house, develop it in
          yourself, such spiritual power in you! You do not
          have to run for it here and there. God is not external; 
          God is not outside you; God is inside you. You
          are not a man, you are God yourself. You are not
          one person, but three; the one you think you are
          (physical); the one others think you are (mental);
          and the one you really are. Do not be under the
          delusion that God is somewhere and you have to
          search for Him; God is in you.
  
 232.  PARENTS and teachers can earn My Grace only
          by becoming good and worthy examples to
          their sons and daughters, or their wards and students. 
          You claim to have devotion to Me, but you
          must examine and discover whether I am pleased
          with you. You must examine yourselves every moment, 
          whether you are observing the discipline I
          have laid down and the program of service I
          have marked out. That is the way to earn My Love.
          Love others and serve them; then you can win My
          Love.
  
 233.  YOU will see the day when the Chitravati sands
          alone cannot accommodate the gatherings that assemble 
          here from all parts of the World; when the
          sky alone can provide a roof for them all. Many
          hesitate to believe that things will improve, that life
          for all will be happy and full of joy, that the Golden
          Age will ever recur. Let me assure you that this
          Dharmaswarupa has not come in vain; it will succeed 
          in averting the crisis that has come upon
          Humanity.
  
 234.  WHEN the Dharma of the Age is laid aside to
          establish it anew, through loving means;
          when the World is polluted by conflict and confusion, 
          to restore the path of virtue and peace; when
          good men caught in cruel coils wail, to save them
          from pain and shame; when sacred texts are not
          grasped aright, to proclaim the message they teach
          mankind; to relieve the earth of the burden of Vice,
          to fulfill the promise made in the Tretha Age;
          Achutha has incarnated on this earth; Vasudeva,
          Srihari, has come into the World.
  
 235.  GOD alone is eternal; man is a momentary flash,
          a tiny wave that rises and falls. So, fill yourselves 
          with vast thoughts, magnificent ideas, indefinable 
          splendour, by reciting the names of God,
          names that describe HIM to your receptive Consciousness. 
         That is the main discipline for this Age.
  
 236.  REMEMBERING the Lord by means of His name
          is enough to save man. The Lord is
          "Anandamaya"; He is also "Ananda". That "Ananda"
          is to be tasted through the Name. It is "Sath-Chith-Ananda". 
          You may doubt whether such a small raft
          as Rama, or Sai or Krishna can take you across the
          boundless sea of Samsara. People cross vast oceans
          on a tiny raft; they are able to walk through dark
          jungles with a tiny lamp in their hands. The name or
          even the Pranava ,which is smaller, has vast potentialities. 
          The raft need not be as big as the sea!
  
 237.  DO not fret against the rules and regulations
          which the Organisation imposes on you; they
          are laid down for your own good. Regulation is the
          every essence of creation. The oceans observe their
          limits. Wind and fire respect their limits and bonds.
          The human body has to maintain its warmth at 98.4
          F. in order to be healthy; the heart has to beat a
          definite number of times a minute. How, then, can
          this Organisation escape the prescription of certain
          rules and regulations?
  
 238.  THE same Divine compassion that blessed Dharma, 
          saved Gajendra, restored Kuchela and
          stood by Prahalada, has come to the Earth as the
          Refuge of the refugees; as the Lord of Peace, Harmony 
          and Righteousness; as the Lord of all the
          Worlds; as the Sath-Chith-Anandamurthi; and as
          the Puttaparthi Sathya Sai, Sath-Chakravarthi, the
          King of Kings.
  
 239. THE Avatar is Atmasakthi that has put on the
          raiment of Kriyasakthi and Yogasakthi.
          Generally, Avatar or the process of Incarnation is
          described as a "coming down" from a higher status
          to a lower one. But, no! When the baby in the cradle
          weeps, wails and clamours for help, the mother
          stoops and takes it up in her arms; her stoop is not
          to be described as a "coming down". If you earn the
          necessary credentials, the Incarnation will come and
          save you. If, on the other hand, you multiply your
          demerits and descend lower and lower, how can
          you be saved?
  
 240.  SAI only reflects your mind. He has no
          prejudices or preference. He is a mirror
          wherein you can see yourselves as you really are.
          In order to correct their mistakes and remove your
          faults, I sometimes have to use harsh words; but
          you may be rest assured that My sole aim is to turn
          you to better ways. I have no anger in Me. It is the
          inner compassion which takes the other form of
          anger.
  
 241.  YOU think that Sai Baba is comfortably sleeping
          in the Mandir. Do you know where I find happiness? 
          I am happy when I am with you. That is the
          reason why I declare "My Life is My Message". I
          am consistently engaged in some work or another at
          all hours. I do not get attached to anything nor do I
          need to detach Myself from anything. I am ever in
          full Ananda.
  
 242.  EGOISM is a thorny bush which, when planted  
          and fostered in one's heart, makes one pay the
          penalty. Egoism makes enemies of fast friends and
          rains many good causes and projects, for it does not
          allow two good men to work together. Grief follows 
          it like a shadow. Where there is no ego - joy,
          peace, courage, cooperation and love flourish.
          When man is aware that the same Divine consciousness 
          that motivates him is equally motivating all
          others, then Love ousts the ego into the background 
          and takes charge of man's activities, words
          and thoughts.
  
 243.  OVERCOME by inner foes, how can man succeed 
          in overwhelming the outer foes? Burdened 
          with sloth and dullness, how can he achieve
          wisdom? Prompted by passion, how can he cultivate 
          devotion? Balance and equanimity alone can
          confer peace and harmony.
  
 244.  NARA and Narayana, man and God, are like
          iron and magnet. God, by His very nature, attracts 
          man near, for in man there is the Divine.
          When the magnet fails to attract the iron piece, we
          sometimes conclude that the magnet has lost its
          power. The real fact however is, that the piece of iron
          is too thickly covered by rust and dust. Thus, man (the
          iron) does not realise his own defect, but rushes to
          blame God (the magnet) and even to deny Him.
  
 245.  REVERE Jnana as you revere your father; adore
          love as you adore your mother; move fondly
          with Dharma, as if it is your own brother; confide in
          Daya, as if it is your dearest friend; have "Shantam"
          as your better half; treat "Sahana", fortitude, as if it is
          your own beloved son. These are your genuine kith
          and kin. Move with them; do not forsake or neglect
          them.
  
 246.  HOLD all your property and wealth in trust for
          the Lord who gave them to you; even your
          family you must treat as a sacred trust, as persons
          given to you by the Lord to love, foster and guide.
          Thus, you must elevate your attachment into worship 
          and make it an instrument for spiritual progress.
  
 247.  YOU come to Puttaparthi, secure a picture, and
          taking it home, begin worshipping it every day
          or every Thursday; but, all that is simply "Sathkarma",
          good activity. They will not take you far. You
          must also develop "Sathguna", virtues, good habits,
          good attitudes, good characteristics and a good
          character. Otherwise, our life is a chain of pluses
          and minuses, one canceling the other out, totaling
          up to a mere zero.
  
 248.  DEVOTION towards God goes ill with hatred
          towards fellow-men. Fellow-men and the
          World must be seen ever in the mirror of "Sath-Chith-Ananda". 
          Kinship based on this recognition alone
          will last. That is the Sai kinship. When you
          deepen that kinship, the true presence, the constant
          presence of Sathya Sai will be yours. Do not be led,
          away by your fancies into the jungle of words and
          feelings. Be firm, true to your inner-most nature.
  
 249.  THERE are many Trusts operating in this
          country and in others beyond the seas. I wish to
          emphasis that the Sathya Sai Trusts have to shine
          forth among them all by their special characteristics.
          They must be based on mutual trust and cooperation 
          built on the actual experience of the One-ness
          of all. There is no room here for egoistic poses, compulsory 
          tactics, greed for power, recrimination and
          jealousy.         
  
 250.  GOD too is a reality, ever present in us and in
          every being; but we miss Him, as we miss the
          movement of the earth. We have to infer God
          through proofs and evidences of His Providence,
          His grace, His Majesty and His Glory, just as we
          infer the movements of the Earth, the Moon and the
          Stars by watching the sky, the seasons and the
          precise procession of day and night. We cannot
          describe God in the vocabulary learnt on the earth.
  
 251.  HUMAN desire is illimitable and without end. It
          makes you pursue the mirage in the desert; it
          makes you build castles in the air; it breeds discontent 
          and despair once you succumb to it. But
          develop the thirst for Krishna; you discover the
          cool-spring of Ananda within you. Krishna-nama
          makes you very strong and steady; it is sweet and
          sustaining.
  
 252.  SIVOHAM, Sivoham - was the exclamation that
          rose from the Souls that knew the Truth in a
          flash of illumination, after long years of cleansing
          the mind through the process of "Tapas". "I am Siva, 
          Siva am I". Though called by many names and
          recognised in many forms, the Divine Principle is
          one, without a second. It is "Sivam" and it is latent
          in each being, including Man.
  
253.  THE serpent can be tamed and its poisonous fangs
          removed, when music from the Nagaswaram
          pipe is played and when it is fascinated by that
          sweet melody. The poison that Vishaya exerts on
          the human mind can also be eliminated and
          countermanded, when man is fascinated by the
          sweet melodies of NNamasmaranaor Sankeertan,
          that is to say, by the repetitive chanting of the meaningful 
          Names of the Lord. The poison in both can
          thus be transmuted into pure nectar.
  
 254.  SCRIPTURES are endless; Sadhanas are countless; 
          opportunities are few; time is already overstocked. 
          But you can easily win the battle of life, in
          spite of these handicaps, provided you arm yourself 
          with Love, which is the essential teaching of all
          Scriptures, the goal of all varieties of Sadhana, the
          best use to which all opportunities can be put and
          the most profitable way of utilising the precious
          capital time.
  
 255.  IMAGINE the fate of the cows when a tiger enters
          the manger. Can they survive the invasion? So
          too, the cows of Truth, Justice, Peace and Love cannot 
          survive in the human heart when the "Tigers",
          namely Greed, Anger and Pride enter and play
          havoc. Today, the human heart, especially the
          heart of the educated man, has become the lair of
          wild desires and cruel habits.
  
 256.  THE day when devotees sing songs in
          praise of the Lord and please the ear;
          The day when sorrows of the poor recur and
          men move closer as brothers born;
          The day when servants of God are fed with Love
          and Care in thankfulness;
          The day when a Great One comes to us and relates 
          thrilling tales of God; these indeed are worthwhile 
          days. The rest are like days dedicated to obsequies for the dead.
  
 257.  DO not consider any act of service as demeaning. 
          Sweeping the streets, for example, is not
          below your dignity. Do you not sweep the floor of
          your homes? Do you not scrub and wash off dirt?
          When you undertake such tasks, the villagers will
          also gladly share in them. Why feel ashamed to be
          good? The ridicule that may be cast on you has been
          the reward of many Saints. It will soon fade away.
          Mohammed was driven out of Mecca by those who
          could not appreciate his teachings. Jesus was
          crucified. But their names resound in reverence in
          the hearts of millions.
  
 258.  ISAA Vaasym Idam Sarvam, all this is enveloped
          by God; all this is soaked in God and saturated
          with God. Everything is the substance of God. In
          fact the best teacher is one's own heart. Time is the
          best preceptor and awakener; the World is the best
          scripture; God is the best friend for man. So there
          is no need to wander in search of a Guru. Man is of
          God, with and from God. The Cosmos is a bubble
          born in the Absolute. The human essence in man is
          Divine. The true Guru is not the human preceptor.
          Revere the World as Divine. All that is seen or
          heard is God. Revere the Universe as Guru.
  
 259.  I HAVE no sense of distinction between Bhaktas
          who worship this form or that. All can come
          near, all who crave for heat and light. The heat of
          this splendour will destroy the chill of sensual
          pleasure. The light will scatter the darkness of the
          ages. Cultivate Love and Prema towards all; that is
          the way to gain nearness. I do not measure distance
          in terms of meters or miles. The range of Love
          decides the distance for Me.
  
 260.  THE real aim of education must be to help the
          student discover the Divine in every being
          Saint Vemana says:
          Scholars study! study! study! But the fools know
          not what they are! Studying, studying, studying.
          The scholar is not free from vice nor has he become
          wise. Then why study these mean, mortal things?
          Study only that which is deathless. The most
          desirable subject for study is the Secret of the Soul
          which is Immortal.
  
 261.  SEVA is the adoration of the Lord, as "Viswa-Virataswarupa" ,
          as having the multifaceted form and immanence 
          in the entire Universe. The Vedas
          describe Him as thousand-headed, thousand-eyed
          and thousand-footed. The thousands of hands and
          eyes and feet that have come here for the festivals
          are all His, the Lord's. Worship Him; that is the
          purpose of your Seva. And He is none else than
          your own self.
  
 262.  YOU must discover your identity; then only can
          you have peace. You are like a man who has
          forgotten his name; his address and his mission in
          life. Realise it and try to delve into yourself; so that
          you may know who you are. Then you get security
          and peace. Sharpen your intellect for this purpose;
          and cleanse your consciousness for this purpose
          through Sathsang, Japa, Dhyana, Namasmarana
          etc.
  
 263.  VALMIKI was a highway-robber who waylaid
          and killed hundreds without hesitation; he was
          the slave of passion and emotion; but when the
          seven-Sages, whom he waylaid one night, counseled 
          patience, forbearance and self-enquiry, he
          turned heroically into the path of Ram (giving up
          the lure of Kam or Lust) and achieved immortality
          and immortal fame, as the narrator of Rama's story.
  
 264.  SCATTER the seeds of Love in dreary desert
          hearts; then the sprouts of Love will make the
          wastes green with joy; the blossom of Love will
          make the air fragrant; the river of Love will murmur
          along the valleys; and every bird, beast and child
          will sing the song of Love.
  
 265.  PRAYER is the very breath of Religion for it
          brings man and God together and with every
          sigh nearer and nearer. Dhyana is the process of
          listening to the Song Celestial, the Flute of Krishna,
          with the mental ears alert on the melody. Yoga is
          the merging of the Mind in the Bliss of self-forgetfulness 
          when the music fills the Consciousness.
  
 266.  THE Primal Formless Absolute wedded Desire
          and the Mind was born. The Mind wedded
          two wives, Inner contemplation and Outer activity.
          The first gave birth to five sons; Sathya, Dharma,
          Shanthi, Prema and Ahimsa, the Five Pandava
          Brothers. Mind was infatuated more with the
          second wife, and so, gave birth to a 100, each one
          with a name indicative of badness and wickedness,
          the Kauravas. God was on the side of the Pandavas
          and they won.
  
 267.  THE Universe is seen; it can be learnt about; it
          can be experienced and enjoyed. But God is
          unseen. He has to be inferred through His handiwork. 
          So too, Society to which social service is
          rendered, cannot be seen as such. We can contact
          only individuals. But through the individual, you
          infer the immanence of the Divine. All are actors on
          the World Stage, in His play. Every atom is surcharged 
          with His Power, His Might and His Glory.
          Every being is surcharged with His Bliss, His beauty
          and His Goodness.
  
 268.  BE devoted to the Universal; be eager to become
          that. When you pray to God for a job, a son, or a
          prize, you are devoted not to God, but to the job, to
          the son and to the prize. Pray to God for God.
          Love, because it is your nature to Love, because you
          know nothing else and because you cannot act
          otherwise than Love. Expand yourself, take in all!
          Grow in Love.
  
 269.  HAVING an open heart, do not relish the narrow 
          path of restricted love; love all, do not
          develop prejudices against men in power or position. 
          They too are our kith and kin. We all sail
          together. Be convinced of one Truth about Me;
          Swami will never lay his hand on a task without
          proper reason and without some profound effect
          that will flow there from.
  
 270.  WHEN the Giver of Grace is here, you run after
          persons who claim that they got this or other
          article from Me or were blessed with this gift from
          Me. When you have Kamadhenu here, why seek to
          know and secure a cow? Kamadhenu can give you
          all that you need. When you have Kalpatharu here,
          why bother about the fruits on a tree? Kalpatharu
          can give you all that you ask. When you have here
          the mountain of Gold and Silver, Meru, why cringe
          for silver and gold from persons who are themselves 
          beggars? When you have God come among
          you to support and sustain you, why grovel before
          crude vulgar entities?
  
 271.  MAN is equipped with a return-ticket when he
          takes birth. Holding it in his grasp, he earns
          and spends, rises and falls, sings and dances, weeps
          and wails, forgetting the end of the journey. But
          though he forgets, the wagon of life moves towards
          the cemetery which is its terminus. It brings no
          glory to man if he is tied helplessly to the wheel of
          birth and death. His glory and greatness consist in
          disentangling himself from that revolving wheel.
  
 272.  THE mind is the architect of your progress or
          decline. For the fool, the mind is a formidable
          dinosaur; for the intelligent, the mind is an angel.
          The trained mind is torn by fear; the pure elevated
          mind is placid and unruffled, like that of a homeless
          Sage. The Vedas teach how to purify the mind and
          render it into a useful tool.
  
 273.  INTELLECT alone can direct man in the path of
          discrimination, between the true path and the
          false; the proper and the improper. This is the
          reason why man has been praying since Ages,
          through the Gayathri "hymn" "Illumine me, prompt
          my intelligence, so that I may walk aright".
  
 274.  SANKARA wrote a verse summarizing the advice 
          he gave the poor struggling Brahmin
          house holder at Varanasi (Benares city):
          "Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam, Bhaja Govindam, 
          Moodha Mathe, Samprapthe Sannihithe Kaale
          Nahi Rakshathi Duakru Karane", Praise 
          God, Praise God, Praise God, you fool,
          when death knocks at your door, rules of grammar
          cannot save you.
  
 275.  OF what avail is a car, a bank deposit, a bungalow 
          in a posh extension of a city? If you
          have all these but no love in your heart, the heart
          becomes a dark deserted temple, where the bats of
          lust and anger breed in the everlasting night. Such
          hearts are foul, diseased with terror and error!
  
 276.  BIRDS, beasts and trees have not deviated from
          their nature; they are still holding it valid. Man
          alone has disfigured it, in his crude attempt to improve 
          upon it. So, the Avatar has to come as Man
          among men, and move as friend, well-wisher,
          kinsman, guide, teacher, healer and participant
          among men. He has come to restore Dharma and
          when man follows Dharma, He is pleased and content.
  
 277.  GET up, place the rosary in its bag and engage
          yourselves in relieving distress; that is the true
          spiritual path. Do not waste all your years with
          stone images, pictures or idols, learn to see in every
          living vital active person the embodiment of all
          energy, all beauty, all beneficence, namely God.
          God is subtler than ether filling the smallest crevice
          with His Majesty. Know this and serve His manifestations, 
          wherever you meet them.
  
 278.  CONTENTMENT is heaven; grief is hell; anger is
          the foe; calmness is the armour; and compassion 
          is the comrade. You repeat Shanti three times,
          don't you? It is to encourage peace in the human,
          Godly and natural milieu in which you have to live;
          also to develop peace, in the body, mind and intellect.
  
 279.  ALL men have two constables ever with them;
          they are the symbols of his sentence of imprisonment. 
          They are "Abhiman" (sense of I) over
          "Mamakar" (sense of Mine), the egoistic feeling and
          the pride of possession. Man is a prisoner of his
          senses so long as these two keep him under guard.
          Man strays away into misery and pain, because he
          loses the sense of value and runs after the temporary 
          and the trivial. He ignores the voice of God
          which warns and guides from within; and he
          pays the penalty for the transgression.
  
 280.  AN act dedicated as an offering to the God, resident 
          in all, becomes as sacred as the highest
          Seva, that is why Avatars happen; hence, when you
          offer Seva to mankind, the Avatar will naturally be
          pleased and you can win Grace.
  
281.  THE individual born in the lake of Society must
          swim and float in the calm waters, and joining
          the River of Progress, merge in the Ocean of Grace.
          Man has to move from the stance of "I" to the position 
          of "We". This day we see only the wild dance of
          ego-stricken individuals, who hate Society and behave 
          most unsocially.
  
 282. THE call of the Divine echoes in every heart; it
          provokes the reaction of awe, reverence, affection, 
          love and sacrifice all ingredients of Bhakti.
          It translates itself into acts of worship, of praise, of
          adoration and of rituals symbolizing the Majesty of
          God. Thus, the Mind gets saturated with Divine
          thoughts. It is recast in the Divine Mould until the
          flow of "Ananda" becomes unabated.
  
 283.  GOD first; the World next, myself last! That is
          the legitimate sequence for the Sadhaka; and
          who is not a Sadhaka? You have to be one, now or
          later, so that you can be liberated from this cycle of
          birth-death! Now, man in his callousness towards
          his own welfare, has turned it topsy-turvy! It is
          myself first, the world next, and God is last. So,
          God is lost too! Hold fast to God; then you will be
          safe.
  
 284.  MY activities are not for publicity or propaganda 
          or even to confer joy on others! They are
          for conferring joy primarily on me! I have no need to
          please others and to earn approval or appreciation.
          For I and you are not distinct entities; you are I; and
          I am you. I am the current that flows into every
          bulk and illumines it. Those who see me as separate
          are seeing falsehood. I am in your hearts; you are in
          Mine. Don't be misled into doubt and distress.
          Dogs may bark and jackals howl; but Truth moves
          majestically forward.
  
 285.  THERE is only one God and He is Omnipresent, True. 
          But to concentrate on the Omnipresent, some fixed 
          point or preliminary form
          is needed. And to conceive of the Divine as present
          everywhere at all times, the mind of man is to be
          clarified and purified by means of a certain
          psychological process called Sadhana.
  
 286.  REMEMBER, God is your guardian, when you
          sleep; when you are helpless; even when you
          have forgotten or neglected or discarded Him. He
          has no need for the things you offer or promise to
          offer. He is ever content, ever blissful, ever full and
          ever free. Do your duty to yourself - that is enough
          offering for Him.
  
 287.  MAN must first decide, after vigorous self-examination 
          and continuous discrimination, the
          path that he wishes to traverse. Moksha or Liberation 
          means the removal of the bonds of Ignorance
          that could hide the Truth and create a mirage of the
          Truth. In fact, living is only another name of the
          process of achieving alternate misery and happiness, 
          hunger and contentment, illness and health,
          desires and fulfillment.
  
 288.  THE Sai Religion is the harmonious blending
          though Love of all Religions, though some
          followers of other Faiths feel that the Sai Religion is
          contrary to theirs. We should not entertain similar
          feelings. Ours is the Totality, the Sum; we should
          not limit or restrict our Vision.
  
 289.  YOU may have vast scholarship, fame and fortune. 
          But the bee can give you a lesson on how
          to be free from torment. The tree can teach you forbearance 
          and tolerance. It offers a shade to all, irrespective 
          of age, sex or religion, nationality or
          status. It helps with fruit and shade even to the foe
          who lays his ax on its trunk! The dog can teach you
          a lesson in Faith, Selfless Service and the process of
          Dedication.
  
 290.  FORM small Sathsangas and meet regularly for
          Bhajans and mutual consultation about spiritual
          matters. Read some fine spiritual classics like
          Bhagavatha. Fill your eyes with the Beauty of His
          form, your ears with the story of His Leelas, and
          your hearts with the sweetness of His Glory; inspire
          yourselves by seeing Him everywhere. Think of His
          Immanence in every hill and dale, every man and
          beast, every tree, bird and insect. You will be really
          thrilled by the joy of that Vision.
  
 291.  MAN is daily growing more and more greedy
          to know more about the lives of others, more
          extrovert in fact. He wants to escape from himself
          by interesting himself in others. He does not want to
          worry about the details of his own life or the
          problems of his own rehabilitation. Of what benefit
          is all this burden of information that you seek to
          carry in your head, this knowledge of the various
          regions of the world without a knowledge of the
          region of your own self, the centre of all the interest
          that you evince?
  
 292.  REMEMBER, you cannot have the "Anubhava"
          and the "Ananda" first. And you cannot
          postpone Faith until you get them. You cannot bargain: 
          Give me Ananda and then I shall have Faith;
          See the Purushothama in all Purushas. Purusha
          means: he who lives in the rural or port-city or
          town. Each one of us is the resident and the sole
          resident of a distinct house of God. But, the
          Purushothama, the Supreme Resident in all the
          cities, is God. You can recognise the Purushothama,
          if you educate yourselves properly.
  
 293.  EVERYDAY, when you take food you are offering 
          eatables to the fire that God has put in you
          to digest food. You have to eat in a prayerful mode,
          in profound gratitude. The Gita says that the fire
          which cooked the meal is God; the meal is God; the
          eater is God; the purpose of eating is to carry on the
          work entrusted by God or pleasing to God; and the
          fruit of that work is progress towards God.
  
 294.  PREMA must grow with every moment of Sadhana. 
          It must sweeten every word, deed and
          thought of yours. Emerge from Dhyana as a person
          more charged with Love! Emerge from Bhajan with
          a greater measure of Love! Return from Nagarsankirtan 
          with a firmer conviction that everything is
          surcharged with the same Divinity that is behind all
          your activity.
  
 295.  THE beauty of Nature is but a reflection of the
          Beauty that is God. But like all images, it is not
          substantial. Flowers fade, clouds scatter into new
          patterns, physical charm is but a flash that disappears 
          in a moment - but Divine Beauty is eternal, full
          and free. That Sundaram is Sathyam, unaffected by
          the passage of time, unchanging with the location;
          that Sundaram is the real Shivam, the only Good
          that is. Pursuing petty physical beauty leads man
          astray; it is as calamitous as the pursuit of trivial joy.
  
 296.  YOU must all study the Gita daily. Read a few
          slokas and meditate on the meaning yourself; it
          will dawn on you in the silence of your heart. You
          need not read elaborate commentaries. Each word
          in the Gita is a gem. No more do you need
          gemstones for the ear, the nose, and the neck; have
          the gem of the Gita slokas in your heart; let them
          activate your intellect and your hands.
  
 297.  WE shall act ever as if we are in the presence of
          God, as if God is watching and weighing
          every thought, word and deed. See yourselves in all;
          See all in yourselves; that is the road to lasting peace
          and joy. Let us not seek the outer empire; let us
          become the rulers of the inner empire. Let us not try
          to defy the outer enemy, leaving the inner foe to
          grow in striking power. We have Krishna with us,
          and so, who can defeat us? We shall win through
          winning His Grace.
  
 298.  YOU may be in the Prasanthi Nilayam area for 20
          or 25 years. But you worry more about physical
          needs and comforts than Japam and Dhyanam; the
          waving of the camphor flame at the end of the
          Bhajan sessions is to remind you that your sensual
          craving must be burnt away without leaving any
          trace behind, and you must offer yourself to God for
          being merged with His Glory.
  
 299.  THE Gayathri Manthram is a Universal Prayer
          that can be used by men of all climes and
          creeds, for it calls upon the Glorious Power that
          pervades the Sun and the three Worlds to arouse,
          awaken and strengthen the Intelligence, so that it
          may lead to intense Sadhana; and Sadhana may lead
          to success.
 
  
 300.              VINAYAKA CHATHURTHI DAY
 
          GANAPATHY is described as "Buddhi
          Vinayaka" and "Siddhi Vinayaka" (Vinayaka
          the Wise and Vinayaka the Accomplished).
          "Vinayaka" means the Ganas, hence He is called
          Ganapathy. Man is confronted with many obstacles
          (Vighnas) in the journey of life. Prayers are offered
          to Vigneswara - for removing obstacles and impediments. 
          He is the Deity to whom worship is offered
          first in any ritual. Because of the acute intelligence
          He displayed, Vinayaka was made Head of the
          Ganas by Parameswara.
  
 301.  HAPPINESS and peace do not follow when man
          is fed well, clothed well, housed well and educated 
          up to a good standard and employed under
          comfortable conditions with no injury to health or
          security. There are many who have all these in plenty 
          but who are still worried or in pain or discontented. 
          They depend on the inner equipment of
          man, not on his outer skill or riches.
    
 302.  SPEND the allotted span of years in the contemplation 
          and the adoration of the Almighty,
          not in servile praise of the feeble, the futile and the
          weak. Life is an opportunity afforded to each, not to
          eat and drink, but to achieve something nobler and
          grander; to master oneself and merge in the Reality.
  
 303.  A PERSON being transferred from one goal to
          another will have two Constables who will escort him. 
          The "Punya" and the "Papa" (good consequences 
          and bad consequences of actions) are the
          Constables who lead man from one birth to another.
          You must escape from their attention and avoid
          migration from one goal to another; act - but do not
          calculate the consequences. That is to say, do not
          worry about the consequence; leave it to God who
          prompted the act and made it possible. Dedicate the
          act, the will, and the wish, all to God.
  
 304.  IT takes time for a fruit to mature and acquire
          sweetness and become eatable; time is a prime
          factor for most good fortunes. Make full use of Me,
          that is all I ask of you. I have at no time any feeling
          of separateness. I invite all to come and know and
          derive benefit from Me. Dive and know the depth;
          watch and discriminate; eat and know the taste - I
          long for people who do that.
  
 305.  SARVAM Vishnu mayam jagath: the
          Universe is saturated with Divinity; there is
          nothing here which is not HE; ISAA VAASYAM
          IDAM SARVAM. He is the base and the superstructure, 
          the material and the manner, the inner motive
          and the outer movement. The body is the temple of
          the Lord; the atmosphere of this temple is by its
          very nature filled with Love for all beings. But man,
          overpowered by egoism, fouls it with envy and
          greed and so it festers with disease and distress.
  
 306.  THERE are some who always condemn themselves 
          and their lives and aspire for the Grace of
          God to save them. Jiva and Deva are two separate
          entities and never can they merge or unite, they
          declare. The obvious is very often untrue. Sin is not
          the real nature of man; it is acquired and can be
          shed. Man is pure, good, loving and wise. That is
          why in the Nilayam, I have stopped people from
          reciting slokas which proclaim man as sinful, born
          in sin, reveling in sin, etc., Let the purity, which
          you are, get manifested; endeavour to express it in
          your activities; that is what pleases me and wins my
          Grace.
  
 307.  I AM telling you this, because it is a forecast of
          what you can expect in the coming days. I have
          been declaring since six or seven years that the day,
          when millions will gather to benefit from the Avatar,
          is fast coming; I am advising you to garner and
          treasure all the Grace and all the Bliss you can,
          while you may, so that you can sustain yourselves
          ruminating on the sweetness of the memories and
          the experience.
  
 308.  IF you live on the level of the Body and the Individual, 
          you will be entangled in food, fun and
          frolic, ease, envy and pride. Forget it, ignore it, overcome it.
          You will have peace, joy and calm. In the
          Divine Path, there is no chance of failure; it is the
          Path of Love.
  
309.  WE have to pay attention to the plans that intelligence 
          dictates, not to the external signs of orthodoxy. 
          A person may appear strictly orthodox,
          but his heart may be filled with the poison of hatred
          and envy. Has he realised that God is the God of all,
          that He is present in every being "Sahasraseersha, 
          Sahasraksha, Sahasrapaad", (thousand headed,
          thousand eyed, thousand legged) as He is?
  
 310.  WHEN Avatars come, they choose the time and
          the place, clan and the family, and they
          decide and bring the comrades and the coworkers.
          When Rama came, Sesha, Sankha, Chakra and other
          inseparable adjuncts of the Lord also incarnated; they
          also came down in order to taste the sweetness 
          of the Lord's company and service. Rohini,
          under which Krishna was born, is related to the attainment 
          of Yogic success and the powers that flow
          from it.
  
 311.  PUNARVASU, the star under which Rama was
          born, has a mysterious influence on the
          authority which accepts all who submit to the
          "Saranagatha-Thrana" aspect of Rama's glory.
  
 312.  HOW can darkness conquer or stand up to
          light? Krishna is "Premaswarupa" and He can
          be won over only by "Prema". Audacity cannot approach 
          Him. Actors in films, however, correct their
          accouterments (equipment) and intonation; they
          can never be the Real. Not even the biggest Scientist
          can understand Me by means of the categories to
          which he is accustomed. I always smile at those
          who deride Me and even those who praise Me. I am
          always full of "Santhosh", whatever may happen.
          Nothing can come in the way of My smile. Derision
          and Calumny only tend to make it grow better and
          happier.
  
 313.  THREE disciplines are essential, to become
          aware of Divinity in all and in the Avatar. No
          activity should be taken up with individual aggrandizement 
          in view; intellectual emotion must be
          directed to the revelation of the Resident in the
          Heart, Atma. Every act should be done sincerely,
          with love, with no yearning for acquiring personal
          profit, fame or benefit. Above all, listen to the voice
          of God within. As soon as one contemplates a
          wrong act, that voice warns, protests and advises
          giving up.
 
    
 314.                     ONAM FESTIVAL
 
          ONAM is the Festival of the Vamana's advent as
          well as Bali's Transformation. Emperor Bali
          was both humiliated and blessed by God Vamana,
          the Emperor of the Three Worlds. Bali was saturated
          with egoism. God came to him in the guise of a
          Brahmin boy and asked for a gift of just three-foot
          measures of land. The Preceptor of Bali warned him
          about the identity and bona fide of the strange mendicant 
          who was God Himself. Vamana drew Himself 
          up to Cosmic proportions and measured the
          entire earth with one foot and the vast expanse of
          space with another foot. Bali offered his own head
          as the third foot-measure and went into the Nether
          World. Vamana taught that Pride meets with doom.
          He permitted Bali every year on Onam day to
          receive the homage of the people.
  
 315.                          ONAM
 
          ONAM is the Festival which instills a Divine
          Message into those who observe it with an eye
          on its inner significance. Kerala has contributed a
          great deal to the preservation of Vedic Culture and
          Sanskrit learning. Keralites have a name for faith
          and dedication. Witness the age-old privilege the
          Nambudris of Kerala enjoy as priests of the great
          Vaishnavite shrine thousands of miles away from
          their land, namely Badrinath, among the
          Himalayas.
  
 316.  MANY people think that Concentration is the
          same thing as Meditation, but there is no such
          connection between Concentration and Meditation.
          Concentration is something which is below your
          senses, whereas Meditation is something which is
          above your senses. But many are under the false
          impression that concentration is identical with
          Meditation and they take to a wrong path. Concentration 
          is something which we use involuntarily
          in our daily, normal routine life.
  
 317.  TO many it may appear strange that in this
          Anandalaya (Abode of Bliss) there exists an
          Arogya Nilaya (Abode of Health) or Hospital. They
          may wonder why prominence is given to bodily
          health, in a place that is dedicated to the health of
          the Spirit. But for attaining the four aims of Human
          life, Dharma (Righteousness), Artha (Prosperity),
          Kama (Fulfillment of Desires) and Moksha (Liberation 
          from Bondage), the basic requirement is health
          of the body and the mind.
  
 318.  IT is enough if Prema is cultivated, the Prema that
          knows no distinction between oneself and
          another, because all are but limbs of One corpus of
          God Almighty. Through Love alone can the Embodiment 
          of Love be gained. Here, no scholarship is
          needed; in fact, scholarship will be an impediment
          for it caters to egoism and it breeds doubts and the
          desire for disputation and laurel of victory over
          others preening themselves as learned.
  
 319.  IT is a national disgrace if the sons and daughters
          of India (which was for centuries the Light of
          Asia and the Guru of the West) grope in the dark,
          blinded by the scintillations of the scientific inventions 
          of the West. But Peace does not drop from
          outer space! It springs from the heart within.
  
 320.  THE Himalayas, which form the bastion of
          Bharath, are the symbols of might and majesty;
          they remind us of the Purity that we should develop
          in ourselves; they teach us that we should be as
          firm, as unshaken as the snow clad peaks, as unaffected 
          by the noise and turmoil of the bazaars of
          mankind.
  
 321.  BETWEEN Concentration and Meditation, there
          is a border area which covers both and that is the
          area of Contemplation. To be in that area of Contemplation 
          is to free yourself of worldly attachments. 
          If you break away all the worldly attachments - all 
          the routine attachments in the World - then 
          you enter the region of Contemplation. When
          you have completely broken away all your attachments, 
          you break through this area of Contemplation 
          and you get into the area of Meditation.
  
 322.  THE ultimate step of Self-realisation depends
          upon the base of Self-confidence. You must
          therefore develop as a first step Confidence in your
          own self. Without having and developing Confidence 
          in your own self, if all the time you are talking 
          of some power being with someone else, if in
          this way you travel all the time and depend upon a
          power which is with someone else, when are YOU
          going to acquire any power and confidence in your
          own self?
  
 323.  EVEN when Divinity comes down as Avatar,
          man is unable to pierce the veil and revere the
          Divine. Lord Krishna says that people are unable to
          recognise the Divinity that is He, because they deem
          Him to be merely human. Only those who are
          aware of the current within, the Atma, can identify
          the Source of Power before them.
  
 324.  ONE of the first principles of straight living is:
          Practice Silence. For the Voice of God can be
          heard in the region of your heart only when the
          tongue is stilled, the storm is stilled and the
          waves are calm. There will be no temptation for
          others to shout when you talk to them in whispers.
          Set the level of the tone yourself; as low as possible,
          as high as necessary to reach the outermost boundary 
          of the circle you are addressing. Conserve
          sound since it is the treasure of the element Akasa,
          an emanation from God Himself.
  
 325.  WHAT is a School for? To make man human.
          Man has in him certain specific attributes
          which have to be developed and fostered, so that he
          can rise up to his full stature. If these are ignored or
          allowed to lie fallow, he exists at the animal level
          only. Discipline alone can make him grow into his
          heritage. The animal can be transformed by training 
          to behave like a man.
   
 326.  I LIKE simplicity, I like a dress that will not discourage 
          people from approaching you for a kind
          word, a bit of service, a helping hand. It must be
          clean and decent; not outlandish and queer. It
          should not be worn to attract attention. Just as you
          desire to wear clean comfortable clothes for the
          body, desire also clean, consoling exercises for the
          mind, like "Japam" and "Dhyanam".
  
 327.  MAN is flying to the Moon and diving into the
          Sea; but he does not know how to live on
          Earth with his fellow men in Love and Peace. He
          moves towards the Moon for fear others may reach
          there before him and dives through the Sea to strike
          terror, himself terrified of others! The way to live
          without fear or causing fear is laid down in the Gita,
          the very first Sloka which is about Dharmakshetra!
  
 328.  IF one's passions and emotions have come under
          control of his higher nature, then the Lord will
          assume responsibility for his progress towards Him.
          Otherwise, he will have to wait. Do not think that
          you have no Natha or Guardian. God is the only
          "Anatha" - Guardianless Person. All the rest have
          Him as the Natha or Guardian. He is ever beside
          Man, within him as Conscience, without him as
          Companion and Guide.
  
 329.  DO not lay the blame on Godhead, as you are
          prone to do. When everything goes right you
          say that God has come close to you; when something 
          goes wrong you say that God has deserted
          you and gone far away! He does not move far or
          near. The distance from Him to you is as much as
          the distance from you to Him. He is everywhere. He is
          always in your heart. Recognise Him there; realise
          Him as closest and nearest to you. He is your
          own self, neither terrible nor tender, but simply IS.
  
 330.  YOU cannot be fresh and feeling fine wearing a
          washed vest under an unwashed shirt, or an
          unwashed vest under a washed shirt. Both have to
          be clean to provide the sense of tingling joy. So too,
          outer and inner cleanliness is but the reflection of
          the inner achievement. There is a strange glow on
          the face of a guideless person. Inner cleanliness has
          its own soap and water - the soap of strong faith
          and the water of constant practice.
  
 331.  REASON can prevail only when arguments are
          advanced without the whipping of the Sound.
          Silence is the speech of the Spiritual Seeker. Soft
          sweet Speech is the expression of genuine Love.
          Hate screeches; Fear squeals; Conceit trumpets, but
          Love sings lullabies, it soothes, it applies balm. Practice 
          the Vocabulary of Love; Unlearn the language
          of hate and contempt.
         
 332.  THE true aspirant will have a reverent attitude to
          the duty he is bound to. He will carry out
          every task assigned to him as if it is an act of worship, 
          by which the Lord will be pleased and through
          which he can approach the pedestal of God. Duty is
          God; Work is Worship--that is the motto.
  
 333.  WORSHIP is not a uniform to be put on and off
          at stated hours of the day. Render every
          thought into a flower worthy to be held in His
          Fingers; render every deed into a fruit, full of the
          sweet juice of Love fit to be placed in His Hand;
          render every tear holy and pure, fit to wash His
          Lotus Feet.
  
 334.  NOW I must tell you, that during this Sai
          Avatar, there is no place for a
          "drama" with scenes of failures and defeats! What I
          will, must take place; what I plan must succeed. I
          am Truth; and Truth has no need to hesitate, fear
          or bend.
  
 335.  DO not attempt to know Me through the external 
          eyes. When you go to a temple and stand
          before the Image of God, you pray with closed eyes,
          don't you? Why? Because you feel the Inner Eye of
          Wisdom alone can reveal Him to you. Therefore do
          not crave for the trivial material objects; but crave
          for Me and you will be rewarded.
  
 336.  I SHALL tell you why I give these rings, talismans, 
          rosaries, etc. It is to signalize the bond between 
          Me and those to whom they are given. When
          "calamity befalls them, the article comes to Me in a
          flash and returns in a flash taking from Me the
          remedial Grace of protection. The Grace is available
          to all who call on Me in any Name or Form, not
          merely to those who wear these gifts. Love is the
          bond that wins Grace.
  
337.  I HAD to tell you so much about My Truth, for I
          desire that you should contemplate on this and
          derive joy from the reform, so that you may be inspired 
          to observe the disciplines laid down by Me
          and progress towards the Goal of Self-realisation,
          the Realisation of the Sai that shines in your hearts.
  
 338.  IF each one does his duty in the spirit of dedication, 
          the Light can illumine all, but if the doors of
          the heart are shut against the Light, how can darkness 
          disappear? You cannot sit back and expect the
          Incarnation to bring Peace and Joy into you. The
          Incarnation comes to warn, to guide, to awaken, to
          lay down the path and shed the light of Love on it.
          But man has to listen, learn and obey with hope
          and faith.
  
 339.  THE deer, the elephant, the cow, the horse - these
          live on Sathvic food and behave in a Sathvic
          manner. So they are adored and even worshipped
          by man. Tigers, bears, hyenas and other wild
          animals are feared by man and are driven by him
          into the dark recesses of the forests. The wonder is
          that the wildness, the cruelty and the terror-inflicting 
          attributes of these beasts are developed and exhibited 
          by man himself! Man prides himself as the
          crown of creation, he declares that he has in him the
          spark of the Divine. But he ignores it or suppresses
          it and revels in displaying the qualities of the ferocious 
          beasts of the jungle.
  
 340.  THE ocean is a vast mystery. It is boundless and
          as old as time. It has in its womb chaotic
          whirlpools, raging currents, and it has a face with
          furious moods. No one can hope to sail over it from one
          shore to another  without a sturdy boat of
          Divine Grace to cross the raging Ocean of this
          "Samsara" (ever-changing, ever-agitated flow of
          life). This ocean too is vast and full of mystery; it
          has its unplumbed depths! It tosses man about from
          birth to death and again from death to birth.
  
 341.  TO equip oneself with the Ocean-worthy boat of
          Grace, one has to develop in himself the
          qualities of Faith and Discipline. One has to clarify
          and purify the inner Consciousness, the "Chitta".
          Time is the Gift that God has blessed man with, for
          this purpose. So man should use it as an instrument
          for the clarification and the purification. Contemplating 
          the Glories of God, discovering His
          Presence in Beauty, Goodness and Truth seen
          anywhere, meditating on His Form, repeating His
          Name - by these means the process can be made
          successful.
  
 342.  TO achieve release, man kneels before
          a million Gods, in frantic pain.
          If he but blasts the ego within,
          the goal is reached, he is freed indeed!
          It is difficult indeed to understand the ego in its
          depth and devious ways. It is an inert entity; that is
          to say, it cannot know itself nor can it know others.
          It has no fear; it will not bend before others; it
          degrades man from the golden glory, which is his
          due, to the level of lowly dust.
  
 343.  THE best way to resolve the confusion and conflicts 
          that hamper moral, ethical, material, technological 
          and spiritual progress is for man to live as
          fully as man ought to and rise to the height of the
          Divine, that is his Reality. That is the one eternal,
          universal teaching. The thoughts that the intellect
          frames, must be reflected as feeling in the mind and
          translated into action by the hands. Thought, word
          and deed must be coordinated. They must fulfill
          one another. The sign of a holy person of Mahatma
          is "Manasayekam, Vachasyekam, Karmanekam",
          "One mind, one word, one act".
  
 344.  SATHYA and Dharma go together; they are the
          two faces of the same coin. "Sathyam-naasthi
          Paro Dharmah", "There is no Dharma higher than
          Sathya. Righteousness is built on the foundation of
          Truth".
  
 345.  WORDS can confer strength; they can drain it off;
          Words can gain friends; they can turn them
          into enemies; words can elevate or lower the individual.
          One must learn the habit of making one's
          words sweet, soft, and pleasant. A person is judged
          by his words; words inflict damage in other ways
          too. Whenever we talk disparagingly, defamingly,
          sarcastically or hatefully of others, they get
          recorded on the tape, which is our own mind.
  
 346.  DIAMOND and gold are only material things;
          man has made them precious. But, man is really
          the most valuable being on earth. He has recognised
          his uniqueness and importance for, he
          declares, "Janthoonaam narajanmam durlabham".
          In spite of the awareness, man desecrates himself by
          bartering himself for trivial pleasures.
  
 347.  WE have a feeling that "Ananya Bhakti" consists
          in surrendering to God, saying "I have no
          Saviour other than you". We think that simply by
          declaring "You are mother, you are father, you are
          friend; you are my saviour, Oh God of Gods", we
          have surrendered and are practicing "Ananya
          Bhakti". Real "Ananya Bhakti" comes from deep inquiry 
          into the Reality of the Inner Self.
  
 348.  THE World today is in a very bad state. The
          situation can improve only through Asthikas,
          who are believers in Divinity. They should become
          Prema Swaroopas or Embodiments of Love and by
          their Sadhana, backed by patience, forbearance and
          compassion, play their role in serving Society and
          contributing to the betterment of the World. God is
          present in you and is visualizing through thousands
          of eyes what you do. Even when no one is seeing,
          God is watching your actions always. Do everything
          with this awareness.
  
 349.  WHEN clouds gather in the sky, lightning appears 
          and illuminates the cloud. Similarly,
          "Wisdom must illuminate Education". This word of
          SAI is the path of Truth. Smaller than the smallest
          atom, bigger than the biggest thing, witness of
          everything, the Atma is Brahman and Brahman is
         "Atma".
  
 350.  THERE are three types of knowledge:
          Knowledge of matter-energy; knowledge of
          mental energy; and knowledge of cosmic energy.
          Cosmic energy works in every person in the form of
          Divine knowledge. Matter in all forms is only Energy. 
          Without atoms, you cannot have any matter,
          and in the atom, energy has the form of electron,
          proton, neutron, etc. Energy springs from the structure 
          of the atomic constituents.
  
 351.  MAN does not live by food alone. In fact he
          lives by the power of the Atma. So you must
          use your strength of body and mind, wealth and
          education with intelligence, in order to realise the
          Power of the Soul. Without discrimination, what is
          the use of physical strength?
  
 352.  ILLNESS, both physical and mental, is a reaction
          of the body, caused by poisons in the mind. An
          uncontaminated mind alone can ensure continuous
          health. Vice breeds disease. Bad thoughts and
          habits, bad company and bad food are fertile
          grounds where disease thrives. "Arogya" and
          "Ananda" go hand in hand. A sense of elation and
          exultation keeps the body free from ill health. Evil
          habits in which men indulge are the chief causes of
          disease, physical as well as mental. Greed affects the
          mind; disappointment makes man depressed. Man
          can justify his existence as man, only by the cultivation 
          of virtues. Then he becomes a worthy candidate
          for Godhood.
  
 353.  THE God ward path is Karma, based on Dharma.
          That is the path also towards joy, contentment
          and, therefore, of strength. Now, the path has become 
          hidden by an overgrowth of briar and bush;
          the bridges and culverts are in disrepair. People
          have forgotten the goal, the path and the habit of
          walking on it. That road is the only refuge; it must
          be trodden tomorrow, if not today, for the goal lies
          at the end of that road. It was laid down, centuries
          ago in the Vedas, beyond the memory of history.
          "Sathyam Vada", "Dharmam Chara": the Vedas call
          on you.
  
 354.  MAN is basically, essentially and fully immortal. 
          He is "Amruthaswarupam" yet he is afraid
          he would die! He is  "Anandaswarupa"; yet he 
          weeps that he is miserable. He is Santhiswarupam; 
          yet everywhere he is overlaid with
          anxiety. This absurd self-deception is the root of the
          tragedy from which the World suffers today.
  
 355.  ALL Religions exhort man to cleanse the heart of
          malice, greed, hate and anger. All Religions
          hold out the gift of Grace as the prize for success in
          this cleaning process. Ideas of superiority and inferiority 
          arise only in a heart corrupted by egoism. If
          someone argues that he is higher or that his Religion
          is holier, it proves that he has missed the significance 
          of his faith.
  
 356.  SACRIFICE, service, sharing in the exaltation
          of others, and compassion when others suffer
          grief  are virtues that purify and prepare the
          individual to the arduous task of reaching the Goal.
          Expand the limited awareness of the individual into
          the limitless realm of Divine Glory - that has been
          the call, down the corridors of Time.
  
 357.  FOR each person, there is a Code of Conduct laid
          down in the Shastras, according to age and
          status, the profession adopted, the stage of spiritual
          attainment reached and the goal of life accepted. Do
          not carp at the behaviour of others or at the efforts
          they make to get consolation and courage amidst
          the turmoil of life. For each there is the path that
          he has chosen and the Name and the Form of God
          he prefers. Also do not give up your Code of duties
          and take up that which is recommended for someone else.
  
 358.  DELUSION has to die; then only does the cycle
          of change end, then only is man liberated
          from the bonds of birth, life and death. Call it
          "reaching the Goal", or "Sayujyam" or
         "Brahmasaakshaathkaaram", or "Aikyaanubandhaanam"
          or "becoming one with  the Infinite" - the
          Names may differ but the Finish is the same. Every
          mortal must attain Immortality; for he is
         "Amruthasya Puthra", a child of Immortality.
  
 359.  IT is much easier to speak the Truth and be done
          with it. What you have seen or heard or done,
          speak about these just as you saw or heard or did!
          And what is Dharma? Practicing what you preach,
          doing as you practice in life. Earn virtuously; earn
          piously; live in the fear of God; live for reaching
          God. That is Dharma.
  
 360.  THE Five Elements have each a characteristic
          that affects and attracts one of the five senses:
          Sound (ether) which fascinates the mind through
          the air; Touch (Air), which draws the mind to itself
          through the skin; Form (fire), which manipulates
          the mind in its favour through the eye; Taste
          (Water), which enslaves the mind through the
          tongue; and Smell (Earth), which attracts the mind
          through the nose. Contact with the external world is
          maintained by the senses, for the sake of these experiences 
          which yield joy or grief.
  
 361.  THE symbol on the Flag at Prasanthi Nilayam is
          a reminder of this ideal, which you have to put
          into practice. It is the symbol of Victory, achieved
          by steady endeavour over the diabolic foes of lust
          and greed, of envy and hate and of malice and conceit. 
          It is the symbol of the silent state of the
          Supreme Bliss, won through Self-control and Self-realisation.
  
 362.  THERE is not the slightest trace of self-interest in
          Me. Whatever I do, whatever paths I pursue,
          everything is intended for the happiness of all, for
          the good of all, and for the improvement of all. Not
          a single action of Mine is undertaken for the satisfaction 
          of My own personal desires. Desire is something 
          alien to Me. All My wishes are only to
          promote the welfare of the World. "Loka Samastha
          Sukino Bhavanthu" is the only objective of SAI
          (May all the World be happy).
  
 363.  SAI'S main purpose is to develop the minds and
          attitudes of young men on right lines, so that
          they may work for the progress and welfare of
          Bharath. Students are the only wealth that I cherish.
          All My hopes are concentrated on them. To reform
          them and train them to serve as exemplars of
          righteousness is Sai's sole resolve.
  
 364.  I DO not have any particular desire with regard
          to food or any other need. My "Ananda" is My
          food; and to secure that food I promote happiness in
          others and derive delight from their joy. That is the
          significance of My statement, "My Life is My
          Message". To feel blissful enjoying the happiness 
          which others experience, is a quality of the
          Divine.
  
365.  YOU come to know that you are a spark of the
          Divine Flame. Very soon, you realise that others
          too are sparks from the self-same fire. How then can
          hate, anger, envy or greed survive in the Sunlight 
          of the Vision?
  
 366.  CHANGE your Vision and the world will appear 
          accordingly. Let the eye be charged with
          the Divine, it will see all as God. It is foolish to try to
          shape the World; shape yourself as the embodiment 
          of Peace, Love and Reverence. Then you will
          see all as Love, Compassion and Humility.
  
 367.  YOU are the image of the Supreme Atma, the
          image that is reflected in the body that is part of
         "Prakriti". Your body is Kith and Kin of all the objects 
          that surround you in nature; your body is an
          object among so many. The original Divine spirit,
          the individualized spirit, which is the image and the
          objective world of which the body is a part - these
          are the entities called Iswara - Jiva - Prakriti.
  
 368.  IT IS not enough you are at Puttaparthi. You have
          to engage in Sadhana to win My Sankalpa. You
          may think that the burden of the consequences of
          acts done in previous births cannot be easily
          brushed away; no, they can be destroyed, as a heap
          of cotton is by a spark of fire. "Jnanagni dagdha
          karmanam", the speck of Jnana will destroy the effect 
          of Karma in a trice.
  
 369.  DO not jump to conclusions, abdicating your
          discrimination and do not deny the validity of
          your own experience. Stand on your strength. Be
          unmoved, either by adulation or denigration. Follow 
          My lead. I am unaffected by either; I march on
          alone, undeterred and of My own accord. I am My
          own Guide and Witness; have full faith in this.
  
 370.  TODAY, man dabbles in Yoga (devotional practices) 
          in the morning hours; revels in Bhoga
          (festivity and luxury, catering to the senses) during
          the day; and tosses about in roga (disease) during
          the night! Bhakti is not to be "performed" during
          certain periods every day and superseded by other
          fashionable attractions. Bhakthi is a constant, continuous 
          bent of mind, a habit of thought and a way
          of life. It must be loyally adhered to, whatever may
          happen - dishonour, distress, despair, deprivation,
          pleasure, prosperity, power and pomp.
  
 371.  MAN seeks joy in far off places and peace in
          quiet spots; but the spring of joy is in his
          heart; the haven of peace is in himself. Even when
          he walks on the Moon, man has to take with him,
          his fears, his anxieties, his prejudices and his pet
          aversions. Have faith in God and in the correctness
          of moral living. Then you can have peace and joy,
          whatever may be the fare that fortune offers you.
  
 372.  THE parents gave you this body and fostered the
          intelligence and love that are embedded in it;
          so gratitude is their due. If you do not honour the
          parents who are the creators in human form, how
          can you learn to honour the Creator in Divine
          Form? Moreover, the parents reveal to you the
          glory of God and the means of worshipping Him;
          they are the first representatives of authority which
          you meet with, authority modified by love and
          care. Learn to bend before that authority; and you
          will learn how to submit to the Lord.
  
 373.  POEMS, that deal with the fundamental problems
          of life and death, truth and delusion, and virtue
          and vice, will last for centuries and will help man at all
          times. Problems of exterior living change and get
          changed. So when poems deal with them, they are
          short-lived.  "Prakriti" and "Paramathma", Creation
          and Creator are like two halves of a pulse: and seedling 
          sprouts from between them.
  
 374.  YOU have it in your power to make your days on
          Earth a path of flowers, instead of
          thorns. Recognise the Sai Resident in every heart
          and all will be smoothness, softness and sweetness
          for you. Sai will be the fountain of Love in your
          heart and in the hearts of all with whom you come
          in contact. Know that Sai is Omnipresent and that
          He is present in  you and every living being. Adore
          everyone as you adore Sai.
         
 375.  THE span of life allotted to man is very short; the
          World in which he lives is very wide; time extends 
          far behind and far beyond. What little man
          has to accomplish must be done quickly, at the place
          that is assigned to him and within the time that is
          allotted to him. And, man has such a formidable
          task before him; it is to fulfill it that he has come as
          man, exchanging for this human habitat all the
          merit he has acquired during many past lives. The
          task is no less than the manifestation of the Divinity
          latent in man.
  
 376.  RISE up to the Divine, don't bring down Godhead 
          to your human and even animal levels.
          Do not worship God as the picture before you, but
          worship the picture before you as God, because God
          is in everything and can be grasped through every
          single symbol. There is nothing wherein He is not;
          there is no might or right, apart from Him.
  
 377.  SNAKES hiss; pigs grunt; and bulls moo! They
          are asserting their ego, intent on keeping others
          away. Of the traits of ego, pride is the most
          poisonous. But the pride of the scholar and the
          vanity of Pundits are so thick that it is impossible
          for them to get rid of these.
  
 378.  GOD is the vastest among the vast, minutest
          among the minute. Yet, God has no ego. How
          then can man, who has no claim to even the tiniest
          glory, parade himself as great? It is really a ridiculous
          pose. The egoist ignores the source which can bring
          respect to him. He loses the chance of developing his
          skills and talents on the right lines.
  
 379.  WHAT can ten baths a day do to cleanse a person, 
          when his mind is fouled by evil
          thoughts? What can the shaven head and the ochre
          clothes do to foster spirituality, when his mind is
          riddled by desires and wants? You may rotate a
          ball of sweets round the mouth but unless it is 
          eaten, hunger will not be abated. So,
          develop sincere longings, cleanse the mind, purify
          the thoughts and put the precepts into practice.
  
 380.  SOME of you claim to be Saibhaktas, Ramabhaktas, 
          and Krishnabhaktas. But unless you are perfect 
          instruments in His hand, you do not deserve
          that name. For example, Bharata can call himself
          Ramabhakta. He lived with Rama-Nama in every
          breath; he suffered as much as Rama; he was as
          much as anchorite as his brother; so, he too become
          Shyama (dark-skinned) like Rama.
  
 381.  THE body has to be exercised to keep it trim as a
          tool for serving your fellowmen. The body has
          not been granted by God in order to be fed and
          well-clothed and to be paraded around in pride.
          Plunge into the problems of Society, take up the burden
          of the family and advance the interests of your
          country. Shine as examples of Loving Service.
  
 382.  MAN has in him vast resources of Power.
          When he does not utilise them while discharging 
          his duties to himself and the Society which
          sustains him, he is only becoming a target for
          ridicule. When you are at the railway-station, 
          waiting for the train, and then
          you come to know that it will arrive five hours late,
          how do you react? You fling abusive words at the
          train. When the coaches receive such treatment from you, 
          then what treatment do you deserve
          for not fulfilling your duty and for disappointing
          the expectations that you have raised by your being
          a man!
  
 383.  WHEN you struggle to achieve paltry fame by
          devious means, remember who among the crores
          of your countrymen are honoured today and for
          what? Don't you see that only those who gave up,
          renounced, and sought the more difficult road of
          God realisation, instead of easier path of World
          realisation, are honoured everywhere?
  
 384.  THE Lord rushes towards the Bhakta faster than
          the Bhakta rushes towards Him. If you take one
          step towards Him, He takes a hundred steps
          towards you! He will be more than a mother or
          father. He will foster you from within you, as He
          has saved and fostered so many Saints who have
          placed faith in Him.
  
 385.  YOU must not be like a piece of blotting paper, absorbing 
          all the passions and emotions, all the joys
          and grief that the actress Nature demonstrates during
          the stages of life. You must be a Lotus, unfolding its
          petals when the Sun rises in the sky, unaffected by
          the slush where it is born or even the water which
          sustains it!
  
 386.  FAITH in God is the secure foundation on which
          hope has to be built. The faith has to be stable
          and strong. The feeling that God will come to our
          rescue has to be vivid and vital, motivating and activating 
          all that we do or speak or think. Service
          rendered to others in this spirit will be a great
          source of joy to you as well as to the recipient.
  
 387.  WOMEN are proverbially too individualistic!
          There is a popular belief born out of folklore, 
          that three women cannot live in unison!
          There is a Telugu limerick, which says, "The world
          shivers before one woman. The ocean will dry up, if
          there are two! And if they are three, O, the stars will
          drop down at noon"! Why are women so characterized? 
          A woman is extremely deficient in Sahana; by
          Sahana, I mean ability to bear defeat, fortitude, 
          forbearance, patience and quiet, suffering with no
          thought of retaliation. That is why woman is said to
          be the weaker sex.
  
 388.  SILENCE, Cleanliness and Forbearance. In
          Silence the voice of God can be heard,  not in the
          revelry of noise. Through Cleanliness, you earn
          purity. By Forbearance, you cultivate Love. You
          have come today to your own home. This is your
          home not Mine. My home is your heart. So do not
          try to have your lunch elsewhere but in your home
          where you get this day food consecrated by Me, the
          Prasad.
  
 389.  ONE should progress from this stage to the
          awareness of the Atma. Flowers fade and rot
          soon. The effect of offering flowers may not last
          long. What God loves more are the flowers blossoming 
          on the tree of man's own life, fed and fostered
          by his own skill and sincerity. The are the flowers of
          his virtues grown in the garden of his heart.
   
 390.  IT is the duty of everyone to live in the awareness
          of Truth. He who lives on Earth must become
          Man at first. Then, he has to learn the way to God,
          and discover the delight of the Spirit. This is the
          "Raja Yoga" path that the Vedas teach. The Atma
          illumines all objects; it needs no other source of illumination 
          to shine; it is the seer of the Universe
  
 391.  NOWADAYS man has the habit of acting 
          and talking according to his whims. There is no
          control exercised by conscience or moral sense or
          manners. For one who is so perverse, who is determined 
          to go down to his doom, there is no need for
          counsel! Medicine is for the ill, not for the wholly
          healthy, or the wholly dead. Counsel is for those,
          who suffer from doubt, anxiety or agitation. This
          counsel is contained in the Shastras and the Sacred
          Texts.
  
 392.  GOD is seeking the pure heart that longs to
          reach Him. The World is reduced to a theatre
          by man, for devotion to God has become a
          histrionic performance. You find people weeping in
          their heart of hearts but laughing their lives away.
          We find people who laugh in their heart of hearts,
          but to all observers, weeping profusely over their
          fate. Worship is more for effect, a play acted with
          the pit in view; there is no sincerity.
   
393.  MAN did not come here to sleep and eat; he has
          come to manifest, by disciplined processes,
          the Divine in him. That is why he is called "Vyakthi",
          he who makes "Vyaktha" (clear) the "Sakthi" that is
          in him, the Divine energy that motivates him. For
          this purpose, he has come endowed with the body
          and the intelligence needed to control it and divert
          it to useful channels of activity. You must achieve
          this by Dharma-Nishtha, and Karma-Nishtha,
          steady pursuit of Dharma and Karma, morality and
          good work.
  
 394.  THE World itself is a great teacher, a constant
          guide and inspiration. That is the reason why
          man is surrounded and sustained by the world.
          Every bird, every animal, every tree, mountain and
          star and each tiny worm has a lesson for man, if he
          has but the will and the thirst to learn. These make
          the World a veritable University for man; it is a
          Gurukul where he is a pupil from birth to death.
  
 395.  THE Linga is the Form of God, emerging from the
          "Nirakara" to "Sakara". Other "Akaras" (Forms) are
          all subsumed in the Linga Form. "Prakrithi" or the Objective 
          World is the base; it signifies that the Lord is
          established in that manifestation of His, which is the
          concrete presentation of His play, His potentiality and
          His power, His Sakthi. That is why the Lord is
          described as Shiva, Shakthi, Atmaka and Swarupam,
          the Supreme to which Shiva and Shakthi belong, the
          latent and the patent.
  
 396.  IF you do not feel the call at the sight of human
          distress, disease or deviation from the right, how
          can you muster the determination and dedication
          necessary to serve the unseen, inscrutable, mysterious
          God? When you do not love man, your heart will not
          love God. Despising brother man, you cannot, at the
          same time, worship God. If you do, God will not accept 
          that hypocrisy. God is resident in every heart; so,
          if you serve any one, that service reaches the God
          within him: it brings to you the Grace of God.
  
 397.  THE heart that does not melt at the sight of persons 
          caught in the coils of ignorance, disease or
          deprivation, has to be labeled demonic; to call it
          bestial is an insult to the beasts. Give up egoism,
          sensualism and greed; fill your hearts with renunciation, 
          belief in the glory of the Atma (Self) and
          Love. That is the means by which you can make
          yourselves efficient Seva Dal Workers.
  
 398.  THE pollution of character that is spreading in
          the cities is fast invading the villages also. The
          villages should not yield to the temptation of imitation 
          and invite catastrophe on themselves. They
          must appreciate the ancient Indian ideals of
          simplicity and sincerity, service and spiritual
          oriented living. You must curb greed, anger, envy
          and pride, and live in amity and the spirit of
          brotherhood. Then India will be happy and
          prosperous. Each one must carry out the duties of
          his role in a worshipful attitude.
     
 399.  LIFE has been bestowed not for just eating and
          digesting and roaming and reclining, but for a
          far greater purpose - the realisation of Divinity in
          us, in all that exists around us and even beyond all
          things that strike our senses. To waste such a life in
          vain pursuits and in a mere sense of pleasures is not
          the sign of an intelligent person. Deserve the Grace
          of God by helping the weak and poor, the diseased
          and the disabled, the distressed and the downtrodden.
  
 400.  SHIVA is worshipped with the three-leafed
          bilva, for He is immanent in the three Worlds,
          in the three phases of Time and in the three attributes 
          of Nature. He removes the three types of
          grief; He has no basis outside Him; He is the source
          of Bliss; He is the embodiment of the sweetness and
          efficacy of nectar. Since every being is Shiva
          Swarupa (for without Siva, it is mere "Sava"-Corpse), 
          man has to live up to that Divine status.
  
 401.  FAITH has to be cultivated, first and foremost. It
          has to be nurtured in Love. Love is fostered by
          Shanti (equanimity). Shanti can be gotten only when
          there is full reliance on God and complete surrender
          to the Divine Will.
          If one loses wealth, he may regain it by some means
          or other. If he loses health, some doctor might
          prescribe a tonic to win it back. If one loses status
          and authority he may, by sheer luck, gain them
          back. If Virtue is lost, it is lost forever; nothing can
          restore the pristine purity. So one has to be ever
          vigilant and should never slacken.
  
 402.  THE greatest of the virtues is Love. Love is the
          basis of Character. You may have all other
          desirable things in plenty; but if you have no character, 
          that is to say Virtue, which is all strung on
          Love, you cannot have genuine Peace. Money comes
          and . . . goes! But morality? It comes and grows!
          Morality has to be grown in the heart by feeding it
          with Love; then only we can have justice, security,
          law and order. If Love declines among the people,
          nations will weaken and mankind will perish.
  
 403.  THIS created Universe has two aspects. One is
          impermanence (Antiyam). The second one is
          unhappiness (Asutham). In the Gita, Krishna has said
          "Anityam Asukham Lokan Imam Papya Bhajaswa
          Maam", nothing in this World can give happiness
          that is, true and lasting happiness. Mistaking this
          World as "All" and forgetting the Atman, which
          alone is eternal and is the only refuge, is the greatest
          folly of man.
  
 404.  TODAY, man is pinning all his hopes on this slippery 
          World and is madly running after amassing 
          and hoarding wealth. Of course, material needs
          are to be taken care of, but within limits, and not at
          the cost of spiritual values. Money and mansions
          are not the only wealth. Hoard the wealth of the
          Spirit. Character is wealth. Good conduct is wealth.
          Spiritual wisdom is wealth.
  
 405.  DEVOTE your body, mind and senses to the service 
          of others. "Paropakarartham Idam
          Sariram", it is said. This body is intended to do only
          good and service to others. The body is not gifted to
          you so that you hate and nurture jealousy against
          others and live selfishly, worse than an animal. You
          should devote this precious gift of the body in selfless 
          and loving service always.
  
 406.  ANY one may blame you, but you should ignore
          all such blame and go forward in doing service
          without rancour. Serving is your sole duty. The
          Universe is a manifestation of God. So also is the
          individual. All these three are like Brahma, Vishnu
          and Maheswara, the Trinity. Actually there are no
          three; they are one; it is Unified Godhead. Cherishing 
          this thought of Oneness and serving Society is
          true Adyatmic or Spiritual life.
  
 407.  SHANTI has detachment as the basic quality. The
          sea, which likes to gather and possess, lies low;
          the cloud, that likes to renounce and give, is high up
          in the sky. Shanti endows man with an unruffled
          mind and steady vision. The Prayer for Shanti is
          usually repeated thrice: "OM Shanti, Shanti,
          Shanti", since peace is prayed for in the physical,
          mental and spiritual planes. Man should not bring
          his blood to boil nor should he yield to fear.
  
 408.  MAN has been enslaved by money. He lives a
          superficial, hollow and artificial life. This is
          indeed a great pity. Man should seek to possess
          only as much money as is most essential for his
          living. The quantity of riches one must own can be
          compared to the shoes one wears; if too small, they
          cause pain; if too big, they are a hindrance while
          walking. Money too has to be with us only just
          enough for a life of physical and mental comfort.
          When we have more, it breeds pride, sloth and contempt 
          for others.
  
 409.  THE world is becoming more and more deeply
          immersed in irreverence and cruelty. Codes of
          decent behaviour are being ignored and laughed
          at. The material is receiving greater attention than
          the moral and spiritual. Faith in the victory of
          Truth, Justice and Goodness is fast disappearing; 
          the distinction between good and bad is seldom 
          recognised.
  
 410.  JOY is a deceptive trap; grief is the real preceptor,
          teaching caution, circumspection, discrimination,
          detachment, awareness and vigilance. Death is not
          the merciless that he is made out to be; he is the
          friend and companion, the teacher, the kindly
          kinsman, who takes you into his fold and clothes
          you with the halo of remembrance. The heart of
          man has to be toughened, not hardened; it has to be
          made soft, not slithery; this can be achieved only by
          the blows of loss, grief and distress. It is God's way
          of shaping us in the Divine mould.
  
 411.  MAYA can be recognised and driven out only
          when the mind is purified by Prema and the
          avoidance of envy and hatred, born of egoism. No
          act done without Love can be commended; there are
          many who come here, thousands in fact, year after
          year, sharing in the Bhajans, listening to discourses,
          lectures.  But, they are staying exactly where they
          were when they first arrived. Name without "Bhava"
          seldom reaches the mark. The name of the Lord
          must be recited with awe and wonder, humility and
          reverence.
  
 412.  THE Sages of this land had known the mine of
          Ananda that lies in every human heart and they
          had discovered methods of developing that mine
          and working on that gold. They said that if
          "Bhoomata" (Mother Earth), "Gomata" (Mother
          Cow), "Nijamata" (the Mother) and "Vedamata"
          (Mother Scripture) were revered and fostered and
          used as best as they could be, happiness is certain
          and liberation is assured.
  
 413.  YOU will doubtless agree when I say that
          Ananda is your greatest need. But you cannot
          order it from any shop. It has to be earned the hard
          way - doing good deeds, moving in good company,
          desisting from evil and keeping the mind attached
          to the Glory of God. Good and bad cannot be kept
          together in the same vessel; then the good also will
          turn bad. Night and light cannot coexist.
  
 414.  YOU are getting the great chance of partaking in
          a huge Sathsang from today. Thousands are
          coming to this place, prompted by a keen desire to
          see, hear and contact Divinity, and for those who
          have kindled desires, the chance to move about in
          the Sea of Spirit is indeed a sign of Grace. This is the
          benefit, as fairs and festivals are held in holy places,
          the wave of exhilaration, enthusiasm and exultation 
          lifts men aloft into the rarefied air of Holy
          Beatitude.
  
 415.  ENDEAVOUR always to promote the joy and
          happiness of your fellow countrymen in this
          continent; be sharers in this joy and happiness.
          Bharath is so called, because the people of that
          country have "Rathi" (great attachment) to "Bha"
          (Bhagavan, the God). They are afraid of sin; they are
          eager to acquire "Jnana".
  
 416.  HAVE your Prema fixed on the Lord, whether
          your pretty wishes are fulfilled or not. Do not
          let the treasure slip on some silly excuse or other.
          When Sai Baba confers success after success on you,
          you are foremost in singing, "Sai Sankara, Sai
          Sankara", but when the shadow of disappointment
          falls on you, immediately you turn around and
          declare. "This Sai is not God".
  
 417.  PRACTICE renunciation from now on, that you
          may set out on the journey when the call comes,
          you don't know when . . Or at that moment, you
          will be in tears when you think of the house you
          have built, the property you have accumulated, the
          fame you have amassed and the titles you have
          won. Know that all this is for the fleeting moment;
          develop attachment for the Lord, who will be with
          you wherever you go. Only the years that you have
          lived with the Lord have to be counted as life, the
          rest are all out of count.
  
 418.  THE glory of Bharath, which has illumined for
          centuries the hearts of humanity, is awaiting the
          march of the Sai Movement through proper presentation 
          and practical application by you, to have an
          even more brilliant future in the coming years. As
          the spark that causes the fire, as a driver in the engine 
          drawing a long line of coaches along, as the
          designer and operator of a system of  automatic
          lights, this Sai is here creating and fostering the
          World and all its various communities living and
          non living.
  
 419.  LEARN from childhood the recitation of the
          Name and Prayer and the Practice of Silence.
          Let children contemplate the beauties and the magnificence 
          of God's Handiwork and be filled with
          mystery and awe. Do not count and calculate what
          the Puttaparthi Sai Baba gives. "I do not give in
          order to attract you to Me; I give only to fill you
          with Ananda. Showering Ananda, is My task. I
          do not want you to extol Me; I shall be satisfied if
          you rely on Me. The mysterious indescribable
          Superpower has come within reach. It will never
          engage Itself in any task without fruit".
  
 420.  YOU need not waste time in trying to discover
          Me and My nature. Understand what I teach
          not Who is the teacher, for I am beyond your intellect 
          and your Shakti. You will understand Me only
          through My work. That is why sometimes, in order
          to reveal who I am, I Myself show you My "Visiting
          Card", something that you call a Miracle. Know the
         "Marma", or the mystery and carry out the "Karma",
          or the duty I assign you.
  
421.  MUSIC, a vehicle of Peace, is universally
          popular. Men, women and children of all
          lands are amenable to its subtle influence. Even
          animals and plants are susceptible to music. The
          Lord has said, "Madbhakthash yathra gaayanthe,
          thathra thishtaami Naarad": "Where My devotees
          sing, there I seat Myself".
  
 422.  PEOPLE of all ages, of all states of health and
          wealth, of various levels of learning and intelligence 
          come to Prasanthi Nilayam. This Prasanthi
          Nilayam is also the refuge for all who have no other
          place to go to. Do not treat any one as an alien.
          Remember all have Me as their guardian and support. 
          Have no anger, malice, envy or pride against
          or before anyone. Be full of humility; have faith in
          human goodness.
  
 423.  PREMA is the motive power in Karmayoga. It is
          the very breath of Bhaktiyoga. It is universal
          and infinite in Jnana; it sees the Lord everywhere
          and in everything, when Vairagya has been
          achieved. The Bhagavata is saturated with the
          sweetness of Prema.
  
 424.  VEDANTA is like the roar of the lion; it gives
          courage and enterprise; it makes a man hero, it
          does not whine or howl or cry; it drives cowardice
          away, instills the highest types of self-confidence; it
          is the strongest armour against the arrows of take;
          it acts like a waterproof medium against the
          hail storms on sensual pleasure; it is a curtain keeping 
          out the mosquitoes of worry, which would
          otherwise rob you of sleep. With a Vedanta-
          saturated heart, you are a rock on the shore, unaffected 
          by the waves of temptation. Vedanta challenges 
          your spirit of adventure and your own reality.
  
 425.  THE spiritual laws that the sages of India have
          discovered and laid down will never be overruled. 
          They stand valid forever. Further research
          can only strengthen and confirm their authenticity,
          as further facts only render the diamond more brilliant. 
          Bharath has contributed to the World the
          priceless gem of Truth; "Iswarah Darvabhutaanaam
          Hrddese, Arjuna, Thishtati". God is the resident
          motivator of all beings. Until this fact is realised by
          the individual he will be tainted by traces of anger,
          pride and hate, for he sees others as distinct and
          different.
  
 426.  ALL Religions teach one basic discipline - the
          removal of the blemish of egoism from the mind,
          of running after little joys. Every Religion
          teaches man to fill his being with the Glory of God,
          and evict the pettiness of conceit. It trains him in
          methods of detachment and discrimination, so that
          he may aim high and attain liberation. Believe that
          all hearts are motivated by the one and Only God;
          that all faiths glorify the One and the Only God; that
          all names, in all languages, and all Forms men can
          conceive, denote the One and Only God.
  
 427.  IF you have the capacity to draw the Lord to yourself, 
          He will Himself come to you and be with
          you. Be like the flute - a hollow reed - straight, light,
          with no substance to hinder His breath. Then He
          will come and pick you up from the ground. He will
          breathe Divine music through you, playing upon
          you with a delicate touch. He will stick the flute into
          His sash. He will press His lips on it. In His hand,
          the Infinitesimal will be transmuted into the Infinite, 
          the OM will be transformed into the gama.
  
 428.  THE Dharma that is the heritage of India is the
          stuff of life for all men. It is the backbone of
          morality and well-being. It is the nectar which can
          confer Immortality. Others may, in their ignorance,
          laugh at Indians for taking a stone to be God. But
          what they do is to realise even the stone as God. It is
          transformed into God, an act which is a grand victory. 
          The highest energies of man in this land are
          used for conquering death, while in other countries
          they are misused in the diabolic attempt to make
          weapons of mass destruction.
  
 429.  DO not attach yourself too much to this body or
          to the things that bring comfort to it. You earn
          three friends in this life: the first is the riches you accumulate 
          which refuse to come with you when you
          move out of this life. The second, Kith and kin, accompany 
          your body to the burial ground or cremation
          ghat. The third, the merit and demerit that you have
          earned, accompany you to the last.
  
 430.  YOU complain that God is invisible, but the fault
          is yours not to recognise God in all His
          various manifestations. You are yourself  "a
          manifestation of God". But you do not know it; you
          call yourself a sinner, a worm born in sin, wallowing 
          in sin, essentially wicked. But let someone who
          takes you at your word call you "Hello, Sinner",
          you resent it. Why? Because your real nature is
          purity, peace, and joy.
  
 431.  MAN must earn his birthright, namely "Shanti".
          "Ashanti" is for him an unnatural state. His
          real nature is "Shanti". To recover his heritage of
          "Shanti", man tries various methods: accumulation
          of riches, maintenance of health, mastery of
          knowledge and cultivation of the arts. But these are
          not fundamental. Three basic wants still remain
          after all these methods have been tried: the need for
          Reality; for Light; and for Immortality. It is only
          when "Sath", "Jyothi" and "Amrutham" are won that
         "Shanti" will be established.
  
 432.  DO not cloud your mind with cheap desires,
          transitory hungers, and thirsts that need but
          morsels or mouthfuls. Yearn for the enthronement
          of your soul as the unquestioned monarch of the
          Universe, when you merge in the Universal.
          Celebrate your triumph over the foes within that
          hamper your march to victory. Acquire Me as your
          Charioteer. I shall lead you to that consummation.
          Earn that unfailing Grace by your sincerity,
          simplicity, and "Sadhana".
  
 433.  YOU have two eyes in your Consciousness, namely, 
          "Sathya" and "Ahimsa". They are the guides
          which will take you to the goal, the two lights, the
          Sun and the Moon of the inner firmament. If you
          want to know the way in which you have to observe
          "Sathya" or Truth in speech, look into the Gita. It
          tells you that the best speech is "anudvegakarm
          Vaakyam". (Speech that does not create pain or
          anger or grief to others).
  
 434.  RELY on the Lord and accept whatever is your
          lot. He is in you, with you. He knows best what
          to give and when. He is full of Prema. That is My
          uniqueness: Prema. Prema is the special gift I bring,
          the special medium through which My Grace
          operates. That is the basis of all My acts. God is said
          to reside in everything. Yes. He resides as Prema.
          Devoid of Prema, the World becomes a cauldron of
          misery.
  
 435.  BEFORE pointing to the faults of others, examine
          yourselves and assure yourselves that you are
          free from faults. That alone gives you the right; but
          the wonder is that you discover faults in others only
          when you have faults in you. Once you rid yourselves 
          of faults, all are pure and good. Whatever you
          touch becomes gold. That is the Divine Alchemy of
          Love, Divine Love, Universal Love, and Love for
          Love's own sake.
  
 436.  TO have faith you must dive deep into the inner
          mystery of the Avatars, like Rama or Krishna,
          and not lose your way in the tangle of the outer
          events and emotional conflicts, the external adventures 
          and activities. Do not take Rama as a brother,
          son and husband, entangled in the personal
          calamity of having his wife kidnapped and heroically
          rescuing her. You can be moved into the adoration
          only by diving into the cool depths of the inner
          mystery. This process was specially discovered by
          the Sages of the inner mystery. It was specially discovered 
          by the Sages of India, and so, India rose to
          the status of the whole World.
  
 437.  SINCE I move about with you, eat like you, and
          talk with you, you are deluded into the belief
          that this is but an instance of common humanity. Be
          warned against this mistake. I am also deluding you
          by My singing with you, talking with you and engaging 
          Myself in activities with you. But any moment, 
          My Divinity may be revealed to you. You
          have to be ready, prepared for that moment. Since
          Divinity is enveloped by humanness, you must endeavour 
          to overcome "Maya" (Delusion) that hides it
          from your eyes.
  
 438.  YOU can hear adoration to Sathya Sai's Name
          reverberating throughout the World, even
          while this Body is existing - not at some future date,
          but when It is with you and before you. And again,
          you can witness very soon, the restoration of
          "Sanathana Dharma", to its genuine and natural
          status; the "Dharma" laid down in the Vedas for the
          good of all the peoples of the World. The revival of
          Vedic Dharma is the Sai Sankalpa (the resolve that
          Sai has), not only drawing people towards Me, attracting 
          them by the manifestation of My "Shakti"
          (Power) and "Samarthya" (Capacity). This is not a
          "Brahmathathwa" (phenomenon of delusion). This
          phenomenon will sustain Truth, it will uproot untruth, 
          and in that victory, make all of you exult in
          ecstasy. This is the Sai Sankalpa.
  
 439.  MAN is ill; but he is resorting to remedies that
          cannot cure. Diagnose yourself. Discover the
          root cause; apply the proper remedy; that is the way
          of the wise. Do not run after quacks or pseudo panaceas. 
          Sow the seeds of Prema, after preparing
          the soil of you heart, and removing the weeds. Let them
          grow, watered by Faith and yield the blossoms of
          "Sahana" (fortitude); later you are assured of the
          fruit, "Shanti". This is the task; this is the duty; and
          this has to be the vow.
  
 440.  WHEN a Namavali extols Shiva, the next one
          will have to be on Krishna, the next on Rama
          and so on. A person whose favourite form is Rama
          or Shiva will feel neglected if, out of inadvertence,
          you stick to only one form. Let the atmosphere of
          Bhajan be free from competitive conceit and
          fanaticism. This is My advice.
  
 441.  YOU are only actors on the stage before the footlights. 
          The Director, who knows the Play, who
          assigns the roles, who gives the cues, who calls you
          in and puts you on, is behind the curtain. You are a
          puppet; He holds the strings. If He must be seen,
          you have to be His "Sakhaa" (friend) or "Bandhu"
          (kinsman). Merely being an onlooker will not entitle
          you to approach Him and be in His holy company.
          Cultivate His friendship or kinship by the attitude
          of Love and Dedicated Service.
  
 442.  TO realise the One, the Universal Absolute,
          which personalizes itself into God and creation,
          there is no discipline more valuable and more 
          effective than Seva. All the 1008 Names of the 1000-faced
          Society connote only the One God that plays in
          those 1000 roles. The One appears as if it is
          enshrined in the 1000 bodies. This is the Truth you
          have to realise and cherish as the most precious in
          life.
  
 443.  MAN cannot reap the full fruits of his life here
          below if he only gathers riches or collects
          popular votes, or loads his head with tons of tomes.
          He has to cultivate and practice virtues too. He has
          to adhere to Dharma. The Sruthis direct that man
          has to earn just enough for his upkeep by honest
          means and use the rest of his time and skill for the
          general good, Dharma-Artha. Earn Artha through
          Dharma. Then he will certainly have plenty of
          Divine Grace.
  
 444.  ONE gets the liberating Wisdom of the Reality
          through Grace, Prayer, or Prema. You cannot
          achieve the Goal through good works alone. In
          good, there is an extra "O",  something that is a mere
          Zero; that is to say, the desire which prompts you,
          the fruit that entices you, the reputation that tantalizes 
          you - these are all sheer zeros, a big 0. Leave
          it off and then we have God who is Zeroless, with no
          self intruding. That is to say, we have God. Desire
          plus Life is Man. Life minus Desire is God.
  
 445.  YOU have to busy yourselves with activity in
          order to use time and skill to the best advantage. 
          That is your Duty and Duty is God. The
          dull and the inert will hesitate to be active for fear
          of exhaustion or failure or loss. The emotional, passionate 
          individuals will plunge headlong and crave
          for quick results, and will be disappointed if they do
          not come in. The balanced persons will be active
          because it is their duty. They will not be agitated by
          anything - failure or success. The Godly will take up
          activity as a means of worshipping God; and they
          leave the result to God. They know that they are but
          instruments in the hands of God.
  
 446.  INTELLECT alone can direct man in the path of
          discrimination, between the true path and the
          false, the proper step and the improper. This is the
          reason why man has been praying since Ages
          through the Gayatri hymn; "Illumine me and
          prompt my intelligence so that I may walk aright".
  
 447.  MAN loses his status of humanness through
          acts that shame even the beasts. He does not
          strive towards revealing and manifesting his latent
          Divinity! That is not as big a failing as this sliding
          back into the animal from which he rose! If he keeps
          on with his human attributes and capacities, that
          will serve him well enough. A formidable list can be
          made of the inadequacies and defects of man but,
          the basic defect is greed; "Uncontrolled desire",
          always clamouring for more, as a result of the ceaseless 
          prompting of the senses.
   
 448.  THE human body is a temple chariot; the Atma is
          installed therein; and it 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 this 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 duality and the pain-pleasure duet, that is part
          of the procession. Few pay attention to the Atma,
          the Crown and Consummation of human existence.
  
449.  SAGES and Saints have known that the most
          noteworthy achievement of the senses of man is
          the glorification of the God within. "They are not
          eyes, they are but globules of glass, that do not earn
          a vision of God", says one. "They are not ears, they
          are but muscular protrusions that do not relish the
          praise of God" says another. Surdas condemns the
          hand that does not worship God and calls such
          hands "sticks of wood". The World and its attractions 
          may appeal to your instincts and impulses but,
          God draws out your Love, as no worldly being can.
          Develop the inner vision and the habit of listening
          to the inner Voice; and you are assured of unshakable 
          Peace and infinite Joy.
  
 450.  LIVE without hating others, condemning others
          and seeking faults in others. Vyasa, who wrote
          eighteen voluminous Puranas, summarised all the
          Puranas in one single line of a small couplet: "Doing
          good to others is the only meritorious act; doing evil
          is the most heinous sin". When you feel you cannot
          do good, at least desist from doing evil. That itself is
          meritorious service! Do not try to discover differences; 
          discover unity. Creeds, castes and country of
          origin may differ; but the inner hunger is the same
          for all mankind.
  
 451.  CONSIDER the word "Nara", which denotes
          "man". Of these two syllables "ra" means
          decline, decay, destruction and death. "Na" means
          "without". Man or Nara has no decay, he is immortal
          as God, for he is God. It is pitiable that man is
          misled to believe that he is the decaying, daily
          dying physical frame. Whereas "Nara" means
          Man, "Narayana" is the name for God. Nara symbolises 
          the five constituents of the Cosmos; the five
          Bhoothas (projections, elements), which emanated
          from God to form the Cosmos. The expression
          Narayana, which is used in the Scriptures, implies
          that Nara is Narayana.
  
 452.  THE spark of Love in you has to be cherished
          and fed, so that it may reach God. Then, every
          being will be God, every act will be Divine, every
          reaction you get from the outside world will be
          charged with Prema and sweetened with nectar.
          You love the God in all beings and the God in all
          beings responds with Love. Love God, though
          tribulation may be your lot. Love Him, though you
          are refused and rebuked. For it is only in the
          crucible of travail that the metal is purified and
          cleared of blemish. Adoration of God has to be
          through one name and one form; but, that should
          not limit your loyalty to that particular province
          only.
  
 453.  THE Dominion of God is without horizon. It envelops
          space and goes even beyond it. So do not allow
          the needs of worship or puja to put blinkers on your
          eyes. Do not have other names or other forms of the
          same Supra-Cosmic Magnificence, the Purushottama. 
          For hate breeds fear. Hate is the seedbed of
          anxiety, scandal, and falsehood. It drains your mind
          of peace. You may have light without oil, fire
          without smoke, breeze without a bearer fanning
          you, a chilliness in the air of your room in the sizzling 
          heat of summer. Unless you are at peace with
          yourselves and with those around you, your pulse
          will be quick and your blood will be racing in rage
          and rancour. Love alone can alleviate anxiety and
          allay fear.
  
 454.  PREMA, when you cultivate it, will remove the
          weeds of anger and malice. It will blossom
          into peace and calm. My teaching is Prema. My
          message is Prema. My activity is Prema; and My
          way of living is Prema. There is nothing more precious 
          than Love within human grasp.
  
 455.  BHARATH is the birthplace of the Vedas and of
          the Shastras, Epics and Puranas that have
          elaborated the principles enunciated therein for the
          education of the common man. It is the nursery of
          music and other fine arts, inspired by the noble passion 
          of consecrating human skills for adoring the
          Divine and communicating the super sensuous. It is
          the stuff and sustenance of the mystic and the ascetic, 
          the intellectual and the dynamic adorer of
          God. It is the field where the Science of Yoga was
          cultivated and systematized.
  
 456.  WHO is Baba? Who am I? And the answer is: I
          am the reflected image of Baba. Baba is the
          original of which I am the reflection. That is the
          relationship. That is the bond, whether you know it
          or not. Whether the image is distorted or correct,
          you do "Dhyana" morning and evening; you do
          "Japam", you engage yourself in "Sravanam",
          "Kirtanam", "Padasevanam", "Vandanam", "Dasyam",
          "Archanam", "Sakhyam" and "Atmanivedanam" - all
          for realising that you are but an image to become a
          clean, clear image of the Lord; so clean and clear
          that you merge in Him.
  
 457.  ENDURANCE, with joyful resignation of the ups
          and downs of life, is the royal road to Peace.
          Everyone craves "Sukha" and "Shanti"; but there is no
          one to instruct Youth how to win them. The
          Ramayana and the Mahabharatha are reservoirs of
          Knowledge for the seekers of Peace. They are
          replete with examples and precepts which are inspiring 
          and timely. By taking the teachings to heart,
          Purity can be attained. The pure heart directed
          towards God and reflecting His image is indeed
          Heaven, Vaikunta, or Kailasa.
  
 458.  LIVING under the impression that you are the
          body and you are destroyed with the death of
          the body is an illusion which is basically undesirable. 
          Another illusion is that happiness consists 
          in accumulating money, knowledge, comforts, 
          or reputation. Trying to be happy through
          such accumulation is like getting into the Madras
          bus and hoping to reach Bangalore. What is happiness? 
          It is the state of mind which is, by fortune,
          good or bad. By systematic education, the mind can
          attain the state. If activity is done as worship, then
          the mind can attain the state. If activity is done as
          worship, then the mind will be steady and free from
          anxiety.
  
 459.  THE word Hindu means those who keep away
          from the path of violence, away from inflicting
          injury on others, Hin (Hinsa - Injury; Violence); du
          (dura-away, distant) The Shastras declare that the
          essence of all the 18 Puranas, so highly revered in
          India, is: Merit is when you do good to another; Sin
          is when you do evil to another. When you are fixed
          in this path, you will welcome all Faiths and
          Religions as kith and kin. All Faiths attempt to train
          man along the path. Muslims, Christians, Buddhists,
          Jews, Parsis, all aspire to win the same illumination,
          through the cleansing of the mind by means of good
          work.
  
 460.  WHEN a tree first shoots forth from the seed, it
          comes up with a stem and two incipient
          leaves! But later, when it grows, the trunk is one,
          and the branches are many! Each branch may be
          thick enough to be called a trunk but, one should
          not forget that the roots send food as sap through
          one single trunk. God, the same God, feeds the
          spiritual hunger of all nations and all faiths, through
          the common sustenance of truth, virtue, humility
          and sacrifice.
  
 461.  BRAHMA'S lotus is not the stalk that grows in
          mud and rises above the waters to catch the
          rays of the sun and blossom but, the many petalled
          lotus of the Heart, each petal being the direction in
          which a particular tendency attracts the individual.
          The Bull on which Siva is said to ride is not the animal
          called by that name but, the symbol of Dharma or
          Righteousness which has the four legs; "Sathya",
          "Dharma", "Shanthi" and "Prema". Gopala did not graze
          cattle but, protected and fed "Jivis", known also as
          "Go". In the study of the Veda, you should look for the
          meaning which satisfies the head.
  
 462.  THIS Nilayam is "Prasanthi Nilayam". It is the
          abode of the highest form of Shanti - Prasanthi.
          In fact, you are, each one of you, the Nilayam of
          Prasanthi. That is why, I very often address you as
          "Shanti Swarupulaara". My object is to remind you
          that your real nature is Shanti, equanimity, peace,
          unruffledness and non-attachment. You cannot
          draw out from within you that which is not there.
          Therefore, Shanthi must be deep down, at the
          very core of your being.
      
 463.  THIS World is full of people who suffer from
          insanity but, who are still outside the asylums!
          Suddenly, when hatred envelops a country, even ordinary 
          sane people go mad and behave like savages.
          But sometimes in the Mental Hospital you will find
          one type of "mad man". He sits in a corner,
          resting without a break, watching the pranks and
          the wildness of the other inmates. The doctors will
          be thankful to him, for he needs no care; he causes
          no trouble. His madness may be melancholia or he
          may be a Jnani. The God bound man is like that. He
          is the only sane man in this mad world.
  
 464.  BECOME fit for the vision of God that you seek
          in the temples. Go humbly, with Prema in your
          heart for all creation. Take the "Hrudhayapushpa",
          full of fragrance of Prema, the "Mano-phala" uncontaminated 
          by the pests of greed and egoism. Become
          sweet in word, deed and thought, so that you can
          dedicate yourself to the services of God's Plan.
  
 465.  YOU will have seen the announcement that you
          should not bring Me fruits, flowers etc. Some of
          you I know are sad that I have announced so. But
          I tell you; Come to Me with empty hands. I shall fill
          your hands with gifts and Grace. If your hands are
          full, what am I to fill them with?
  
 466.  ALL Worship and Puja is for "Bhakthi" only; for
          the better comfort and more luxurious consumption 
          of the Worshipper himself. Devotion has
          been vulgarised into a business deal. I shall give you
          so much, provided you give me so much in return.
          If another shrine promises more, this shrine is given up.
          And if you do not get quick returns there or somewhere 
          else, some other God, might be more
          profitable. That is the way in which worldly men
          wander about in their panicky rounds.
  
 467.  YOU are as distant from the Lord as you think
          you are, as near Him as you feel you are. Well,
          let me tell you this. This distance from Me to you is
          the same as the distance from you to Me, is it not?
          But, you complain that I am far from you, though
          you are approaching nearer and nearer. How can
          that be? I am as near you as you are near Me.
  
 468.  WHEN a prisoner is taken from place to place,
          he is accompanied by two Constables. When
          man, who is a prisoner in this jail, moves from one
          place to another, he too, is accompanied by
          "Ahamkaram" and "Mamakaram": Egoism and Attachment.  
          When he moves above without these two, you can 
          be sure he is a free man, liberated from prison.
 
         
 469.  DO all the household work as acts of Worship
          for Him. That is more fruitful than hours of
          Dhyana, hours gained by entrusting this precious
          work to paid helpers. Men too must feel that frittering 
          away precious time, flitting from one vanity to
          another and seeking more and more purposeless
          means of spending days and nights, is detrimental to
          the main aim of life. Spread joy, give strength, distribute 
          courage, console the distressed, and help the
          lame to walk, and the blind to see. That is the real
          timetable of activities of man.
  
 470.  THE wealth that you hoard is not yours. The
          wealth that you have shared is yours. For
          wealth that belongs to you need not be hidden. The
          wealth that you have given away is really yours.
          That is the reason why Vedas have declared: "Not
          through actions, not through progeny, not through
          wealth can Immortality be won; it can be won only
          through renunciation".
  
 471.  IF only you surrender your wish and will and
          your fancies and fantasies to God, He will lead
          you aright, and give you peace and joy. You must
          not run after diverse ends and fleeting pleasures.
          Leave everything to God. Accept whatever happens
          as His Will.
  
 472.  GOD is the echo of the hills, the flutter of the
          leaves, the whisper of men, the babble of
          children, and the OM that is wafted everywhere.
          God is present at all places but, to recognise Him
          Saints have had to prescribe a thousand methods.
          He is in everyone, yet He evades discovery by all
          but a few, being all powerful. He is the Giver of all
          Gifts, the Providence bestowing upon us all the
          wherewithal: "Asvrithya Thishtathi" (He remains
          All Encompassing).
  
 473.  THROUGH sheer ignorance, and perversity, the
          Shastras have been ignored and set aside, and
          man is misleading himself into the belief that his
          fancies are true, just, and beneficial. Man has
          thrown his "humanness" into the crater of cruelty;
          forgetting his best interests under the influence of
          hatred, envy, conceit and power. He has cast aside
          the expanse of his culture. As a result, Peace has
          flown from the heart of man, from the fold of
          Society, and the boundaries of Nations.
  
 474.  ONE flower cannot make a garland. All flowers
          must come together to make one. So you must
          equip yourselves with strong bodies, sacred ideals,
          and unselfish intentions in order to serve your
          country. You can achieve any high ideal provided
          you are cooperative, well disciplined, soaked in
          service and sacrifice, and fully determined to succeed.
  
 475.  DO not hope to gain Grace by looking down
          upon mankind and looking up at Sai. Remember 
          that your dress, behaviour, and appearance will
          reveal your character and attitude towards others.
          Always have sweet, soft words on your tongue. Cast
          your eyes only on holy sights. Wear clean, simple
          clothes and do not imitate those who are fascinated
          by latest fashions in dress and style. How can you
          do Seva when you move so far away from the common 
          man? I advise you to "Follow the Master". By
          "Master" I mean the Conscience within you, the
          Voice of God.
  
 476.  SERVICE is God. Why has God endowed man
          with a body, a mind and an intellect? Feel with
          the mind, plan with the intelligence and use the
          body to serve those who are in need of service.
          Offer that act of service to God; worship him with
          that Flower. Put into daily practice the ideals that
          Sathya Sai has been propagating and make them
          known all over the World by standing forth
          living examples of their greatness.
  
477.  THE Upanishads proclaim that Thyaga alone can
          grant "Amrithatva" (Renunciation alone can bring
          about the Bliss of Immortality). One has to ignore all
          bonds of kinship and comradeship, give up all attachment 
          and affection, and, in the heart thus
          liberated, install God in all His Glory. This is the
          only means to earn everlasting and undiminished
          Ananda.
  
 478.  WHETHER one is a renowned scholar with expert 
          knowledge of the deepest levels of
          religious lore,  a monarch reveling in the brilliance 
          of palatial luxury, a hero of many battles, or
          a miserable victim of poverty - if one has no devotion 
          to the Lord, one does not deserve homage,
          honour, or attention.
  
 479.  DO not hesitate to practice humility and
          obedience, discipline and compassion; Give up
          pride of your status, wealth, scholarship or official
          position. "Can I, a big Officer, a rich merchant, a
          great scholar, a man highly respected in Society,
          descend to this level of clubbing with this sorrowing
          man? "Do not ask such silly questions. Everyone of
          these qualifications of which you boast will disappear 
          with death, or sometimes sooner. The
          Ananada that you give and the Love that you share
          will be your lasting possessions.
  
 480.  THE great axioms of Bharathiya Culture found in
          the Vedas - "Iswarassarvabhuthaanaam",
          "Isaavaayamidam Sarvam", "Vassudevassarvamidam"
          (God is the inner Motivator of all beings; All this is
          enveloped in God; All this is Vasudeva and the Divine
          is to be inside one). This is the inner mystery of the
          Incarnation: God incarnating in all! All are one; The
          One is All. There is only one God; He is Omnipresent!
          There is only one Religion, the Religion of Love.
          There is only one Caste, the caste of Humanity.
          There is only one Language, the Language of the
          Heart.
  
 481.  WHAT is the root of worry? Wants and the efforts 
          to fulfill them, and the fear of not succeeding 
          to the extent desired. Reduce wants and
          you reduce worry. You congregate here on the
          Nilayam verandah seeking a personal interview
          with Me, with a load of wishes in your heart; wishes,
          that you want me to fulfill! Why carry all the load?
          Carry only one load: the desire to win the Grace of
          God. He will confer what is best for you. Leave the
          rest to Him.
  
 482.  WHAT is this lifetime? Is it to struggle in the
          mire or march straight on to the eternal? You
          will get millions to tell you what is pleasing to you,
          but it is difficult to get one in a million who can tell
          you what is good for you. What is good for you is
          akin to Truth. Truth is hard but beneficial. It is
          unpleasant advice to tell a man to stick to the Truth at
          all costs; Truth alone pays dividends that satisfy.
  
 483.  PEOPLE  think that they live on food. Then how is it
          that, while the wealthy who can afford all kinds
          of food, succumb to untimely death, while the poor still
          live? Man does not live by food alone. In fact he
          lives by the power of the Soul. Without discrimination, 
          what is the use of physical strength?
  
 484.  TO presume that either from wealth or kith
          and kin you can derive mental peace, is a great
          error. Such peace only comes from God. In fact,
          there is no strength superior to Love.  Where Love is,
          there everything is. So you must live in God; and
          live in Love; then everything shall be right. You
          must make others also live in Love.
  
 485.  WE talk of Moksha. What is it? It is only giving
          up the "Anatma", the Unreal. Suppose you
          want a tumbler of fruit juice. Unless you throw
          away the water already in the tumbler, you cannot
          pour the juice in the tumbler. Similarly, unless you
          give up materialism, "Atmabhava" (spirituality), cannot 
          come to you. "Moksha" is not a distinct and different 
          "Sadhana". It is only giving up unnecessary
          desires. Through anger, wisdom is lost. Disharmony 
          is the cause of anger; of disharmony, jealousy,
          and of jealousy, ignorance is the cause.
  
 486.  MAKE your body and mind pure. This place is
          like a workshop where broken-down cars are
          repaired and made whole. Do not entertain bad
          thoughts and do bad deeds. Life is holy and sacred.
          Go through it with joy and happiness. Do not carry
          gloomy, unhappy faces. Happiness is union with
          God. This period of your life is sacred. If you can
          not derive happiness and live in Bliss at this age,
          can you be blissful when you grow old? Now, you
          have only two legs to carry; you can jump about
          freely. But when you marry and rear up a family,
          you will move like a caterpillar with many legs!
  
 487.  SO long as man is bound to the body, his God too
          has to be in a body like his own. It is often said
          disparagingly, that God is conceived as having eyes,
          nose, tongue and limbs. When the person who worships 
          has these, the worshipped too must have
          them, in order to make the worship meaningful.
          Only when one is unaware of his "form", can he
          adore the "Formless"! It is indeed surprising that
          those who laugh at God being pictured as having a
          body, do not laugh at their being enclosed in a
          body! When man has to be corrected and liberated,
          God has to come as Man, as Narayana had to do to
          save Mahabali.
  
 488.  THE Vedas are the foundation of the Bharatiya
          Culture. If in modern Society a trace of
          spiritual illumination is visible, we can ascribe it to
          this Vedic basis and the way of life I demand. All
          moral codes (Dharma) have emanated from the
          Vedas; and all the Worlds have Dharma as their sustenance: 
          "Vedamulam Idam Jagath".
  
 489.  YOU will learn that I am Prema itself; that I give
          only one thing, Ananda, through that Prema.
          My task is to distribute Solace, Courage, and Shanti.
          That is to say, My Characteristics are the ancient
          authentic ones.  Only the Manifested Form is new.
          My desire, if I can put it in so many words, is this:
          "More and more should yearn for Me. The desire
          will be realised only if I assume this Form and come
          among you".
  
 490.  EVERY day, when you sleep, where are you?
          Who are you? Your senses are inoperative; your
          intelligence is in abeyance; your mind creates a
          World of its own and, after playing in it for some
          time, it lapses into inactivity. That is sleep: the
          nearest you reach in your journey to Samadhi. Live
          in the "Atmathathwam" that will ensure "Shanti".
          With the poison of "Raga" and "Dwesha" inside you,
          how can you be pronounced healthy? If you experience 
          the "Atmathathwam", you become Bhagawan Himself.
  
 491.  ONCE Narada was asked to name the most
          noteworthy among the things of the World.
          He answered that the Earth was the biggest. But, he
          was told water has occupied three fourths of the
          Earth; it threatens to swallow up the balance too, bit
          by bit. So, water, he had to agree, was more powerful. 
          However, water too was drunk up by the Sage
          Agasthya and the Oceans were rendered dry by him
          and he, in turn, is now just a star in the sky! Is the
          sky the biggest, then? For it was covered by one
          single foot of the Vamena Avatar of the Lord. And,
          the Lord? O, He enters the hearts of the devotees
          and resides there. So Narada had to conclude that
          the hearts of Bhaktas are the grandest things in creation.
  
 492.  SANKARACHARYA came for the work of Dharma-Sthapana, 
          but he did not wage a war against
          the narrow Sectarians, or the wild Theologians who
          opposed him as a Pseudo Buddhist. He won them
          over by argument, persuasion and preaching. He
          spoke softly, but with conviction. He gave his opponents 
          a fair chance to present their cases to the
          best of their ability and sometimes he even helped
          them to clarify their own points of view. Through
          Bodha alone, can Dharma be saved in the modern
          Kali age. That is why I am engaged in Bodha, this
          task of reconstruction through Upadesa.
  
 493.  A LIFE without character is as barren as a temple
          without a lamp, a coin that is counterfeit, and a
          kite whose string has snapped. A teacher who instructs 
          pupils with his eye fixed on his salary, and a
          pupil who learns with his eye fixed on a job are
          born missing their vocation. The teacher has to help
          the pupil unfold and manifest the skills and
          qualities inherent in him and encourage him to rise
          to the fullest height he is capable of. The Divine is
          the Core in both the teacher and the pupil.
  
 494.  EVERYTHING in the Universe is vibrant with
          Sath, Chith and Ananda. We (Sath) are intelligent 
          (Chith) and blissful (Ananda). These three are
          attributes of Divinity, which is our dormant but
          dominant force. Ignorant of the truth, structures are
          built up and paraded on other bases. Mankind suffers 
          from fear and hatred on account of this fundamental 
          defect in their search for Knowledge.
  
 495.  PRAYERS for worldly ends do not reach God.
          They will reach only those deities who deal with
          such restricted spheres. But all prayers arising
          from pure Love, unselfish eagerness to render service 
          from hearts that are all inclusive, will reach
          God. For God is the very Embodiment of Love.
          We know that we can see the Moon only through
          the Moonlight. So too, God, who is Love, can be
          realised only through Love. Love is God. Live in
          Love.
  
 496.  THE desires that cling to the mind are the
          blemishes that tarnish man's inner consciousness. 
          Control the senses. Do not yield to their insistent 
          demands for satisfaction. When a corpse is
          placed on a pyre and when the pyre is lit, both the
          corpse and the pyre are reduced to ashes. So too,
          when the senses are negated, the mind too disappears. 
          When the mind disappears, delusion dies
          and liberation is achieved.
  
 497.  VAAK or voice has to be rigourously trained to
          avoid chatter and wandering prattle. Keep the
          tongue under control; do not express all you
          are prompted to say; cut that inclination to the minimum. 
          Silence will charge the battery and you can
          win through a longer period of  "Dhyana". Be full of
          Prema and then your words will spread Prema.
          They will be sweet and soothing like balm to those
          who suffer.
  
 498.  ATTACHMENT, affection and interest will create 
          prejudice, partiality and illusion; they hide
          the truth; and they dull the intelligence. Raga is
          Roga; attachment is a disease, so far as the inquirer
          is concerned. It does not become a Yogi to have
          Raga (affection); He must be free from favourites,
          fancies and fondness. Once you attach yourself to
          some person or habit or mannerism, it will be difficult 
          for you to shake them off.
  
 499.  UPASANA means that all your thoughts, deeds
          and words on those holy days must be about
          God; that you should spend the day "Near Him", "in
          Him" and "for Him". It means that eating, sleeping
          and other bodily avocations have to take a secondary 
          role and that Meditation and Japam have to
          take the main role. If your body wastes away as a
          result of these fasts, God will be blamed. So, you
          are only drawing down the calumny of people on
          the God you adore.
  
 500.  WHY must man live for years - a burden on
          earth, so much of rice or wheat consumed,
          year after year with no return in joy or peace to
          himself or others? The Petromax light will shine
          bright only when you pump air vigorously, that is
          to say, engage yourself in Sadhana and illumine
          your mind better and spread light on all who come
          near you.
  
 501.  THOSE who deny God are denying themselves
          and their glory. All have Love in their hearts,
          in some form or other; either towards the children
          of the poor or their work for the good of others.
          That Love is God, the spark of the Godly in them.
          They have Ananda however small or temporary,
          and that is a spark of God and the Godly. They have
          Shanti, Detachment and Sympathy. All these are
          the reflections of the Divine on the mirror of their
          minds. These are all mental excellences, revealed
          through an appreciation of the advantages of virtue.
  
 502.  THE principle of Love has no trace of ego or
          blemish. It is fully free from selfish attachment.
          Whatever Sai does, whatever Sai thinks, whatever
          Sai says and whatever Sai observes is all for your
          sake, not for Sai's sake. My only desire is your
          Ananda. Your Ananda is My Ananda. I have no
          Ananda apart from yours.
  
 503.  WHATEVER thoughts arise in Me are only for
          the Peace and Welfare of the World, for the
          progress of Youth and for transforming ideal boys
          and girls who will lead others along the path. You
          must dedicate yourselves for rendering enthusiastic
          service to the people of the World, recognising that
          the Sai Principle has no egoistic urge.
  
 504.  WHEN do we need Light? Not during the day,
          but when night prevails. Then we need a
          lamp, a flame, the Moon; so too, until wisdom enlightens 
          us, we need Sadhana; until we experience
          the one Unified Divine, we have to accept and practice 
          discipline, regulations and Sadhana. Ignorance
          is the Night. Knowledge is the Light. There are
          nine lamps that can illumine the mind and free it
          from darkness: Sravanam (listening); Keerthanam
          (Adulation); Smaranam; Padasevanam; Archanam
          (ceremonial worship); Vandanam; Dasyam; Sakhyam; 
          and Atmanivedanam.
  
505.  PRAYER must emerge from the effect to the
          causes. The individual Self has to yearn for the
          Supreme Self. It must emerge from a pure heart.
          Prayer drinking cup must be clean, both on the out
          side and the inside. Prayer should not arise out of
          the tongue, as music rises out of the gramophone
          record. When the song does not arise from your
          depth, when you are not involved in it, how can it
          draw God unto you? You must achieve confidence,
          then the self-confidence will lead to self-sacrifice
          and self-realisation.
  
 506.  WHOLESOME happiness arises only from
          fullness of Love, Truth, Peace, Charity and
          Fortitude. These can fructify only in the atmosphere
          of Love - Sathya Sai. Men yearn for good times,
          high status, power and good life. But seldom do
          they yearn for good thoughts, wisdom and virtue.
          What better advice can Sai give?
  
 507.  GOD is the entity close to man, dearest to man.
          Your mother and father might be far away,
          but God is right with you. Even if you do not Love
          Him, He will not depart from you or move afar.
          "Anoraniyam" say the Vedas (Smaller than the
          Atom). He becomes "Mahathmaheeyaam", expanding 
          beyond the Cosmos and fitting all with Grace.
          In every call, He will be in you. You can earn this
          Awareness through intense Love.
  
 508.  BLESSEDNESS can be conferred only by the
          Divine Source; it cannot be acquired from
          worldly achievements and triumphs. It is dependent 
          on the Immutable Triad, of Sathyam, Shivam
          and Sundaram.
              
              It assumes all forms, this Santham!
              It assumes all names, this Shivam!
              It is Sath-Chith-Anand, this only one!
              It is Sathyam-Shivam-Sundaram!
  
 509.  LET the children, even grown-up boys and girls,
          touch the feet of the Father and Mother every
          morning before the daily tasks are started; it will
          generate a reverential atmosphere in the home. Five
          minutes in the shrine room and the Namaskaram
          for Parents - let this be the daily routine. The
          Upanishads recommend this as the basic requirement 
          of our Culture: "Mathru Devo Bhava; Pithru
          Devo Bhava; Acharya Devo Bhava".
  
 510.  THE home is the temple where the family, each
          member of it is a moving temple, is nurtured 
          and nourished. The Mother is the high priest
          of this House of God. Humility is the incense with
          which the house is filled. Reverence is the lamp
          that is lit with Love as the oil and Faith as the wick.
          Spend the years of your lives, dedicating them for
          such worship in the homes that you will find.
  
 511.  PEOPLE crowd into film shows, rush towards social clubs, 
          spend days together in playing cards,
          but when they are asked to sing the Glory of God
          and purify themselves and the atmosphere, they
          clamour for concession! When the heads hit against
          each other in anger, can the feet be steady and unaffected? 
          They too will kick and trample as maliciously 
          as they can.
  
 512.  REMEMBER three things always: continue
          Seva, wherever you are; seek chances of helping 
          others; never lose an opportunity of using your
          skills and enthusiasm for the alleviation of sorrow,
          pain or distress. Again, do not omit or neglect or
          postpone your own particular spiritual Sadhana.
          Study Japam, Dhyanam, Bhajan, Namasankirtan
          and other such disciplines. Above all, have the faith
          that Swami is with you at all times and all places.
  
 513.  AS the Vedas announce, there is no Dharma
          higher than Truth. Truth gets hidden, appears
          distorted and is declared to be failing; so, the Avatar
          asserts its validity and value once again. God wears
          Truth, the good seek Truth and the bad are rescued
          by Truth. Truth liberates; Truth is power; Truth is
          freedom. It is the lamp that illuminates the heart
          and dispels doubt and darkness. The effulgence of
          God is Truth. Welcome God in your heart. Install
          Him there as a result of yearning. Be always concerned 
          with Brahman; then you are entitled to be
          known as a Brahmin.
  
 514.  INJURY inflicted on any being is sacrilege, self injury. 
          Love is transformed into poison if hate
          contaminates it. Love some, but do not hate the rest,
          for that hate will foul the Love and make it mortal.
          Love comes automatically to the realised soul; but
          the Sadhaka has to cultivate it by means of Seva and
          inquiry into the unity of the Atman. Love must
          flow not only from the tongue or head, but
          chiefly from the heart.
  
 515.  PRASADAM means Grace, which flows from
          God when He is propitiated. My Grace is ever
          with you; it is not something that is given or taken.
          It is given always and accepted by the Consciousness 
          that is aware of its significance. Win the Grace
          of your own subconscious, so that it may receive
          the Grace of God which is ever available. God does
          not deny anyone; it is only you, who deny God.
          When the gift is preferred, you have to do only one
          little act so that you may earn it. You have to extend 
          your hand to receive it.
  
 516.  THE Kshetra or Field or Body must be transmuted 
          into the Dharmakshetra, the purified
          area of Virtue and Vairagya (Renunciation of lower
          desires). Then the Charioteer will take charge and
          man gets liberated and the body becomes Brahmakshetra. 
          That is the life story of a self-realised person.
  
 517.  THE Avatara-Purusha, however, has come solely
          to save mankind, and so, He is aware of the
          pilgrim, the path and the goal. He is the master of
          creation and He is fully conscious of His power. He
          knows the past, the present and future of all. He
          leads and liberates.
  
 518.  AMBITION to earn fame in the world, to gain
          some position of authority over fellow men, to
          lead a luxurious life - this can never ensure Shanti,
          Mental Peace. Mental Peace is the result of quite
          different attainments. Wealth cannot command it,
          nor authority commandeer it! It must be won the
          hard way through Meditation, Namasmaran and
          the nine steps to the presence of the Almighty. It
          must be won on the Earth, to which man rightfully
          belongs, and not on any other heavenly body
          towards which he may dare navigate.
  
 519.  THE basic lesson that each Religion teaches is to
          surrender to the sovereign will of God and
          leave the consequences of deeds well done to the
          Lord Himself. It is His will, and your only duty is to
          shape yourself into a fit instrument. To suppress
          the assertive ego, disciplines have been laid down in
          every Religion, by every compiler of moral codes,
          by every educator and reformer of human morals.
          But the oldest, most effective and the most successfully 
          practiced system is the body of directives laid
          down in the Vedas and Shastras of India.
  
 520.  TIME ticks on relentlessly and man is born, lives
          and dies, rotating on the wheel of Karma and
          consequently unaware of the means of escaping
          from the oncoming destiny. Agony and anxiety
          have not softened his heart; adventure and achievement 
          have not made him humble. He is proud of
          his advance in the path of hatred and haughtiness.
          He revels in cruelty and sin. He displays an unholy
          satisfaction in immorality and untruth. He has
          reduced himself to a level lower than that of beasts.
  
 521.  THE receptacle may be different, but the Divine
          content is the same. The taste of sea water will
          be saline whether you test a truckload, a bowl full, a
          pit full, a sip or a drop on the tongue; the taste of
          the Divine can be experienced in the atom or the
          Cosmos, the friend as well as the foe, the virus and
          the Universe. This is the Realisation, the Liberation,
          the Illumination and the Revelation: "Sarvam Vishnumayam 
          Jagat." This sphere of change is surcharged 
          with the Omnipresent Divine.
  
 522.  THE Saints and Sages of India and even the Incarnations 
          that God vouchsafed to take in this
          land have proclaimed and practiced the
          ideal of service to fellow beings. Krishna drove the
          chariot of Arjuna during fateful days when the fortunes 
          of the Pandavas were decided at the point of the sword.
          Imagine the Lord of the Universe holding the
          reigns of Arjuna's horses. Note how Hanuman was
          elated when he rose to the status of the servant of
          Rama.
  
 523.  THERE is no discipline equal to service to
          smother the ego and to fill the heart with
          genuine joy. To condemn service as demeaning and
          inferior is to forego these benefits. If a wave of service 
          sweeps over the land, catching everyone in its
          enthusiasm, it will be able to wipe off the mounds
          of hatred, malice and greed that infest the World.
          Attune your heart so that it will vibrate in sympathy 
          with the woes and joys of your fellow men.
          Fill the World with Love. Love will warn you
          against advising another to do something which
          you are unwilling to do; your conscience
          will tell you that you are living in a lie!
  
 524.  ASCETIC practices, years of constant recitation
          of the Name, pilgrimage to holy places and
          shrines, study of the sacred books - these will not
          help the aspirant to spiritual victory as much as
          communion with the Godly and the good. Bharath
          is a rare treasure house of spiritual jewels; it can
          confer all boons on the sincere.
  
 525.  NEVER give up the Gayatri. You may give up or
          ignore any other Mantra, but you should recite
          Gayatri at least a few times a day. It will protect
          you from harm, wherever you are - traveling,
          working or at home. Westerners have investigated
          the vibrations produced by this Mantra and have
          found that, when it is recited with the correct accent
          as laid down in the Vedas, the atmosphere around
          becomes visibly illumined. So Brahmaprakasa, the
          effulgence of Brahma, will descend on you and illumine 
          your intellect and light your path when this
          Mantra is chanted. Gayatri is Annapurna, the
          Mother and the Force that animates all life.
  
 526.  THE lotus has as many as a thousand petals.
          They all emanate from the Central Karnika or
          pericarp. Each petal draws its strength, sustenance,
          colour, fragrance and charm from the Karnika.
          Detached from the Karnika, the petal cannot survive. 
          That attachment and that affection can be
          secured when the petal clings to the ideals of Sai
          and the lessons of Sai. In My message to you, there
          is no scope for your seeing differences or distinctions 
          among those you serve. "Loka Samastha
          Sukino Bhavanthu", (May every being in all the
          Worlds be happy); That is My wish and Blessing.
  
 527.  FROM the narrow vision of  "individual need"
          man must voyage out into the broad vision of
          the "Universal". When a drop of water falls into the
          Ocean, it loses its narrow individuality, its name
          and form, and assumes the form, name and taste of
          the Ocean itself. If it seeks to live separately as a
         "drop", it will soon evaporate and be reduced to
          non-existence. Each one must become aware that
          he is part of the one Truth that encompasses everything 
          in the Universe. It is reprehensible to stick,
          for one's whole lifetime, to the narrow path of selfishness, 
          envy and greed. Make the heart big and
          the mind pure.
  
 528.  MEN may have super abundance of food, clothing 
          and housing, but their hearts may be dry
          and their spirits gloomy. Sense control, self-confidence, 
          contentment, absence of hatred and greed
          are far more precious possessions than land,
          money or houses.
  
 529.  THERE are four "F's" that you will have to fix
          before your attention: (1) Follow the Master; (2)
          Face the Devil; (3) Fight to the End; and (4) Finish at
          the Goal. "Follow the Master" means: observe Dharma. 
          "Face the Devil" means: overcome the temptations 
          that beset you when you try to earn Artha 
          (wealth or the wherewithal to live in comfort). "Fight
          to the End" means: struggle ceaselessly; wage war
          against the six enemies that are led by Tama or lust.
          And finally, "Finish at the Goal" means: do not stop
          until the goal, Moksha (Liberation from ignorance
          and delusion) is reached. The "F's" are fundamental
          for the pursuit of the four Purusharthas - Dharma,
          Artha, Kama and Moksha.
  
 530.  I HAVE not been Manager, Secretary, President or
          Chairman. I am the example, the Leader, the
          Guide. I have none to compel Me, nor do I profit.
          Still I work in order to guide and teach. If I remain
          inactive, how can the wheels of the World revolve?
          I attend even to the minutest detail of every arrangement 
          here - the stage, the dais, tarpaulins, sheds,
          water tanks, pumps and everything else. I do
          everything even for Myself. So I do not need your
          Seva. If you do Seva to those who gather here, that
          gives Me Ananda. I need no other food beyond
          Ananda.
  
 531.  NO bird casts the seed on land to grow food for
          itself, nor do beasts plough and enclose fields
          claiming, "this is mine, this is for my children and my
          children's children". "Nishkama-Karma" is the
          natural face of activity for the children of God, the
          progeny of Immortality. They sing and swim, they
          dance and drive, they talk and walk and they pray
          and pine, because they must; it is the nature too.
          They do not know what will happen as a consequence; 
          they do not care; they do not anticipate any
          result. They are just themselves when they do these
          things. It is Sahaja-Lakshana, their innate nature
          and their inborn characteristic.
  
 532.  JNANA is not an attribute of the Universal Absolute 
          (Param-Atma). It is Param-Atma itself.
          The Upanishads declare, "Sathyam-Jnanam-Anantham-Brahma"
          (Truth, Wisdom and Eternity-is Brahman). 
          Jnana is the fulfillment, it is the goal, the consummation. 
          Man is as ugly as a face without a nose if he
          has no wisdom, whatever other attainments he may
          decorate himself with!
  
533.  AGRICULTURE is for living; mind culture is for
          life. Skills are for shaping material things so
          that they cater more to the comfort of man; studies
          are for shaping attitudes, feelings, desires, emotions
          and impulses of man, so that they may confer more
          peace, more joy and more fortitude on man.
  
 534.  ONE day, Anjaneya appeared in a garden on the
          outskirts of Dwarka. Krishna, who heard
          about the pranks of the strange Monkey, directed
          Garuda to proceed and scare the animal out of the
          city limits. Garuda failed, even though he later took
          the entire army with him for the fray. His pride was
          humbled. Krishna sent a message through him to
          the Monkey, who had declared himself as Anjaneya,
          that he should deign to come to Krishna's court.
          But Anjaneya, recognised only Rama and would
          obey only Rama. So Krishna had to send another
          message that Rama was calling him to His audience
          hall! Devotion compels the Lord to yield to the
          whims of His servants. Anjaneya hurried to see
          Rama and Krishna gave him the dharsan of Rama
          Himself.
  
 535.  EGOISM will be destroyed, if you constantly tell
          yourself, "It is He, not I"; "He is the force, I am
          but the instrument". Keep His name always on the
          tongue, and contemplate His glory whenever you
          see or hear anything beautiful or grand. See in
          everyone the Lord Himself moving in that form. Do
          not talk evil of others; see only good in them. Welcome 
          every chance to help others, to console others
          and to encourage others along the spiritual path.
  
 536.  MAN is suffering because he cannot rid himself
          of the greed for sense objects and sense
          pleasures or Vishaya-Vasana. He knows that he
          has to give up whatever he earns and collects,
          sooner or later; but yet, his attachment waxes instead 
          of wanes as the years go by. If every man on
          Earth could take with him on death even a handful
          of mud from the Earth, there would have been
          nothing much left and mud would have been rationed 
          at so many ounces per head!
  
 537.  YOU have read that the Lord, melted and moved
          when one performs acute Thapas, comes and
          asks softly and sweetly: "My dear child, what is it
          you need"? He wants you to express in words what
          you have yearned for and ask the Lord whom you
          have brought before you through the exercise of
          silence. That is the little game He plays. And sometimes 
          He wills that the questioner answers in the
          way His plan demands.
  
 538.  TO cross safely the flood of  "Birth-Death-Continuum", 
          the bridge called Nishta or discipline
          of an unflinching kind is essential. It must be
          sturdy, a safe bridge or else you will fall into the
          raging waters and be drawn into the sea, infested
          with the sharks: Lust and Anger. See how great
          heroes like Prahalada did not lose their hold on the
          Lord, in spite of heavy odds. Prahalada never gave
          up the repetition of the Name of the Lord, though
          he was tortured, twisted and burnt. One must have
          that determination and faith.
  
 539.  SORROWS and disasters are like the clouds that
          flit across the sky; they cannot injure the blue
          depths of space. Your duty is just to strive on from
          this very moment. Do not vacillate or postpone.
          Who knows when death knocks? Maybe, he will
          knock this very night, this very moment; therefore,
          do not delay. Do you postpone for tomorrow the
          dinner of this day! Feed the spirit as scrupulously
          as you now feed the body.
  
 540.  YOU will find that you have craved only for
          paltry things and for momentary distinctions
          for fleeting fame; you should cry only for God, for
          your own cleansing and consummation. You
          should weep, wailing for the six cobras that have
          sheltered themselves in your mind, poisoning it
          with their venom: Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment,
          Pride and Malice. Quiet them as the snake charmer 
          does with his swaying flute. The music
          that can take them is the singing aloud the Name
          of God. And when they are too intoxicated to move
          and harm, catch them by the neck and pull out their
          fangs as the charmer does. Thereafter they can be
          your play things; you can handle them as you
          please.
  
 541.  IF you seek to fulfill low desires, why come here?
          Come here only if you seek to earn Grace. Go to
          a hospital only when you are resolved to take the
          drug the physician prescribes and go through the
          regimen he lays down. So, obey the directions that
          I give, whatever others may say or however difficult
          they may appear to be. You have not come to
          Prasanthi Nilayam to please those others. You have
          to please Me.
  
 542.  PRASANTHI NILAYAM is the centre for Spirituality
          uplifting the whole World; devotees from all
          over the World are here. The slightest mistake or
          wrong committed by you will be the talk of the
          World. Your behaviour must be exemplary; every
          country must learn from you. The foundation must
          not give way. You must be strong and steady, sincere 
          and straight.
  
 543.  RAMA is the personification of Dharma. So Rama
          partakes of the Excellence of the Vedas. The
          Mahabharatha is generally known as the Fifth Veda.
          And the Bhagavatha describes the Glory and the
          Grace of the Lord and His splendour as the Indweller 
          in All. So, that too is as efficacious as the
          Vedas to elevate man and to release him from the
          bondage to the mean and the sordid.
  
 544.  PEOPLE talk loud and long from all kinds of
          platforms about Dharma, Prema, Shanti, Daya,
          Sathya, etc. This is published in the Newspaper the
          next day and there their purpose ends. The paper
          of today is the wastepaper of tomorrow! It is used
          for packing or thrown into the dust heap and burnt
          as refuse. That is the story of all platform professions. 
          Put into practice a fraction of what you
          preach.
  
 545.  TURN the key in the lock to the right, it opens;
          turn the same key to the left; it is locked. Turn
          your mind towards the objective World, it is locked,
          caught, entangled. Turn it to the right, away from
          the objects of the senses; the lock is loosened, you
          are free and deliverance is at hand. How to turn
          right? Well, begin with Namasmarana, as the first
          step. That will itself take you through the second
          and the third....to the very goal.
  
 546.  IF Liberation means the stoppage of grief and the
          acquisition of joy, then it is easy. What you have
          to do is to place all your burdens on God; that
          makes you free of grief and carefree. Then, when you
          take everything as the Leela of the Lord you love, you
          clap your hands in Ananda whatever may happen,
          for it is His Leela and you are as happy as He is,
          when His plans are going through!
  
 547.  YOU heard of the methods by which the Shastras
          have asked man to pay his debt to the Gods, the
          Sages and the Ancestors. You heard how Sanathana
          Dharma has laid down a "thornless Path" for the
          progress of man, from Humanity to Divinity!
          Thornless or thornful, each has to tread the path,
          alone and in full confidence.
  
 548.  THE mind must become the servant of the intellect, 
          not the slave of the senses. It must discriminate 
          and detach itself from the body. Like the
          ripe tamarind fruit, which becomes loose inside the
          shell, it must be unattached to this shell, this casement 
          called body.
  
 549.  LIBERATION is just the awareness of Truth, the
          falling off of the scales of delusion from the eye.
          It is not a suburb of select souls, it is not a closed
          monopoly of expert Sadhakas. Like the Godavari
          losing its form, its name and its taste in the sea,
          Liberation dissolves the name and form, aptitudes
          and attitudes. You are no more a separate, particular 
          individual.
  
 550.  YOU are happy that you have come on a
          pilgrimage here, but let Me tell you one thing:
          unless you control the stream of desire that springs
          in the mind, this is just a wasted opportunity. If
          your wish is fulfilled, you revere Me; if it is not,
          you revile Me. That is how Desire debases you.
          When one wish is fulfilled, ten rise in its place. For
          there is no dearth of want; the same person has
          come to Me seeking success at the examination, then
          a job, then a father-in-law, then a child, then a rise in
          the salary, a transfer to a cheaper place and a seat in
          the Medical College for his son - a never ending
          series of wants, until at last he comes seeking My
          Grace for an end to worldly pursuits and for initiation 
          into the path of spiritual liberation.
  
 551.  NO one can liberate you, for no one has bound
          you. You hold on to the nettle of worldly
          pleasures and you weep for pain. The kite is pursued 
          by the crows so long as it carries the fish in its
          beak. It twists and turns in the sky trying to last and then
          it drops the fish. That moment it is free. So give up
          the attachment to the senses; then grief and worry
          can harass you no more.
  
 552.  WHEN you know that thieves have broken into
          your neighbour's house, you become extra
          cautious and, every night before you retire, you examine 
          every lock and bolt in the house. When you
          know that death has carried away a victim from the
          house next door, why do you not examine yourselves, 
          whether you are equipped to meet it when it
          comes for you? Why do you immerse yourselves in
          distractions like building houses, piling bank balances, 
          celebrating picnics and contesting elections.
          Engage yourselves rather in things that will make
          you immortal and serve your best interests by service 
          to the World! Seek your own Reality; that is
          what a wise man should do.
  
 553.  DHARMA purifies the mind and leads you to
          God. It creates a taste for the Name and Form
          of God. When you love the name and form of
          Krishna, you will naturally respect and obey the
          command of Krishna, His Agna, which is found in
          the Bhagavat Gita. Have the Name on the tongue
          and the Form in the eye, and the demon called Aasa,
          unending desire, will fly from your mind, leaving
          joy and content therein. This kind of constant
          dwelling on the indwelling God will promote Love
          for all beings. You will then see good in others and
          you will strive to do good to others.
  
 554.  REMOVE the vices of lust and hatred, and put
          out the raging flames of anger and greed, then
          the innate Santham and Soukhyam and the
          Swarupam and Sevabhavam of Man will manifest
          themselves unhindered. Santham is the Swarupam,
          and Soukhyam is the Swabhavam of man.
  
 555.  THE very fact that man is equipped with
          memory, mind, intelligence, discrimination, the
          ability to anticipate the future and the desire to
          detach himself from the senses is an indication that
          he is destined for some higher goal. In spite of this,
          if man craves for a lesser consumption, he is a Papi
          (Sinner). But he, who persists in spite of temptations 
          and obstacles on the path that leads to self-fulfillment 
          and self-realisation, is a Gopi, for the Gopis
          of Brindavan were the most inspiring examples of
          such souls.
  
 556.  FROM birth to death, man is the slave of urges
          and hesitations. One must examine these and
          rely more on those that lead him towards subjective
          joy rather than objective pleasure. Subjective joy
          can be acquired by harmony at home, mutual
          cooperation among the members of the family and
          community, acts of service to others and concern for
          the welfare and prosperity of the Society in which
          one is living.
  
 557.  THE body can be clean if washed with water.
          Speech can be clean if it is saturated in Truth.
          Life can be purified if it is sanctified by Tapas; and
          the intellect can be cleared of blemish through
          Jnana. Above all, the conviction that you are not
          the body but only a resident of the body has to grow
          in you. If you identify yourselves with the body
          that you carry about with you, you are inviting sorrow 
          and suffering to overwhelm you instead of the
          joy and peace which are awaiting to bless you.
  
 558.  WHEN the Gita directs you to give up all Dharmas 
          (Set codes of morality), it does not ask
          you to also give up all Karma (activity); that is to
          say, you have to do Karma, and when you do it for
          God, through God and by God, the Dharma of it
          does not matter; it has to be acceptable and it is
          bound to benefit you. The statement is not an invitation 
          to licentiousness or complete inactivity. It
          is all for dedication and surrender to the highest in
          Man, viz. God.
  
 559.  WEAKNESS, vacillation and despair bring
          dishonour on Him who conferred on you the
          honour of "Amirthesya Puthraah". You are "Bala-Swarupa", 
          or the Nature of strength. Whenever accosted, 
          you must declare yourself so and not otherwise. 
          Do not bend and cringe and barter your
          self-respect. Do not believe that you are a little
          lump of body. You are the indestructible immortal
          Atma of the same nature as Brahman itself.
  
 560.  DO not admit into your mind the demon of
          Asanthi. Direct all your cleverness and all
          your intelligence to the successful execution of the
          great Drama, in which all of you are taking part at
          present. It is His Drama. He is the Director, you
          play a role, an actor carrying out His Will, speaking
          the words that He put in your mouth and making
          movements as directed by Him.
  
561.  THE experience of this one life must be enough
          to show you that there is no joy unmixed with
          grief, that both grief and joy are short lived and
          they both depend on the mind and its control. You
          do not require the experience of a series of lives to
          grasp this patent fact. This World is keeping you in
          bondage; it is a prison from which you must get
          released; and you should not plan to return to it
          again and again.
  
 562.  THE eye which is scarce two inches long can see
          millions of miles into space but is incapable of
          seeing itself! Man too is as shrewd and as weak as
          the eye. He can analyse others "motives, count
          others "faults and map out others "skills and
          capacities but, he is powerless to analyse himself,
          his feelings and his emotions. Unwilling to discover
          his own faults, he cannot assess his innate skill and
          realise his inner reality! But the power can be acquired 
          if you keep company with Sadhakas
          (aspirants for spiritual progress), not otherwise.
  
 563.  DO not imagine yourselves as Hindus for the
          reason that you are born in Hindustan. You
          are too entangled in the rules of Caste, the
          Ceremonial of rituals, and the coils of Astrology to
          grasp your own inner Reality. You do not realise
          the spark of Divinity in you and try to raise it into a
          flaming fire of Divine Splendour, reducing your
          pretty "I" into ashes. Sanathana Dharma tells you
          about that spark and teaches you how to foster it
          and develop it. When you ignore this Dharma and
          allow Science to entice you, you are bringing disrespect 
          to your culture and disowning your country.
  
 564.  TO spend some time in the Divine presence is a
          fortune which is a reward for past merit. You
          are here, going through Sentences from Courts for
          delinquencies. Let me tell you that all men are undergoing 
          Sentences for long or short periods with
          simple or hard labour, to atone for misdemeanors
          and crimes done by them in their past lives. Every
          fall makes a dent; every fault has to be corrected;
          and every sin has to be cleansed. Everyone is a
          prisoner.
  
 565.  INSIST that you are the body, the mind, the senses 
          and the intelligence. It encourages you to
          care for the strengthening of the body and its
          beautification; to cater to the fancies that attract the
          mind; to pursue the fleeting pleasures of the tongue
          and eye; it tells you that reason is the only instrument 
          for measuring Truth and decries intuition and
          experience. "Mine" teaches you to grab, acquire and
          possess, merely for the joy of possession and the joy
          of depriving others of things of value. But the
          mind can also be used for Liberation from these two
          shackles, I and Mine. Let it be fixed on God; they
          will both disappear.
  
 566.  MAN thinks that he knows everything,
          but when asked about himself, he hangs down
          his head in shame. Man knows the news of every
          land but he is ignorant of the nuisance that he
          is to himself and others. He is moving in darkness but
          yearning for Ananda. He does not know the means of
          securing Ananda: Prayer, Seva, Study of Spiritual
          Texts, Meditation and Silence. He has no faith that he
          is Ananda and that Ananda is his own nature. He is
          blown away by calamity, for he has no strength to
          withstand the blow. Faith in the God within is the
          toughest shield against the thrusts of Fate.
  
 567.  NESTS laboriously built by birds are torn away
          by storms; the fragrant petals of flowers are
          felled by rain. Defeat and victory are the obverse
          and reverse of the same coin; when you welcome
          one, you have to willy-nilly welcome the other, too.
          Forbearance, compassion and incorruptible virtue
          are the three pillars of a happy life. Only such a life
          can be called civilized; the rest is barbarian existence.
  
 568.  PRAYER for some benefit or gain should not be
          addressed to God, for it means that God waits
          until He is asked! Surrender to Him; He will deal
          with you as He feels best and it will be the best
          for you. God does not dole out Grace in proportion
          to the praise He receives!
  
 569.  WHEN you pray for a thing from God, you run
          the risk of condemning Him, if for some
          reasons the Prayer is not answered the way you
          want it to be or as quickly as you want it. This
          contingency arises because you feel that God is an
          outsider, staying in some Heaven or holy spot,
          far away from you. God is in you, God is in every
          word of yours, every deed and every thought.
          Speak, do and think as befits Him. Do the duty that
          He has allotted to you to the best of your ability and
          to the satisfaction of your conscience. That is the
          most rewarding Puja.
  
 570.  WHEN you stand before another, his image is
          in your eye and your image is in his; have
          you not observed this? You are in Him, I am in you:
          that is the Truth this phenomenon proclaims. When
          you believe in this, and when you cultivate Love,
          Humility, Reverence for Life and Tolerance, you are
          on the Right Path. When you are not on this Path,
          that is to say, when you are traveling left, you are
          certainly left out when it is a question of sharing
          Divine Grace.
  
 571.  WHEN you do not accept the insult someone
          casts on you, it goes back to the person who
          indulged in it first; a registered letter that is not accepted 
          returns to the sender. Do not damage your
          mental peace by receiving the letter and reading the
          contents. Refuse to receive it. You have a chance of
          correcting the wrongdoers too; accept it and pin
          the gang of mischief makers. So be warned!
  
 572.  I KNOW many parents who dote on their children
          and admire them when they learn the bad habits
          of gambling or drinking! They do not curb them
          when they swagger about in the bazaars, teasing
          and bullying those who pass by. They do not instill
          into the young minds the attitude of reverence
          towards property belonging to others. As a consequence, 
          their children land themselves in trouble
          and, then, the parents repent and curse themselves
          for their unpardonable foolishness.
  
 573.  IF the parent is a drunkard, a gambler and a
          cheat, no amount of textbook ethics can cure the
          sons. I like children and the young innocence. I will
          not allow them to be blamed. The fault lies wholly
          on the shoulders of the elders, the parents, and the
          leaders who shape the norms which they imbibe.
  
 574.  CLEANSE your emotions, passions, impulses, attitudes, 
          and reactions. That is the essence of
          spiritual discipline as laid down in all Faiths. Examine 
          your mind, your thoughts; do not seek the
          fault ridden person. Seek only purity; speak ill of
          none. Do not humiliate anyone; respect him for the
          good in him. Their grief at your behaviour will
          haunt you during your last moments.
  
 575.  LIFE is a mosaic of pleasure and pain - grief is an
          interval between two moments of joy. Peace is
          the interlude between two wars. You have no rose
          without a thorn; the diligent picker will avoid the
          pricks and gather the flower. There is no bee
          without the sting; cleverness consists in gathering
          the honey nevertheless. Troubles and travails will
          haunt you but you must not allow them to deflect
          you from the path of duty and dedication.
  
 576.  IF you feel you must have something to be happy,
          pray to God: "God, you have the responsibility to
          keep me healthy, happy, good and intelligent; give
          me this thing which I believe is necessary for my
          happiness; but, if you think I am wrong, give me
          whatever you think best". God will never desert His
          obligation. He will feed you and foster you.
  
 577.  HAVE patience; do not, in your hurry, enjoy
          cheap joys, fall into error and unrighteous
          deeds. Have faith that God will add unto you all
          the joys that you desire and deserve. People ask
          men for favours; they extend their hands towards
          others and plead "Dehi" (Give). But, "Dehi" means
          also, "He who dwells in the 'Deha' or Body; which
          is God". So, do not humiliate that "Dehi" by
          calling out "Dehi" before others. Say "Dehi" to the
          Dehi; He will respond generously and graciously.
  
 578.  WOMEN preserve the culture of this country
          with greater tenacity and faith. They keep
          men on the moral path and inspire them to follow
          spiritual discipline. Their hearts are tender and full of
          compassion for the hungry and the distressed. That is
          why in this land, women are adored and revered.
  
 579.  ELDERS quote the Shastras that say that the home,
          where the floor is soaked by the tears of a woman,
          can never see prosperity. Sri Ramakrishna
          Paramahamsa took great care to see that Saradamani
          Devi did not take his simple jokes and ridicules too
          much to heart, for then she might shed tears. We
          honour the land where we are born as our "Mother
          Country", the language we learn on our mother's lap
          as "mother tongue", and the Scripture that teaches us
          Morality as "Mother Veda". In this way, every Indian
          has four mothers, including the mother who gave
          birth to him. According to Indian Culture, all these
          have to be adored as Divine.
  
 580.  THOSE who deny God, the Supreme Will or
          the First Cause, can give no real satisfactory
          justification for their stand; nor can those who assert
          that there is God. Both have to rely on their own
          experience. After all, how can sweetness be denied
          by one who refuses to taste sugar? How can one be
          convinced that sugar is sweet until one tastes it? We
          have to feel the great marvel of energy, manipulating 
          both, the minutest atom and cell and the vastest,
          most distant star. How else can we understand the
          Omnipresence and Omnipotence, except by accepting 
          God as the Architect of the Cosmos?
  
 581.  FOLLOW the call of the Divine arising from the
          hearts of all living beings. Serve them in an attitude 
          of worship, not expecting something in
          return. Do not even accept gratitude, having dedicated 
          all your acts to the indwelling God. This will
          purify you, so that you shall be able to listen to the
          "Soham" that your breath repeats every moment.
          "Soham" transmutes itself into OM when the distinction 
          between He and I has dissolved itself in the
          process of "Samadhi".
  
 582.  MAN is born for the attainment of Joy, not for
          sheer eating and reveling. Real and lasting
          Joy can be won only by a life led along the path of
          Dharma which makes the inherent Divinity of Man
          shine forth; Illumination is the purpose of life; of the
          recurring sequence of birth and death. Man has in
          him the spark of Divinity which is Omnipresent,
          Omniscient, Omnipotent and immanent in the entire 
          Universe. In order to become ever aware of this
          innate Reality, man must learn the technique laid
          down by the Scriptures revealed by the same
          Divinity.
  
 583.  THE very first lesson of the Primer of the
          spiritual text is "Control of Speech". Speech is
          the armament of man; other animals have fleetness
          of foot, sharpness of claw, fang, horn, tusk, beak
          and talon. But man has sweetness of Speech which
          can disarm all opposition and defeat all the designs
          of hatred. Sweetness makes you "Pasupathi" - Divine; 
          harshness makes you "Pasu" - bestial.
          Mere outward politeness or sweetness is hypocrisy!
          Sincere speech must flow from real sweetness of
          heart, a heart full of love. Remove all evil from the
          Manasarovar, the pellucid lake of your Mind, and,
          make it a fit abode of Godhead.
  
 584.  START from today a new Chapter in your life,
          the Chapter of Japam and Dhyanam, Japa-
          Sahitha Dhyanam or Dhyana Sahitha-Japam. In the
          Tretha Yuga, the Name was Sitharama; in the
          Dwapara, it was Radha-shyama; and in the Kali
          yuga, it is Sarvanam, that is to say, all Names of the
          Lord; you can select any one that appeals to you.
  
 585.  EVERY man desires to acquire Ananda. From
          where can Ananda be acquired? Faith alone can
          win Ananda. Peace can be gotten only through Faith;
          Faith is the spring of Joy. But now we see Sorrow,
          wherever we cast our eyes. Why does this happen?
          Because man has lost Faith. He has no Faith in
          himself. How then can he acquire Ananda? How
          can a person, who has not enough Faith to live
          happily for a few days, win the Grace of God?
  
 586.  NAMASMARANA is the process by which this
          dedicatory attitude can be cultivated and confirmed. 
          When confronted by calamity, you must attach 
          yourself to this Sadhana even more firmly, instead 
          of losing faith in it and getting slack. The
          drug should not be given up when it is most
          needed. The pity is that, when the first disappointment 
          faces you, you lose courage and confidence
          and give up Rama or Krishna or Sai Baba.
  
 587.  MANY of you have problems of health or mental 
          worry of some sort or other. They are
          mere baits by which you have been brought here, so
          that you may contact the Grace and strengthen your
          faith in the Divine. Problems and worry are really
          to be welcomed as they teach you the lessons of
          humility and reverence.
  
 588.  BHARATHVARSHA knew that the secret of
          Peace lay in Service and Love towards all
          beings. The Culture of this land proclaimed that the
          best form of Service is to foster the practitioners of
          the good life; the Sages and the Sadhakas. Do not
          decry the servants of God; do not obstruct the
          charity of the generous; do not discourage the study
          of the Scriptures, even if you cannot positively
          promote any of these; that is the lesson taught in
          this land.
  
589.  AT present, everyone is after Sukha. The hunt
          for comfortable jobs and positions of influence,
          the founding of banks and business houses, the
          growth of bungalows - all this is evidence of the
          eagerness to live in happiness. But there is no eagerness 
          to live in Shanti. Sukha is confused with Shanti.
          Sukha is taken to be the same as Shanti. None of
          the rich, well placed, prosperous or powerful
          have Shanti. You can investigate and find out for
          yourselves the truth of this. Shanti is not found in
          the Pass-Book or many roomed bungalows or
          godowns or iron safes. Your whole attitude is
          topsy-turvy.
  
 590.  GO straight along the path of Karma and Dharma 
          towards Brahma; this is your destiny.
          Karma has to be done; there is no turning away.
          Each has his allotted task, according to the status
          taste, tendency and earned merit. Do it with the
          fear of God and of sin deep in your heart. Welcome
          pain and grief, so that you take both success and
          failure as hammer-strokes to shape you into a sturdy 
          Sadhaka. Inner contentment is more important
          than outer prosperity.
  
 591.  THE Sun is about 90 million miles distant from
          our Earth. The most distant planet so far
          known is Pluto, which is nearly 3670 million miles
          away from the Sun. It takes 248 long years to make
          one journey around the sun. Well! Has God planned
          all these heavenly bodies out of sheer caprice? Or
          does He intend to convey any lesson through these
          happenings? God will never produce an effect
          without cause or purpose. Nor will He manifest
          substance without value. Why? The rotation of the
          Earth on its own axis, for example, causes the
          seasons, the formation of clouds and the falling of
          rain. God has graciously willed to establish peace
          and prosperity on Earth.
  
 592.  FRIENDSHIP must serve as lids for the eye, as
          sandals for the feet. The friend must be
          "another Me". He must experience, in equal depth,
          the joy and the grief of the other. Friends must be
          like milk and water. Let Me elaborate this example.
          When milk, when mixed with some water 
          is placed on a burning stove, the water goes,
          off as steam. The milk laments the separation and
          boils over. Then, the only way to keep it calm, is to
          sprinkle a spoon or two of water; its friend is back
          and it is happy. Milk cannot tolerate separation
          from its friend.
  
 593.  OUR friends today attach themselves not to you
          but to your purse or to some advantage they
          can gain through your father's kindness. When your
          purse is empty or when your father is no longer in
          power, they bid you good-bye. Friends who drag
          one away into evil habits and vicious deeds are
          prowling around in search of victims.
  
 594.  UDYOGAM Purusha Lakshanam, it is said.
          Ud-yoga means, as is commonly understood,
          employment in some job, something that is worth
          doing. No, it means Ud (Higher) Yoga (spiritual
          discipline): a Sadhana which has assumed the status
          of a job. All jobs that you take up are Ud-yogas,
          higher disciplines, which mark out (Lakshanam) the
          Purusha (the man). When Artha is sought through
          Dharma, the Purushartha deserves the name,
          "Paramapurushartha", for it is Parama oriented
          towards the Para or the higher eternal values.
  
 595.  IN one of his speeches, Nehru had to acknowledge
          that there is a Destiny that shapes events, irrespective 
          of individual effort. Well, everyone will
          come to that conclusion sooner or later; for there is
          a limit to the capacity of man to control events. You
          may call it Destiny. Another may call it Providence;
          and a third, God. Names do not matter. It is the
          humility that matters; the wonder and the sense of
          awe that matters.
  
 596.  THE eye sees because it is illumined by a
          microscopic spark of the rays of the Sun. "Chakshos 
          Suryo ajayatha". From the eye, Surya was
          born. The Atma is the motive force of all the
          Senses; the eye is but a window through which
          the Atma peeps out at the external world. Of
          what use is the eye when the vision is not
          correct? Samam means Brahmam; Samadrishti
          means seeing only Brahmam, the one in all things,
          at all times. This Ekathwam is the basic Truth.
          All other experiences are partial, distorted, and
          false.
  
 597.  EDUCATION must include the education of the
          mind of man, of his impulses to hate, to hoard,
          to fight and to defame. It is not merely the acquisition 
          of certain skills by which the materials found in
          nature can be reshaped into utility products; it is not
          merely the acquisition of information about the laws
          of Nature. It is the process by which man makes the
          best of his own inner equipment, his Anthakarana,
          to know himself. It should open his inner eye more
          than his outer; the outer must reveal the Glory of
          God; and the inner must reveal the God within.
  
 598.  CHILDREN should grow in the awareness of the
          brotherhood of man and the fatherhood of
          God. If no provision is made for this atmosphere
          and this teaching, we are denying them their due.
          Faith in man involves Faith in God; Faith in God
          creates Faith in man. Without faith, man is a creature 
          bereft of roots; and he dries and withers quickly.
  
 599.  THE friends that the child collects at school and
          around the house have a beneficial or
          deleterious effect on its growth. Comics, horror
          stories, terrorism, gunmen pictures and cinema
          posters degrade man into a zero. The child learns to
          worship money and the things which money can
          buy; he admires cruelty and cunning, rather than
          Sympathy and Love. So, the Home, the School and
          the Society have to rise and take up
          this challenge posed to the future of this great land.
  
 600.  MAN is born with a great thirst and a deep
          hunger for bliss. He knows that he can get it,
          but he does not know from where. He has faint
          memories of his being the heir to the Kingdom of
          Ananda. But he does not know how to establish his
          claim to his heritage. Something in him revolts
          when he is condemned to die, to suffer and to hate.
          It whispers to him that he is the child of Immortality, 
          of Bliss and of Love. But man ignores these
          promptings and, as one exchanges diamonds for
          dirt, he runs in search of meaner pleasures and sordid 
          comforts.
  
 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.
  
701.  IN order to live up to the high standards of
          morality which Indian culture exhorts, you must
          cultivate Love, non-violence, fortitude and
          equanimity. The last three guard and foster the first,
          Love, which you must cultivate. Many people
          have succeeded, with the help of the latter three
          qualities, to get their minds established in universal 
          Love; but a large number of Sadhakas give up the
          ascent midway, because they lose confidence in their
          true selves. They do believe in God, who is the embodiment 
          of Love and is their Real sustenance.
  
 702.  YOU must have heard some people say that
          no living person can be adored as God, even
          though the Sruthi declares: "Daivam Mansushya
          Roopom" (God is to be seen in the human form).
          Perhaps they can revere only a corpse. Not Sivam,
          but Savam, is what they wish to revere.
  
 703.  OM must be recited slowly and  with
          deliberation. The sound must be like an
          aircraft, first approaching from a distance to the
          spot where you are and then flying away again into
          the distance (soft at first but gradually becoming
          louder and louder and then slowly relapsing into
          silence; this silence, after the experience being as 
          significant as the Pranavas). "U" is the zenith, the
          Kailas, reached by the sound in its adoration. "A" is
          the initial nadir and "M" the final.
  
 704.  YOU must realise that the Divine current that
          flows and functions in every living being is the
          one Universal Entity. When you desire to enter the
          Mansion of God, you are confronted by two closed
          doors - the desire to praise yourself and the desire to
          defame others. The doors are bolted by envy; and
          there is also the huge lock of egoism preventing
          entry; so if you are earnest, you have to resort to the
          key of Prana (Love) and open the locks, then
          remove the bolt and throw the doors wide open.
  
 705.  THE day on which Jesus was born is a holy day.
          He announced himself as the Messenger of
          God. In fact, all humans are born as Messengers of
          God. The sole purpose of this human career is to
          propagate the Omnipresence of God, His Might
          and Glory. No one has incarnated for merely 
          consuming food and catering to one's senses. Human
          life is much more precious than that. That is why
          the capacity to appreciate beauty, truth and goodness 
          has been endowed only on man.
  
 706.  THE Brahmin, when born, is just a Sudra; birth
          does not entitle him to take up the study of this
          Mystery, even if the boy happens to be the son of a
          great Vedic scholar. It is only when he has been formally 
          initiated by a special ceremony that he can
          start the study of Sacred Scriptures. The ceremony
          makes him a Brahmin; he is then born again into a
          sacred world of study and responsibility.
  
 707.  MY Prema towards the Veda is equaled only
          by My Prema towards Humanity. My mission,
          remember, is just fourfold; Vedaposhana, 
          Vidwathposhana, Doarmarakshana and Baktharakshana.
          Spreading My Grace and My Power along these four
          directions, I establish Myself in the Centre.
  
 708.  WHAT profit is it for the children to know the
          length of the Mississippi River or the height
          of the Vesuvius? Why load them with information they
          may never require? On the other hand, give them
          the tonic to strengthen their spirit, the tonic of the
          Repetition of the Name of the Lord, the tonic of
          meditating on the Glory of God in the silence of the
          heart. Formerly, children were learning Rama
          Nama and the Aksharamala together: "Suddha
          Brahma Paraathpara Rama". They were taught to
          read and write. Now, they sing, "Ding dong bell,
          Pussy is in the well". This type of silly meaningless
          jargon is spreading everywhere like a poisonous infection, 
          destroying the seeds of peace and joy.
  
 709.  LIVING becomes a glorious experience only
          when it is sweetened by Tolerance and Love.
          Willingness to compromise with others' ways of
          living and cooperation in common tasks make
          living happy and fruitful. Certain modes of behaviour 
          have been laid down and proved beneficial
          by centuries of practice. These have to be observed
          with modifications to suit the conditions of today.
          We are developing in each department of life, but it
          is a pity that we are not developing the unique
          qualities of human beings. Develop the Atmic
          awareness, the consciousness of the Divine and the
          acquisition of Divine attributes. Expand love and
          understanding.
  
 710.  WITHOUT mastery over the inner instruments
          of emotion, no man can be deemed to be educated. 
          The latent has to be cleansed so that the
          patent can flourish. Experience is essential for the
          confirmation of consolidation of what is learnt from
          books. We do not see any sign of this in the present
          educational system. There is no attempt to awaken
          the Divine in Man and awareness of the possibility
          of rising to the psychic plane.
  
 711.  EDUCATION must produce wisdom and moral
          character. It can be acquired only by hard living
          and spending days of toil, with no respite even for
          sleep. But present day education makes those who
          undergo it mere bonded-slaves to their senses.
          They do not know how to avoid this bondage, so
          they revel in envy, greed and egoism. What the
          country expects and demands from the educated
          person is, however, that he should set an example of
          honest labour and light the lamp of knowledge in
          every home.
  
 712.  SANKARA asserted that God is Formless and without 
          Attributes and is best described as Supreme, Effulgence 
          or Jyothi. He also said that the individual is
          not different from the Universal, that Jiva is Brahman 
          itself, that the manifold nature is also Brahman
          itself and seen through a strange veil as a mixture of
          truth and falsehood, a peculiar make-believe called
          Maya or Avidya.
  
 713.  BRAHMAN is the cause and Prakruthi (Nature)
          the effect. Nature is the deluding manifestation
          of Brahman. It is what can be called Leelavibhuthi
          or an expression of Glory (Vibhuthi) done as more
          sport (Leela). When the Leela is perceived as apart
          from Brahman, it is a false and incomplete perception. 
          The Leela is manifold, Brahman is all. To discover 
          the One in the many is the purpose of human
          existence. Brahmam is eternal. It is the Nithyavibhuthi, 
          the everlasting Splendour. It is named the
          Kingdom of God. Leelavibhuthi is Prakruthi or
          Maya or Avidya or Nature with deluding, deceptive 
          diversities.
  
 714.  SPIRITUAL health is preserved and promoted by
          attention to three Gunas: Sathvika, Rajas, and
          Thamas. Health is preserved and promoted by attention 
          to three humours: Vatha (wind) Pitha
          (bile) and Kapha (phlegm). Thri-dosha has to be
          avoided, that is to say, the three humours must not
          get vitiated or unbalanced. A healthy body is the
          best container for a healthy mind, illness makes the
          mind agitated and anxious. The material and the
          spiritual are the two pans in the balance. They have
          to be attended to, in equal measure, at least until a
          certain stage of progress is attained in spiritual
          development.
  
 715.  THERE is a conscience in Man, a whispering
          right advice, restraining unjust hands which
          man has almost succeeded in silencing; but, it is the
          voice of God; it can never be made dumb. Make the
          children cognizant of it. In Kerala there is a practice,
          still happily existing in rural parts, of the elders
          gathering the children around them every evening
          and spending an hour or so reciting aloud the
          Stotras in praise of God. It is essential that it must be
          revived. Time thus spent is well spent. It will give
          great peace and joy.
  
 716.  THE Upanishads were not composed or collected
          by persons who craved for fame or fortune; nor
          are they vapours of idlers and scribblers. They
          have the true ring of actual experience. They arose
          out of compassion for others wandering in the
          wilderness, out of concentration on the means of
          liberation from the dual chain of tears and triumph.
          Those, upon whom the people are traditionally
          depending for guidance, have become callous, forgetting 
          their task, or involved in darkness and
          dialectics. So, there is need to spread the message of
          Love, which is the message of God. Simplicity is the
          sign of Divinity. Pomp, Paraphernalia, Jaw-breaking
          formula, abracadabra and dark mysterious mumblings 
          are alien to the spirit of true Religion. These
          are tricks by which man wants to monopolise or
          gain God.
  
 717.  PEOPLE do not understand the ways of God.
          How can they know why a particular event
          takes place at a particular time, in a particular manner? 
          He alone can know. But people try to sit in
          judgment and talk ill when, for example, someone
          dies of illness at this place. How can anyone escape
          death? Even Avatars cast off the physical form
          when the task for which they have come is over. It
          is the height of foolishness to lose faith in God,
          when someone you cared for dies. The sentence,
          that he earned is over and he is released. No one is
          born and allowed to live for the sake of another.
  
 718.  I ADVISE you to utilise every moment of your
          lives in the most beneficial manner, to serve your
          fellow men to the best of your capacity, to cultivate
          Love towards all mankind and to give up hate and
          malice. Believe that your God, the Form that you
          revere, is in every one and sanctifying every act as
          worship of that Form.
  
 719.  MONKS are instructed to shave their heads so
          that they can move about unrecognised by 
          former friends and companions, but now, we find
          that they desire recognition and even appreciation,
          adulation and adoration, things that cater to the
          ego, things they are asked to flee from. A monk
          should, strictly speaking, eat like a dog and sleep
          like a fox-that is the popular saying. Eat whatever
          one gets and appease the hunger; and sleep
          wherever one finds shelter. Do not store food for
          another day or build a house wherein to pass one's
          days. Escape the entangling coils of the senses and
          of the ego that prompts them.
  
 720.  OF what benefit is the discourse of Mine if
          you do not receive it into your hearts and act
          accordingly? I find that all the efforts, all these
          years to awaken you to your duty are
          not fructifying in you. You are like the rocks on the
          seashore that unflinchingly face the beating of the
          waves. The rock does not move; the wave will not
          stop. This predicament should end. Awake and
          avail yourselves of this unique chance.
  
 721.  DRAUPADI moved into the tent and fell at the
          feet of Bhishma who blessed her spontaneously 
          as was his wont: "May you have many years of
          married life". Draupadi revealed herself as soon as
          she was blessed. She prayed that the Pandava
          Brothers, her husbands, may be saved from arrows.
          Bhishma guessed that Krishna must be the author of this
          stratagem. "We are but puppets in His hands", he
          said; and when he found Krishna at the entrance of
          the tent, he inquired what the bundle contained. Imagine 
          his dismay when he was told that the Lord
          had condescended to carry under His arms the 
          sandals worn by His devotee. Have faith in Him; He
          will never give you up; He will guard and guide
          you until victory is won. Sincere devotion and unshaken 
          faith can never fail to earn Grace.
  
 722.  IN this Kali Age, the wicked have to be reformed
          and reconstructed through Love and compassion.
          That is why this Avatar has come unarmed. It has
          come with the message of Love. The only weapon
          which can transform the vile and the vicious is the
          Name of the Lord uttered with Love.
  
 723.  BEFORE every Incarnation, two collaborators for
          the task, which causes the incarnation to come, also
          appear as Mayasakthi and Yogasakthi. Maya comes, as
          the elder sister, to warn the wicked; Yoga comes, as
          the elder brother, to enthuse and keep constant
          company. Maya thrusts Kama deeper and deeper
          into perdition, so that his downfall will be more terrible.
  
 724.  YOU cannot have this chance of being near to
          the greatest  source of joy in any other
          place. Here it is so near, so easy to attain and so full
          of grace. If you fall back, you will seldom get the
          chance again. Ask and get what will save you, not
          what will bind you. You ask from Me a thousand
          things of the World, but rarely do you ask for "Me".
          That is why I seldom address you as Bhaktas; I
          usually address you as "Divyatma Swaruplara", for
          that is your real Swarupa. This Divyatman is
          Divinity. Though you do not know it, it is a fact.
          Therefore, I can address you so, with confidence. I
          can even call you "Divya Divya Swarupalara" but as
          for Bhakti, it is a quality that will make you desire
          the Lord and nothing else.
  
 725.  WHEN the pot of milk on the hearth boils over,
          you pour cold water on it, and it settles down.
          Durvasa is the example of the pot of milk
          boiling over; and Narada of the pot of milk that
          does not. Narada had the Name of the Lord always
          on the tongue and so the senses did not establish
          mastery. If you too keep your senses and your
          wishes in check, you will gain by listening to these
          talks and by this visit; and I will be happy that you
          have taken to the path that will give you real
          strength and joy.
  
 726.  IN the past Ages, Avatars rid the world of evil,
          by destroying the few fanatics and heroes who
          wrought it. But now, fanaticism and felony reign
          in every heart. The number of Asuras or evil men is
          legion. All are wicked to some extent or other.
          Therefore, everyone needs correction; and everyone
          has to be educated and guided into the right path.
          Every being is a pilgrim destined to reach Madhava
          and merge in Him; but most people have forgotten
          the road; they wander like lost children, wasting
          precious time in the by-paths.
  
 727.  BHAKTI involves dedication with nothing held
          back; not even a wisp of ego should remain.
          His command alone counts; His will prevails. Like a
          drunkard, the Bhakta has no sense of honour or
          decency, pride or conceit. He is a Matha, as Unmatha, 
          a mad person, unconcerned with all that is
          unrelated to his ideal. He is deaf to the call of
          hunger and thirst; he misses steps in logic and he
          calculates wrongly while dealing in the marketplace.
  
 728.  Kurukshetra must be made a Dharmakshetra.
          Kurukshetra is the field where brothers fought
          over a handful of earth; but it must be made a field
          for the uplift of man through the practice of Dharma. 
          It is for the sake of Jnana that Dharma has been
          laid down. Bhakti and Karma are the two feet; and,
          the head is Jnana; walk on with the help of these
          two.
 
729.  WHEN the heart is pure, the Lord is revealed,
          He is the judge. He cannot be bamboozled.
          The doctor may assure you that you do not have a fever,
          but the thermometer cannot lie. The doctor may say
          so in order to save you from panic, but the thermometer 
          declares the truth. God knows and God
          will deal with you as you deserve. Have that faith.
          Repent for all the wrongs done and resolve not to
          repeat the mistake; then God will extend His grace.
  
 730. YOU are the citizens of no mean land. Bharath is
          indeed a Divya Bhoomi: a land saturated since
          the ages with Devotion and dedication to God, the
          path to God was sought for by even the common
          folk; and spiritual discipline permeated every activity 
          of life and every detail of daily life. You are
          the inheritor of a great culture which has survived
          the onslaughts of alien rule and political suppression.
  
 731.  WHEN someone sitting near you is immersed
          in sorrow, can you be happy? No! It may be that a
          that when a baby weeps within hearing range,
          you will get tears in your eyes in sympathy. Why?
          There is an unseen bond between the two. Man
          alone has the quality of sympathy. He alone can be
          happy when others are happy, and miserable when
          others are miserable. That is why he is the paragon
          of creation and the acme of animal advance. Man
          alone is capable of Seva; that is his special glory and
          unique skill.
  
 732.  GOOD ideas have to be accepted and bad ones
          eschewed. Each idea has to be judged in the
          Supreme Court of Viveka (Intellect). And the ruling
          has to be treated as inviolable. It is in this context
          that we have to remind ourselves of the prayer of
          Gandhiji; "Sabko Sanmathi de Bhagavan", "Oh, God
          bestow the right understanding on all".
  
 733.  YOU must devote sometime regularly for study
          and for Sadhana. Now you are wasting time till
          late at night in clubs and frivolous company. A
          portion of that time, if spent with God, can confer
          valuable results. This Motherland has given you a
          culture that is attracting distracted people from all
          parts of the world. Be grateful, study the culture
          and practice the disciplines it lays down. Serve the
          poor and the helpless and those who eke out their
          livelihood by hard work.
  
 734.  TODAY, we have factions everywhere at home,
          between husband and wife, in the school between 
          teacher and the pupil, and in Society between
          group and group, This is deterioration indeed.
          Peace and harmony between members of the same
          family are the foundation for peace in the land. The
          individual must be at peace with himself. The coordinated 
          effort of all the organs of the body is essential 
          for the healthy life.
  
 735.  FEEL happy that this is your mother country;
          love of the country is the basis on which you can
          build love for the World Community. Love expands; 
          it does not limit itself to boundaries. Love
          your mother tongue; then you will discover that all
          languages are as sweet as yours, for a language is
          as sweet as the tongues of the speakers.
  
 736.  DO not preach; practice. In politics, in the
          field of administration, in schools and colleges,
          in spiritual institutions, everywhere, we have a surfeit 
          of preachers but a famine of practitioners.
          Heroes on platforms prove themselves to be Zeros
          when they descend to the ground. Therefore,
          demonstrate in your own lives how Love can confer 
          peace and joy; how all faiths lead to the same
          goal; and how all men are brothers of one another.
  
 737.  THE only Message, the only lesson I can impart
          to you today is to remind you of the great traditions 
          of Bharath and ask you to spread Love
          throughout the length and breadth of this great
          Land. Then, India can again be the spiritual leader
          of humanity and fill the whole World with Divine
          Love.
  
 738.  STRIVE to move away from Untruth towards
          Truth; attempt to acquire knowledge of yourself
          and of the origin of all selves and thus shed your
          fundamental ignorance. Move away from the
          thoughts and anxieties about this body, subject to
          decay and death, and become aware of the immortal
          soul which you really are.
  
 739.  WHO is the real resident of the body? You are
          the positive aspect that is activating the negative 
          aspect, the body. The life-breath repeats Soham,
          every time you breathe. It means: "I am He, I am
          God"! What a profound authentic declaration the
          breath is making every moment of your life while
          waking, dreaming or in a deep sleep, whether you
          listen to it or not! If this simple lesson, this Truth
          which is being dinned all twenty-four hours of
          the day does not alert you or inform you of your
          real task, how can you understand your Reality by
          the mere study of books?
  
 740.  DO not get involved with borrowed
          ideologies, imported fashions or attitudes or
          apparels and exciting notions of social behaviour.
          Youth today is ruined by this fascination for the
          false. Borrowed ideas cannot fit into the pattern of
          our Culture. Sanathana Dharma is the Culture that
          has grown on this soil and is best suited to maintaining 
          peace and joys. You cannot shine in borrowed 
          feathers for long. They can give only temporary 
          delight. So, do not distort or disfigure your
          culture by limitation or neglect.
  
 741.  I AM neither a Sastravadin or a Budhivadin. I am
          a Premavadin. So I have no conflict with either
          the scholar who adheres to texts or the devotee of
          Reason. Both have their good points as well as their
          limitations. If you acquire Prema, then you can dispense 
          with the Shastras, for the purpose of all the
          Shastras is just that: to create the feeling of "Sarvajnana 
          Samaanaprema" equal love for all and to
          negate egoism which stands in the way.
  
 742.  PILGRIMAGES too are for elevating the heart,
          sublimating the impulses and leading the lower
          self to higher levels of thought and action. Reason
          serves the same purpose, or at least it ought to.
          Reason seeks to know the unity of the Universe, the
          origin and goal of it all, the laws that govern the
          anu and brhath, the microcosm and the macrocosm,
          and it peeps behind the curtain to
          get a glimpse of the "Suthradhara", who pulls the
          strings.
  
 743.  JUST as you tend  to the body with food and drink at
          regular intervals, you must also tend to the needs
          of the inner Atmic body by regular Japam and
          Dhyanam and the cultivation of Virtues. Sathsanga,
          Sath Pravarthana and Sath-Chinthana are all essential 
          for the growth and the health of the inner personality. 
          The body is the Bhavanam of the
          Bhabaneswara, His Bhuvanam. In so far as you are
          particular about coffee or tea at regular intervals, be
          also particular about Dhyanam and Japam at fixed
          times for the health and liveliness of the spirit.
  
 744.  IT is only when attachment increases that you suffer 
          pain and grief. If you look upon Nature and
          all created objects with the insight derived from the
          Inner Vision, then attachment will slide away
          though the effort will remain. You will also see
          everything much clearer and with a glory suffused
          with Divinity and splendour. Close these eyes and
          open those Inner Eyes and what a grand picture of
          essential unity you get. Attachment to Nature has
          limits but the attachment to the Lord that you
          develop when the Inner Eye opens has no limit.
          Enjoy that Reality not this false picture. The Lord is
          the Immanent power in everything.
  
 745.  IT is here in India that there is a mine of Spiritual
          Wisdom and Spiritual Treasure. The Dharsanas,
          Upanishads, Gita and the Vedas have to be distributed 
          pure and unsullied, guaranteed in value
          and quality to eager aspirants everywhere. We have
          had a succession of Sages and Saints. On account of
          the teachings and the lives of these people, there is a
          vast field of spiritual virtue in this Land which
          needs only a little more care to yield a rich harvest.
  
 746.  YOU must each one try to become ego-less; and
          then the Lord will accept you as His Flute.
          Once, when a number of people were asked by Me
          what they would like to be in the hands of God, I
          got various answers. Some said the Lotus; some the
          Sankha; some the Chakra; but no one mentioned the
          Murali. I would advise you to become the Murali,
          for then the Lord will come to you, pick you up, put
          you upon His lips and breathe through you and out of
          the hollowness of your heart, due to the utter absence 
          of egoism that you have developed, He will
          create captivating music for all creation to enjoy.
  
 747.  YOU have to carry on certain processes of
          thought and action in order to get to the hard
          core of faith that this World is a funny mixture of
          Sathya and Asathya, which is Mithya in fact. The
          Divine Life does not admit to the slightest dross in
          character or delusion in intellect. So, people dedicated 
          to it must emphasise this by precept and example. 
          Wipe out the root causes of anxiety, fear
          and ignorance. Then only can the true personality
          of man shine forth. Anxiety is removed by faith in
          the Lord; the faith that tells you that whatever happens 
          is for the best and that the Lord's will be done.
  
 748.  YOU are all Sath-Chith-Ananda Swarupas; only
          you are unaware of it and imagine yourself to be
          this individual or that, and subjected to this limitation 
          or that! This is the myth that must be exploded
          in order that Divine Life may start. It is the Divine
          that inspires, activates, leads and fulfills the life of
          each being, however simple or complex its physical
          structure may be. From the "Anu" to the "Brahath",
          every single entity is moving towards the estuary
          where it merges in the Sea of Bliss.
  
 749.  THE Guru very often tells you that you
          have forgotten your real name or that you have
          lost the most precious part of yourself and yet are
          unaware of the loss. The Guru is the physician for
          the illness which brings about the suffering of alternate 
          birth and death. He is an adept at the treatment 
          needed for the cure. If you do not get such a
          Guru, pray to the Lord Himself to show you the
          way and He will surely come to your rescue.
  
 750.  WHEN the sun is over your head, there will be
          no shadow; similarly, when faith is steady in
          your head, it should not cast any shadow of doubt.
          When man loses his way and strays into the wilderness 
          believing that he is the body, the Gunas or the
          object, then the Avatar comes to warn and guide.
          Keep the faith in the Lord undiminished, you can
          then safely move about in the World. No harm can
          come to you.
  
 751.  HUSBAND and Wife are like two pieces of
          Wood, drifting down a flooded river, they
          float near each other for sometime and, when some
          current comes between them, they are parted. Each must
          move on to the sea at its own rate and in its own
          time. There is no need to grieve over the parting of
          the two. It is the very nature of Nature that it
          should be so.
  
 752.  DIVINE family exists in peace and concord.
          Siva has snakes on His arms, on His head and
          around His waist. One of His sons, Kumara, rides on
          a Peacock, which attacks snakes; another rides on a
          Mouse, which the snakes feed on. One son has the
          head of an Elephant which whets the appetite of
          the Lion, which is the vehicle used by Durga, the
          consort of Siva, who is so inseparable that She is the
          left half of the body of Siva Himself. Nor is the Lion
          friendly by nature to the Bull, which Lord Siva
          Himself has as his vehicle! Siva has Fire on the
          central part of His Brow, and Water, the River
          (Ganga), on His head, both incompatible. Imagine
          how loving and how cooperative the various components 
          have to be to render life on Kailas smooth
          and happy.
  
 753.  CARRY to every door the name of God and let
          the clouds be illumined by love and reverence.
          Let every street in the towns, every village in the
          State ring with the adoration of the Almighty; every
          sunrise sing of Rama, Eswara, Sankara, and Krishna.
          Any Name is effective, provided it is suffused with
          the Divine Essence. Love the branches, twigs,
          leaves, flowers and fruits. They may appear to be
          different in colour, feel, taste, smell, etc. but they all
          are products of the Earth, drawing sustenance from
          the Soil and the Sun. Live together in Love; live in
          Peace; and live in Service.
  
 754.  WHEN clouds gather in the sky, lightning illuminates 
          the clouds; similarly, wisdom must
          illuminate education. The word of Sai is the path of
          Truth. Smaller than the smallest atom; bigger than
          the biggest thing. The Atma is Brahmam;
          witness of everything, and Brahmam is Atma.
  
 755.  BAMBOO is valued for its form and strength and
          beauty. Similarly, the real worth of man lies in
          his intelligence. His intelligence has come to him
          over many lives and the real value of his Buddhi is
          to practice Thyaga or renunciation. But the Buddhi
          is covered by illusion, which is only  the real reflection
          of the Truth. When we throw away the water in the
          pot, we throw away the reflection of the Sky in it as
          well. The reflection of Truth in our minds is only
          the conglomeration of our desires.
  
 756.  THERE are three types of Knowledge:
          Knowledge of matter energy; Knowledge of
          mental energy; and Knowledge of cosmic energy.
          Cosmic energy works in every person in the form of
          Divine knowledge. Matter, in all form, is only energy. 
          Without atoms, you cannot have any matter;
          and in the atom, energy is in the form of electron,
          proton, neutron etc. Energy springs from the structure 
          of the atomic constituents.
  
757.  VOICE breeds disease. Bad thoughts and habits,
          bad company and bad food are hostile grounds
          where disease thrives. "Arogya" and "Ananda" go
          hand in hand. A sense of elation and exultation
          keeps the body free from ill health. Evil habits, in
          which men indulge, are the chief cause of disease in
          the physical as well as the mental state. Greed affects 
          the mind; disappointment makes man
          depressed. Man can justify his existence as man
          only by the cultivation of virtues. Then he becomes
          a worthy candidate for Godhood.
  
 758.  ANYONE may blame you; but you should ignore
          all such blame and go forward in doing service
          without rancour. Service is your only duty. The
          Universe is a manifestation of God. So too is the individual. 
          All these three are like Brahma, Vishnu,
          Maheswara - the Trinity. Actually, there are no
          three, they are one - it is the unified Godhead.
          Cherishing this thought of Oneness and serving the
          Society is true Adhyatmic or spiritual life.
  
 759.  YOU should take to "Sarvada, Sarvakaleshu Sarvatra 
          Haricharithanam". It is just not sufficient
          holding a mala and doing Japa, once in the morning
          during Brahma Muhurtha time, once in the afternoon 
          and once in the evening. All the twenty four
          hours you should be in the remembrance of God.
          You should all the time be striving to awaken the
          spirit within you and for its blossoming (Atma
          Vikas). This is the real purpose of life.
  
 760.  MAN has in him vast resources of power.
          When he does not utilise them while discharging 
          his duties to himself and to the Society
          which sustains him, he is only becoming a target for
          ridicule. When you are on a railway station platform 
          waiting for the train that is due, and when you
          come to know that it arrives five hours late, how do
          you react? You fling abusive words at the train.
          When the coaches receive from you such treatment,
          how much worse treatment you deserve for not fulfilling 
          your duty and for disappointing the expectations 
          that you have raised by your being a man?
          Utilise your skills and learning as consistently and
          as effectively as duty demands.
  
 761.  MOHAMMED preached monotheism and was
          driven out of Mecca. Jesus preached mercy
          and charity and he was charged with treason.
          Harischandra refused to give up his allegiance to
          Truth and was driven to such straits that he had to
          sell his wife and son as slaves. So, when you stick
          to the path of Truth and Righteousness, pain and
          poverty haunt you. But they are only clouds passing
          through the sky, hiding for a little while the splendour 
          of the Sun.
  
 762.  THE motherland is not a mere lump of earth.
          When we desire its progress, we have to
          promote the progress of the people who dwell
          therein. The skill needed for resuscitating and
          reforming man are found only in students. The
          reforming process involves the removal in daily
          living of bad conduct and bad habits and the practice 
          of good conduct and good deeds. A man's
          worth can be measured by his efforts to reform himself.      
          This day, the Government has no authority to
          reform the people; and the people have no authority
          to reform the Government.
  
 763.  THE Pranava is the essence of all sustenance, the
          embodiment of Rasa; of the Earth, Water is the
          Rasa; of the water, Physic (Oshadi) is the Rasa; of
          the Physic, the Human Person is the Rasa; of the
          Human Person, the Word is the Rasa; of the Word
          RK is the Rasa; of the RK, Sama is the Rasa; of the
          Sama (Veda), OM is the Rasa. These eight Rasas, the
          Earth, Water, Physic, Person, Word, RK, Sama and
          OM lead to the ninth Ananda (Bliss). These are the
          Navaratnas, the nine Essences, the nine Sustainers;
          and Ananda is the goal which man is seeking, the
          aim of human life.
  
 764.  THE A of AUM is the Viswa; the U is Tejas; and
          the M is Praajna- this is another interpretation
          in the Scriptures. Viswa is the Walking; Tejas is the
          Dream; Prajna, the Deep Sleep stage. The Pranava
          Sadhana (the spiritual exercise of meditation on
          OM) is therefore very important for Seekers. The
          Vedas prescribe the repetition of the Pranava, while
          studying holy texts, reciting the Name of the Divine,
          carrying out daily duties and offering gifts.
  
 765.  YOU have a Kalpavruksha, ready to give you all
          that you want; you have the Lord, who protects
          and promotes all. The virtues of the people are
          treasures of the State; the Smarana of the Name of
          the Lord is the root of all virtues. Narada, who was
          afflicted with conceit that there was no other who
          had dedicated his very breath to the recital of the
          Name, was once humbled to find that a ryot, who
          managed to repeat the Name three times in the
          course of his overwhelming multitude of distressing
          preoccupation from cock-crow to dusk, was judged
          a great Bhakta.
  
 766.  JOY is your birth right; Shanti is your in-most nature. 
          The Lord is your Staff and Support. Do not
          discard it; do not be led away from the path of faith
          by stories invented by malice and circulated by
          spite. Take up the Name of God, any of the in-
          numerable ones, any that appeals to you most and
          the Form appropriate to that Name and start repeating 
          it, from now on. That is the Royal Road to ensure 
          Joy and Peace, that will train you in the feeling
          of brotherhood and remove enmity towards fellow men.
  
 767.  BECAUSE you have taken residence in this body,
          you cannot call the body "I". When you sit here
          in this Hall, you do not call the Hall "I". You know
          you are separate and that you are here only temporarily. 
          When you go about in a tonga, you do not
          say that the tonga is you, do you? You do not take
          the tonga inside, when you step down from it on
          reaching home. So, you also have to drop this body
          when you reach "home".
  
 768.  PARAMATMA reveals its Glory in man; Prema
          appears in various forms, attaching itself to
          riches, parents, children, one's life mate or
          friends. All these are sparks of the same flame and
          the Love of the Universal is its highest expression.
          This Prema cannot be cultivated by reading essays,
          guide books, and made-easy lessons and learning the steps
          by note. It has to begin with yearning for the
          Light and an unbearable agony to escape from the
          Darkness as in the prayer "Thamasomaa Jyothir
          Gamaya". The yearning itself will draw the light.
          The Love will grow by itself and, by its own slow
          alchemy, turn you into God.
  
 769.  YOU must cultivate non-attachment towards
          Prakruthi and attachment to the Lord. I am
          reminded of the story of Sankara Bhatta. He was a
          great Sadhaka intent on Japa and Ahgama to such
          an extent that he was reduced to skin and bone. He
          worshipped Saraswathi or Vidya which is the key to
          open the doors of Mukti. Goddess Lakshmi saw his
          sad plight and was moved with great pity. She
          chided Saraswathi for denying Her votary even the
          common joys of life and she hid in his leaky hut
          to pour on him Her Grace. She offered him plenty,
          prosperity, fame and fortune. She derided
          Saraswathi for neglecting to award comfort and joy
          on Her hapless servant. But Sankara Bhatta turned
          a deaf ear to her allurements; he said politely but
          firmly, "No, Saraswathi has blessed me with the
          most precious wealth, the gift that liberates me. I
          do not crave your Grace. Please remove yourself
          from my presence".
  
 770.  JEWELS give Joy, not Gold. You can experience
          the Name, you can imbibe the Form; you can take
          them to heart and dwell upon them and fill yourself
          with the joy that they evoke. That is why Jayadeva,
          Gomanga, Ramakrishna and others wished to
          remain ants, tasting Sugar rather than becoming
          sugar itself. The Name is like the seed implanted in
          your heart; when the shower of His Grace falls upon
          it, it sprouts into a lovely tree. All trees that sprout
          from the Name are equally lovely and shady.
  
 771.  MANAVA can become Madhava by engaging
          himself in Madhava Karma; he can then discover 
          his "Narayana - Tatwam". What is the use of
          doing only Manavakarma or even Danavakarma
          and claiming that man is divine? Virtue is the life-breath 
          and character is the backbone. Without
          these, no meritorious act will fructify. A man without 
          character is like a pot with many holes, useless for
          carrying water or for storing it. Renounce and win
          Peace.
  
 772.  HOW far have you progressed using the chance
          of these Discourses and the Dharsan and Sparsan? 
          Bring something into your daily practice, as
          evidence of your having known the secret of higher
          life from Me. Show that you have greater brotherliness, 
          speak less with more sweetness and self-control 
          and that you can bear defeat as well as victory
          with calm resignation.
  
 773.  WHILE speaking of God, who is guarding you, I am
          reminded of a note that someone has sent Me
          from this gathering. The note wants Me to explain
          why I have not mentioned SAI BABA in any of my
          Discourses so far, though I bear the name as the
          Avatar of SAI BABA. Evidently, the writer of the
          note had in mind the people who engage themselves 
          in publicity work of Rama, Krishna or SAI
          BABA.
  
 774.  FOOLISHNESS, egoism, and sheer ignorance are
          the causes of misery of man today. The eye, the
          ear and the tongue lead man to anxiety and malice
          instead of making him a messenger of Peace and
          Harmony. Intellect is the root of pride and envy.
          Vishnu is Jagannatha at Puri; at Kasi Siva is Visweswara; 
          where then is any room for rivalry between
          those who worship at Puri and those who worship
          at Kasi? Vishnu is Gopal (protector of cows) and
          Siva is Pasupathi (master of cows). Still, the innate
          urge to fight comes up in the heart of man and he
          uses the name of the Lord as an excuse for provoking 
          the fighting tendencies.
  
 775.  THE airplane has to land at a certain place 
          to take those who have reserved the right to
          fly with the tickets they have purchased.
          So too the Lord has to come down so that those who
          have won the right to be liberated may be saved.
          Incidentally, others too will know of the Lord, of
          His grace and ways of winning it, of the joy of
          liberation. There are some who deny even today the
          possibility of air travel; they curse the contrivance.
          They cavil at it. Similarly, there are many who cavil
          at the Avatar who has come to save them.
  
 776.  YOUR minds are wayward like monkeys that
          skip and jump from bough to branch. Give
          them to Me. I can make them steady and harmless.
          When I say "Sit", they will sit; when I say "Stand",
          they stand. That is what Sankaracharya offered to
          do; he told Siva that he would hand over  to him the
          monkey that was his mind to Him so that it might
          be tamed and used for his delight. But it must be a
          complete handing over with no reservations.
  
 777.  MAN comes into the World, burdened with
          Maya and its instrument, the Mind. The
          Mind expresses itself through Attraction and Repulsion, 
          Raga and Dwesha, Affection and Hatred
          towards the external World. Raga is Rajasic in its
          effect and it can be used for one's uplift as Narada
          used it to fix attention on the Lord. Dwesha is
          Thamasic as Durvasa expressed it in his dealings
          with Ambarisha and others. Without Raga and
          Dwesha, the Mind cannot function at all. If these
          two are removed, there can be no mind and no
          Maya; and you get fixed in Jnana.
  
 778.  THE study of the Vedas is the highest type of
          learning since it leads to the conquest of Death.
          All other studies deal with the means of living or
          the surroundings which you have to live;
          they deal with earning and spending, deriving a little 
          pleasure by this trick, escaping a little grief by
          that trick. The Vedas show the path to the
          Realm of Eternal Bliss, where there is no Birth or
          Death. People learn details about China, Russia and
          America; they know about the volcanoes of the
          Pacific or the islands of the Arctic regions; but they
          do not know an iota about the features of their own
          inner realms.
  
 779.  THE Karma Kanda is the biggest part of the
          Vedas, because Karma or sanctified activity is
          the means by which the tree blossoms and the fruit
          matures and grows. The Upasana Kanda deals with
          Upasana, the method by which the fruit ripens. The
          Jnana Kanda describes Jnana, the process by which
          the fruit fills itself with sweetness. The first stage
          takes the longest time. Also, it comprises the largest
          portion, the second and the third are quicker by comparison. 
          And so they are shorter. The third stage can be
          accomplished, even apart from the tree, by keeping
          in a warm place amidst straw or a hot room.
  
 780.  MAN can acquire the sweetness of Jnana by
          keeping himself in Sathsang or even by remaining 
          in a solitary place by himself with Dhyana, for
          example. But, by whatever means, the sweetness
          (Jnana) cannot be injected from outside; it must grow
          from within.  It is the transformation of the inner nature 
          won by a struggle with the inner foes.
  
 781.  JUST think of this for a while. You are in this
          body, in this receptacle, in order to realise the
          God you really are. This body is the cocoon you
          have spun round yourselves by means of your impulses 
          and desires. Use it while it lasts, to grow
          wings so that you can escape from it. You came into
          this world crying, announcing your grief at being
          thrust into it, grief for having lost hold of God.
          Having come with grief, decide not to go with it
          from here. Get rid of it in this life.
  
 782.  BECOME entitled to the honoured title of Bhakta.
          My glory is spread daily through those who
          call themselves My Bhaktas. Your virtue, your self-control, 
          your detachment, your faith and your
          steadfastness are the signs by which people read of
          My Glory. Not that I want any such prop. But it
          just happens that in this World, where men estimate
          others indirectly rather than directly. Let me tell
          you, such Bhaktas are very rare. That is the reason
          why I do not address you as "Bhaktulara". 
          You can lay claim to that name only when
          you have placed yourself in My hands fully, completely, 
          and with no trace of ego kept back to cater
          to your vanity.
  
 783.  ALL ills are traceable to faulty living. And what
          is that traceable to? The ignorance of one's real
          Nature, ignorance so deep-rooted that it affects
          thoughts, words and deeds. The drug that can cure
          it is presented under different Names: Jnana;
          Karma; Upasana; and Bhakti. They are all the same
          in potency and curative power. The difference lies
          only in the method of administration: either as a
          mixture or as a tablet or by injection.
  
 784.  THIS Nilayam should not be treated with scant
          reverence. Make the best use of your stay here.
          Do not treat this chance lightly. You come, spending
          lots of money and you have put yourselves to much
          trouble to reach here. But you do not bloom as
          fragrant offerings at the Lord's feet by learning the
          Sadhana path. The senses have to be curbed into
          obedient servants of the Sprit. For example, I insist
          on silence. Talk less. Talk low when you must talk.
          Do not thrust your sorrows, your needs, and your
          problems into the ears of those who come here with
          their own bundles of such things.
  
785.  IN this Prasanthinilayam, there are certain limits
          laid down, certain modes of spending time usefully 
          recommended by Me. All who come here,
          whether longtime residents or new arrivals, have to
          observe them. You have seen Me, stayed here,
          and heard the Discourses. Let me ask: What is the
          gain? Are you going back unchanged, unaffected?
          Dogs do not chew sugarcane; they seek a bone instead. 
          Ill-fated mortals recoil, when the talk is
          about God, Goodness, Sadhana, and Saakshathkara.
          But you must pull yourselves away from slums and
          bylanes and travel on the highway to God. Dwell
          always on the Glory of God then you will shine in
          that Glory. Adhere to Truth. That is the surest
          means of removing fear from your heart. Prema can
          grow only in the heart that is watered by Truth.
  
 786.  THE Shastras warn you of false steps. They console 
          you in times of stress and they strengthen
          you in distress. They give correct interpretations of
          moral dilemmas. They prescribe the dress, the food,
          the manner of speech, the methods of social conduct, 
          the mode of mutual behaviour and the lines of
          onward march. They are the conscience of Society.
  
 787.  THE whole World knows what sacred ideals inspire 
          the Sathya Sai Organizations. It is true
          that a big bag of rice might contain a few grains of sand.
          Any human organization is bound to have a
          few black sheep. But that will not affect the Organization 
          as long as it is true to its principles. The
          kind of service and sacrifice the Sathya Sai
          Organizations are rendering is colossal. The basis
          for all is the Love that prevails among the members. 
          From ancient times, the Upanishadic prayer
          said "Sahanaa Vavathu; Sahanaa Bhunaktu" (May
          He protect us all; may He nourish us all.) The
          spirit of Oneness proclaimed in these Manthras is
          operative today only in the Sathya Sai Organization.
  
 788.  SANATHANA Dharma is bound to overcome
          today's rampant materialism, for it can harmonize 
          the secular and the spiritual into a single
          way of life. It can bring into closer kinship
          both man and God. It is based on the Divine which
          is the reality of the Self. So, it is not limited to one
          country, one individual, one period or one set. It
          has a variety of procedures, points of view, disciplines 
          and guidelines, in accordance with the special 
          features of the region, the age, and the environment.
  
 789.  THE human body is the home of countless
          microbes and other parasitic beings. No one
          can be free from these disease-inducing causes.
          But one can easily overcome this sorrow by
          developing feelings of compassion towards all
          beings, and by thoughts which thrive on and spread Love.
          Illness, both physical and mental, 
          is a reaction on the body caused by the poison in
          the mind. An uncontaminated mind alone can ensure 
          continuous health.
  
 790.  MAN struggles variously to attain Ananda.
          Ananda is the height of happiness, the embodiment 
          of joy. It is sought in three different ways,
          according to the innate quality of the seeker - the
          Sathwick, the Rajasik and the Thamasik. The Sathwik 
          path is poison in the early stages and nectar
          while coming to fruition. It involves firm control
          and regulation of the senses of cognition and action.
          This will be very hard to accomplish. But as one
          progresses in practice, the joy increases and bliss is
          attained. How can such a goal be secured, without
          undergoing hardship?
  
 791.  THE Scripture says: "Happiness cannot be won
          through happiness (Na Sukaad Labhyathe
          Sukham). Happiness can be won only through
          misery". Pleasure is but an interval between two
          pains. To achieve the Sathwik happiness that is
          positive and permanent, man must perforce take on
          trials and tribulations, loss and gain.
  
 792.  TECHNOLOGY must be dedicated to the promotion 
          of high ideals, those which are cherished in
          Bharathiya culture. For without the background of
          the culture, educated people are easily turned into
          slaves of other cultures. Those who belong to a
          country have to proceed along the special circumstances 
          and resources of the country. Of
          course, one must love all mankind; all are children
          of God. One must not emphasize the differences
          between Nations or between castes and creeds. Cultivate 
          Universal heartfelt Love.
  
 793.  MAN must withstand both praise and blame,
          success and failure, pleasure and pain, like
          the Meru Mountain Peak. He must strive to be
          steadfast and unmoved. Once you collect desires,
          you become their slave; you will find no end to
          them. When they are attained, others assail you and
          still leave you discontented. Be aware of your innate 
          Divinity and show these recurring desires their
          due place. The Atma in you is unaffected by desire,
          defeat or victory. They are passing clouds.
  
 794.  SENSE-Control will guard you against a host of
          evils. Do not believe that because you are
          equipped with the senses nothing harmful can happen. 
          Through their free exercises, you may have
          your car registered in your name and be driving it
          yourself, but, if you do not apply the brakes in a timely
          manner, accidents are bound to be your lot. Your body can
          be compared to a car. Your eyes are like the lights.
          Your stomach, the petrol tank; your mouth, the
          horn; your mind the steering wheel; Dharma, Artha,
          Kama and Moksh, the wheels; the air within the
          tires is faith; and intelligence or Buddhi, the switch.
  
 795.  FAITH is the basis of every act. You do not run
          away from the barber because he is armed with
          a sharp razor. You place faith in him and allow him
          to cut your hair, quietly submitting to his
          idiosyncrasies. You give away costly clothes to the
          dhobi since you have the faith that he will return
          them washed and ironed. You have faith in the
          driver of your car and in the engineer who built
          your house. So too, believe in the inner Motivator,
          the Atman within, the voice of God.
  
 796.  THE awareness of the Atman or the Divine in
          man can neither be gifted to another nor be accepted 
          from another. It is all the time hidden behind 
          the veil of ignorance. When the false image
          disappears, the Truth shines in all its Glory. It is
          like the Sun behind the passing cloud. Your duty is
          to draw this veil and let the Sun of Awareness shine
          forth and illumine your thoughts, words and deeds.
  
 797.  ACTIVE participation in Society, in a spirit of
          dedication and surrender, conceiving all acts
          as worship and all men as the embodiments of the
          Supreme, is a more beneficial form of Sadhana. For
          there is no spot where He is not, no object which is
          not He. For, as the Sruthi declares, He willed that
          He becomes all this. Worship, adoration, and
          pilgrimage cannot be the end-all. The goal is the
          realization of  "I am He; He is I". That alone can fill
          the heart with Bliss.
  
 798.  IT has been proclaimed that God is one, and that He is
          known and can be known through various
          Names and forms. It has been declared that God is installed 
          in the heart of every being. Look at the
          emblem of the Sathya Sai Organization. It tells you
          that the Hindu, the Muslim, the Parsee, the Buddhist 
          and the Christian are all adoring the same God
          for the same consummation. The mind of man has
          to be a garden of many coloured flowers, a Nandavanam. 
          Krishna will certainly delight in dancing
          there and playing on the enchanting Flute in the
          bowers of the garden.
  
 799.  THE knowledge derived through the mind utilising 
          the senses is always incomplete, but the
          knowledge that is earned through the Buddhi or intellect, 
          illuminated by the Atma, is full, freeing and
          revealing the Truth. The first is termed "Manojnana"
          and the second "Atmajnana". "Manojnana" informs
          that you are distinct from others; that God is at
          Kailas, Tirupathi, Kasi, or Prasanthinilayam. But
          Names, Forms and Temples are only for the Kindergarten 
          stage.
  
 800.  THE prayer that rose from millions in this
          country from all its temples, yapiaskas, theerthas, 
          holy sea fronts, shrines and altars for centuries
          has been, "Sarve janaah Sukine bhavanthu", Let
          all the peoples of the World be happy and
          prosperous. "Samastha Lokaah Sukino Bhavanthu",
          May all the Worlds have peace and prosperity.
          So pray for all humanity, for the welfare and happiness, 
          the peace and progress of Russia, China,
          Africa, Pakistan and all the countries of the World
          and all beings everywhere.
  
 801.  YEARN to fill your heart with Him, not with
          you. Your yearning must be warm, so warm
          that it can be called "Thapas" (Heat). Become hot
          (earnest). Now it is only a lukewarm longing, a surface 
          activity. Examine yourselves how far you have
          filled your heart within. Measure the heights you
          have reached with the yardstick of virtue, serenity,
          fortitude and equanimity. You now become easy
          victims of lust, anger, malice, envy and the rest of
          that evil brood; the atmosphere of the heart is polluted 
          by the ego-fumes.
  
 802.  MAN has all the resources he needs himself.
          He can tap them by identifying them and
          manifesting them and by sharing them with others.
          He is Sath-Chith-Ananda; he is Siva-Sakthi
          Swarup, Matter-Energy. When man extols himself,
          he is extolling God. Do not cultivate the conviction
          that you are mere men; be assured that you are
          destined for Divinity. When Divinity takes on the
          human form, as described in the Ramayana, the
          Mahabaratha and the Bhagavatha, one has to interpret 
          the actions as providing examples and lessons
          and not as human stories enacted for entertainment.
  
 803.  THE five Pandava brothers are five qualities in
          human character, all observing the norms set by
          the eldest, which is the noblest and the most
          righteous. Rama is the example of uncompromising
          adherence to the principle of Righteousness,
          regardless of  the temptation to bypass it. Rama was
          charged with a Love that transcended all considerations 
          of advantage, Caste or Creed and extended 
          it to animals and birds, human and subhuman
          beings. Love is the key to open the doors locked by
          egoism and greed.
  
 804.  WE have at present persons who pride themselves 
          on their encyclopedic scholarship and
          technical skills; they claim to know the innermost
          secrets of Nature; they fly into outer space and even
          land on the moon. But ask them if they have
          "Ananda" and can stay in "Ananda". They will reply
          that they have not yet experienced it. If they know
          everything worth knowing, why have they missed
          this? It is clear that they are suffering from some
          delusion.
  
 805.  BE eager to confer consolation and courage; be
          anxious to be of help. Watch for the chance.
          Snatch each opportunity to expand yourself by sympathy, 
          to enlarge the horizon of Love by understanding 
          and prayer. Do not keep another at arm's
          length, saying "My God is different from yours or
          my God is opposite to yours". It can never be so.
          Paramatma, the Name for God, does not mean a
          strange God but the Supreme God. Who can
          vouchsafe for the correctness of the picture which
          you now worship as the picture of Rama or Krishna? 
         The poet described and the painter delineated,
          but both rely on their imagination rather than on
          actual authentic vision.
  
 806.  CYNICS question the validity of the type of
          adoration and say that it will only confirm faith
          in a superstition. "Can God be a stone, or a piece of
          paper?", they ask. This attitude is not correct. By
          adhering to the traditionally laid down ritual worship 
          many aspirants have attained the vision of the
          Omnipresent and stayed in that Incommunicable
          Bliss.
  
 807.  IN fact, Puja (formal worship at regular hours),
          with the recitation of hymns and songs, is the
          very first step in the spiritual pilgrimage. Many
          seekers have undoubtedly achieved an awareness of
          God by years of asceticism among jungle caves. But
          starting early with puja and continuing with
          scrupulous care, the rites of archana, bhajana and
          aradhana (offering of flowers with the repetition of
          God's Name, singing His Glory and adoring Him as
          a living presence), are more fruitful and satisfying.
  
 808.  PUJA, Japa, Archana and Aradhana are the letters
          of the Spiritual Alphabet. The collection of the
          various items (lamps, camphor, flowers, plates, caps,
          a bell and the book) are necessary for precious
          hours-long concentration on the Divine. The
          Puja itself may take another hour or two of concentrated 
          and devout attention, and the performer
          rises up after the recitations and meditations as a
          stronger and steadier pilgrim on the path.
  
 809.  THE sixteen modes of worship, laid down in the
          Shastras to make the aspirant aware that he is
          the very presence, and that every gesture and movement 
          of his has to be motivated by devotion and
          dedication, ensure the purification of the mind of
          men from ego and all its brood of blemishes. This is
          "Chittha Suddhi", the cleansing of all levels of one's
          consciousness.
  
 810.  PUJA or archana offered without a purified heart
          is a sheer waste of time. But even a short sincere
          session of Puja, spent in Divine Awareness, yields
          much fruit. Thiru Thondar, a Tamil Saint, confessed 
          that he had engaged himself in worship of
          the Lord's idol in order to cleanse his mind. The
          material and the Form are inseparable, but the
          seeker must dwell on the Form which he desires to
          be manifested in all its Glory rather than on the
          material.
  
 811.  WHAT exactly is implied by "Adhyatmic"? Is
          Bhajan or congregational prayer "Adhyatmic"?
          Or does it involve "Japa" or "Dhyana"? Or does it
          denote religious rituals and ceremonies? Or does it
          extend to pilgrimages and holy places? No. These
          are only beneficial acts. "Adhyatmic", in its real
          sense, relates to two progressive achievements or at
          least to sincere attempts towards those two achievements: 
          elimination of the animal traits still clinging
          to man and unification with the Divine.
  
 812.  DHYANA is interrupted in most cases by worry
          and anxiety regarding one's kith and kin, and
          one's earnings and riches. Since all are manifestations 
          of Maya, which is natural to Brahmam or
          Paramathmam, the Paramathmam or Lord, in
          whom you take refuge, will certainly free you from
          fear. Why? You are, each one, the Atman and nothing 
          else. This is the reason why I begin the Discourse, 
          addressing you as "Divyatmaswarupas"!
  
813.  THE mind is the altar. Place the animal which is
          to be offered as oblation (the evil aspects of
          your character, behaviour, attitude etc.) and sacrifice
          it to the deity involved. Though born as a human,
          man is burdened by animal instincts and impulses
          that have attached themselves to him during his
          previous lives as an animal. He has passed through
          many an animal existence and each has left its mark
          on his mental makeup like a scar on the skin when
          a wound has healed.
  
 814.  BUDDHI is the only instrument for realisation.
          Jnana alone can grant the Vision, the ultimate
          Truth. That is why the Gayatri, a Vedic prayer to the
          Light that fills the Universe to illuminate the intelligence, 
          is a prayer for prompting the spirit of inquiry 
          and for illuminating the path by the inner light of
          the Spirit.
  
 815.  YOUR devotion to God is best expressed by
          achieving the control of the senses. For the senses 
          rush towards the temporary and the tawdry;
          and they foul the heart. I require from each of you
          no other gift, no more valuable offering than the
          heart I have endowed you with. Give Me that heart,
          as pure as when I gave it to you, full of the nectar of
          Love I filled it with.
  
 816.  IT is certainly wasteful to spend precious 
          time in mere study without any attempt to
          translate it into action. You need not give your word
          to Me now, but try to put into practice at least a few
          of the good things that appeal to you and that are
          helpful in giving you peace and contentment. To
          evoke the Divine in you, there is no better method
          than Namasmarana.
  
 817.  YOU must take every step in Sadhana or in Samsara, 
          only after deep deliberation and satisfying
          yourself that it will be for your good. Otherwise, it
          will be like the story of the weeping city. One day, a
          close female attendant of the Queen came to the
          palace weeping in great sorrow, and so the Queen
          began to shed tears. Seeing the Queen in tears, the
          entire Zannan wept and the weeping spread to the
          male attendants also. The King, finding the queen
          inconsolably sad, also wept profusely in sympathy,
          and the sight made the entire city weep loudly 
          without end. At last, one sensible person set in motion
          an inquiry, which passed through person after person 
          until the Queen herself was accosted. She said
          that her attendant was in sore grief, and when she, a
          washer-woman by caste, was interrogated, she
          confessed that it was all due to the sudden demise
          of her favourite ass. Reason out; discriminate; and
          do not rush to conclusion or be led away by mere
          hear-say.
  
 818.  WHEN you scatter seeds on the surface of the
          soil, they do not germinate; you have to keep
          them inside the soil. So too, Bodha, if scattered on
          the surface, will not germinate, grow into the tree of
          knowledge and yield the fruit of wisdom. Plant it in
          the heart; water the plant with Prema; and measure
          it with Faith and Courage. Keep off pests with the
          insecticides of Bhajan and Sathsang, so that you
          may benefit in the end.
  
 819.  KARMA must not be felt as a burden, for that
          feeling is a sure sign, indicating that it is
          against the grain. No Karma which helps your
          progress will weigh heavily on you. It is only when
          you go counter to your inner-most nature that you
          feel it as a burden. A time comes when you look back
          on your achievement and sigh at the futility of it all.
          Entrust your mind to the Lord before it is too late, 
          and let Him shape it as He wills.
  
 820.  WHOM the Muslims adore as Allah, the Christians 
          as Jehovah, the Vaishnavas as Phullajaakshe 
          and the Saivites as Sambhu, who grants in
          answer to their several prayers, health, prosperity,
          and happiness to all wherever they may be, He is
          the One God of all mankind.
  
 821.  FOOD and recreational habits are the two main
          causes for ill-health. Great care has to be bestowed 
          to ensure that injurious tendencies do not
          affect these two. At present, drugs have
          multiplied and hospitals have been established in
          every nook and corner, ill-health is also widespread.
          This situation is attributable to the spread of
          deleterious food habits and pastimes.
  
 822.  TO remove the evils of Egoism, Service is the
          most efficient instrument. Service will also impress 
          on the person doing the Service, the Unity of all
          mankind. He who dedicates his time, skill and
          strength to Service will never meet with defeat, distress 
          or disappointment, for Service is its own
          reward. His word will be ever sweet and soft and
          his gestures ever revered and humble. He will have
          no foe, no fatigue and no fear.
  
 823.  THE Scriptures proclaim that health is the very
          root of all endeavours in the four fields of
          human achievement: Dharma, Artha, Kama, and
          Moksha. Without health, man cannot brave temptations, 
          earn a decent living, fulfill his basic needs or
          succeed in spiritual Sadhana. Man can engage himself 
          in obligatory and optional functions only if he
          is healthy.
  
 824.  THE same Divine Compassion that blessed
          Dhruva, saved Gajendra, restored Kuchela and
          stood by Prahlada, has come to the Earth as the
          Refuge of the refuge-less, as the Lord of Peace, Harmony 
          and Righteousness, as the Lord of all the
          Worlds, as the Sath Chith-Anandamurthi, as the
          Puttaparthi Sathya Sai Sath-Chakravarthi, the king
          of kings.
  
 825.  INDIA is the land where the ideals of service,
          renunciation and spiritual endeavour were born
          and have flourished. It is only recently that India
          fell under the impact of alien cultures which highlighted 
          material comfort, physical luxury, sensual
          liberty, and exterior display; and that Indians have
          trodden the wrong path of exploitation and
          violence, idleness and pompousness. With the
          spread of alien cultures and alien ways of thought
          and life, diseases too have multiplied and mental
          imbalances have increased.
  
 826.  DO not try to delve into Me; develop Faith and
          Sraddha and derive Ananda through Prema.
          That is the utmost you can do; do that and benefit.
          Do not run after all and sundry who blabber textbook 
          stuff and wear the cloak of fakir hood. Examine, 
          judge and admire. Examine the daily conduct, 
          the motive, the outlook, the trend of the advice
          and the coordination between what is said and
          what is done.
  
 827.  WITHOUT surrender there can be no liberation. 
          So long as you cling to the narrow "I",
          the four prison walls will close in on you. Cross out
          the "I" and you are free. How to kill the "I"? Place it
          at the feet of the Lord and say "You", not "I" - and
          you are free of the burden that is cursing you. Associate 
          always with the Niranjana, the vast, the unlimited, 
          the Divine; dream and plan to merge with
          the Absolute; fill your ears with the call from the
          Beyond and the Boundless. Transcend the walls, the
          bars and bolts, the locks and chains. You can do so
          easily by fixing your mind on your own Infinity.
  
 828.  I HAD to do My Dharma; and every act of Mine
          has its significance which you cannot understand. 
          You are in the dark and you fear more. You
          cannot notice the heaps of earth and the pits on the
          road. You cannot even know that the road is smooth
          and fine. There is no fault or partiality in creation;
          be confirmed in that. Then you will no more waver
          in your faith. If God's creation was faulty, all
          would have suffered equally.
  
 829.  LAKSHMI or wealth accrues by fair means as
          well as foul; money is earned by gambling, by
          various forms of deceit; by highway robbery; by
          high and low; by all and sundry. Worship Lakshya.
          I shall appreciate you! Keep the Lakshya, the Goal
          of expanding your Love till it embraces all beings,
          until it sees every being as your mind's eye; then,
          Lakshmi will, of her own accord, favour you to the
          extent necessary for realising the Goal. Never doubt
          that. Never falter.
  
 830.  YOU do not know the Gem shining inside you, the
          Divinity whose effulgence is your intellect and
          whose reflection is the Prema you evince. You know
          many things other than this, but not this essential
          thing; you do not know where such and such a
          scholar lives in Venkatagiri, but you know where such
          and such a film star lives in Madras: This is something
          to be ashamed of, this loss of the sense of values. You
          must recognise the Higher, the Highest.
  
 831.  YOU believe that those who have no faith in the
          Vedas and the Shastras and those who do not
          aver that there is some Omnipresent, Omniscient
          Being, are Nasthikas. But let me tell you, those who
          revere their Parents and foster them, and those who
          love and protect with care their brothers and sisters,
          are Theists. Asthikas believe in Gratitude, Love, Affection, 
          Duty, and Dharma and these qualities are
          enough to save them from perdition.
  
 832.  THE Truth can flash only in a mind clear of all
          blemishes. The first blemish that I would like to
          warn you against is: "inability to bear the success of
          others". Envy is the greatest of the sins. Vanity, envy
          and egoism are kin. They cut at the root of man's
          real nature. To feel proud that you are a Bhakta is
          also a blot. Though you may be a mountain, you
          must feel you are a mound; and you should not
          pretend to be a mountain.
  
 833.  ALL men are kin, they are of the same likeness,
          the same build; moulded out of the same
          material, with the same Divine essence in each. Service 
          to man will help your Divinity to blossom, for
          it will gladden your heart and make you feel that
          life has been worthwhile. Service to man is service
          to God, for He is in every man and every living
          being and in every stone and stump. Offer your
          talents at the feet of God; let every act be a flower,
          free from creeping worms of envy and egoism and
          full of the fragrance of love and sacrifice.
  
 834.  WHAT exactly is a dream? It is a dream within
          a dream. It is a dream which unfolds before
          you even while you are "awake" in another dream. It
          tries to shed some light, some joy, some courage,
          some faith, some hope, and some meaning on the
          dream called Life. Naturally, man has to seek all
          means of discovering the meaning of Life, for
          without knowing it, he is lost; he wanders from
          birth to birth, receiving knock after knock and is
          seldom the better for all the experience.
  
 835.  WHERE you go to a temple, you see the idol
          within but your thoughts are with your footwear 
          that you had to keep outside the gate.
          These are matters that reveal the concentration that
          you are capable of. Every little point has to be taken
          care of, lest the benefit of the Sadhana will be lost.
          You cannot get liberation by merely coming here; you
          cannot get it even by Dharsan, Sparsan, and Sambashan. 
          You will have to follow the instructions, the
          Ajna, the Order and the Directions.
  
 836.  MOKSHA or Liberation results from the breaking 
          of the Mind with all its vagaries and
          wishes. You have to break your Mind but, how can
          you do it, when the fibrous armour of sensual desires 
          encompasses it? Remove it and dedicate the
          Mind to God and smash it in His presence. That
          moment you are free.
  
 837.  ONE should accept the body as the "Tantra",
          one's own breath as the "Mantra", and one's
          heart as the "Yantra". There is no need to seek them
          outside oneself. When all words emanating from
          you are sweet, your breath becomes Rig Veda.
          When you restrict what you listen to and prefer
          only sweet speech, all that you hear becomes Sama
          Gana. When you do only sweet deeds, all that you
          do is Yajur Homa. Then, you will be performing
          every day the Vedapurusha Yajna, the Yajna which
          propitiates the Veda.
  
 838.  THE vehicle of human life is drawn by two
          wheels by the senses, which are driven by Buddhi, 
          with Viveka and Vairagya as the reins, the two
          wheels being the Kala Chakra and the Karma Chakra. 
          The spokes of the wheel are the rules of Dharma,
          bound by the rim of Prema. The self is the Rider and
          he will not come to harm if the axle is Sathya and
          the goal is Shanti.
  
 839.  THE Gita is for saving all and granting them
          liberation. Gita, in Telugu, means a line; it
          draws a line across and cancels the series of births
          and deaths; it teaches you to stand erect, unafraid,
          along the straight path of Dharma, along the line
          laid down.
  
 840.  HAVING been born, man earns and acquires
          land, riches, materials, grains and articles of
          comforts and luxury, which he feels will give him
          happiness and which, therefore, become the object of
          his struggle. But the object of realising God is forgotten. 
          You may ask: why should anyone seek
          good company, do good deeds, and direct his mind
          towards good thoughts? You are listening to Me
          and what do you get when you so listen? You agree
          that I am giving you Anandam. What do you give
          Me in return? Give Me the Aacharana of what I am
          telling you, practice what I teach, that is enough.
          That is all I ask for.
  
841.  IN every country today, men have become
          power-mad and they resort, without any compunction, 
          to self praise and dry declamation. They
          develop hatred against others, foster envy and feed
          their fatal egos. They plunge the Society to which
          they belong into fear, anxiety and disorder. They do
          not know, that if elevating ideals are adhered to and
          practiced, they could gain eternal fame; instead they
          are content with cheap applause and short-lived
          publicity.
  
 842.  THE mansion called life must be built on a strong
          foundation and the pursuit of Artha and Kama,
          of Wealth and Welfare, and all desirable objects
          must be regulated by the standard of Dharma.
          Dharma fosters those who foster it. "Dharma Rakshithi 
          Rakshithah". The strongest foundation is
          ever-present Faith in the Almighty. Some may ask,
          "If He is Almighty, why then is He not patent"? He
          reveals Himself only to the person who yearns for
          the answer, not to the one who questions out of
          impudence or ignorance.
  
 843.  HE will be patent only in the transparent
          heart, the heart that is not clouded by egoism
          or attachment. The string of the Rosary is patent
          only in the Spatika Heads, the crystal beads, not in
          the coral or Rudraksha beads. Though the string
          runs through these latter also, it can be seen only by
          splitting those beads. This is the meaning of the
          story of Hiranyakasipu who split the pillar. When he
          did that, he could see for himself the Lord, who is
          the core of every object and being.
  
 844. YOUR Reality is the Atma, a wave of the Paramatma. 
         The one object of this human existence is
          to visualise this Reality, this Atma, this relationship 
          between the wave and the sea. All other activities 
          are trivial; you share them with birds and
          beasts; but this is the unique privilege of man. He
          has clambered through all the levels of animal, all
          the steps in the ladder of evolution in order to inherit 
          this high destiny. If all the years between birth
          and death are frittered away in seeking food and
          shelter, comfort and pleasure, as animals do, man is
          condemning himself to a further life sentence.
  
 845.  THERE are only three ways of saving oneself:
          Prakruthi, Nivrithi and Prapatti. Prakruthi (action, 
          external activity) is a method of sublimating
          the instincts and impulses. Nivritti (detachment; internal 
          quiet), is a method of subduing the thirst of
          the senses and of the ego. Prapatti (surrender) is a
          method of utilising the senses, the instincts and impulses, 
          the intelligence and the emotions for the
          glorification of the all-knowing, all-directing
          Divine. Do and dedicate, work and worship, plant
          and protect; but do not worry about the fruit; that is
          the secret of spiritual success.
  
 846.  THE boulder on the hill, from which a portion
          has been blasted away to carve an idol for the
          temple, tells the idol, "Thath Thawam Asi" (You
          and I are the same), That and this are one substance. 
          Yes, of one substance, but what a difference?
          The hammer and chisel have made one, a thing of
          beauty and a joy for ever, an inspiration to make life
          beautiful and holy. You too must subject yourself to
          the hammer of discipline and the chisel of pain-pleasure, 
          so that you become Divine.
  
 847.  WHEN you reach the bank of a river in a
          strange land, you do not take advice from a
          lame person or a blind person on where you can
          best wade across. You follow a person who has
          waded often and who is neither lame nor blind.
          The man who can see is a scholar; the man who can
          walk is a person with experience. The man with
          both capacities is a good guide, not those who prattle 
          things learnt from the books or dole out set formulae 
          irrespective of the stage the recipient has
          reached, or roamed about in search of people whom
          they can squeeze for money.
  
 848.  MAN imagines that he has achieved much as a
          result of his search for material pleasures. He
          has discovered electricity and is using it for giving
          light. But what poor glory is this? When the sun
          rises even the brightest bulb pales into insignificance. 
          Man has invented the fan and, by means  
          of electricity, he is able to create a breeze. But, when
          a storm arises in Nature, the toughest tree is
          uprooted and man's handiwork of brick and mortar
          is laid in ruins, with the roofs flying in the air. On
          what basis can he erect his pride?
  
 849.  ALL who come embodied are Avatars, that is to
          say, advents of the Divine, Manifestations of
          God. What then is the special feature of Rama, Krishna, 
          Buddha and Christ? Why do you celebrate their
          Birthdays with much reverential enthusiasm? The
          specialty is this: they are Aware, you are unaware of
          the Atma which is the Truth. Awareness confers
          Liberation from bonds, from time, space and causation 
          and from sleep, dream and wakefulness. Avatars
          are ever alert, aware, and alight.
  
 850.  THERE was a huge halo of splendour illuminating 
          the sky over the village when Christ was
          born. This meant that He who was to overcome the
          darkness of evil and ignorance had taken birth; that
          He will spread the Light of Love in the heart of man
          and the councils of humanity. Appearances of
          splendour and other signs to herald the era that have
          dawned are natural when Incarnations happen on
          Earth. Jesus was to shatter the darkness that had
          enveloped the World and the Aura of Light was a
          sign that announced the event. The Masters arrive
          in answer to man's prayer, "Thamasomaa
          Jyothirgamaya"; "Lead us from darkness unto
          Light".
  
 851.  THE word "Hindu" has been interpreted by
          scholars in various ways, but the real meaning
          is "Hin" (Hinsa or Violence), "Dur" (far from):
          people who keep away from violence. The Hindus
          have been praying since the ages for the peace and
          prosperity of all the Worlds. "Loka Samastha Sukino
          Bhavanthu". Their conception of the immanence of
          God is strong and unshakable. The rituals,
          ceremonies, vows and rites prescribed in Hinduism 
          are all directed to the promotion and well-being 
          of  "all the Worlds". This is the reason why
          Hinduism is still alive and active.
  
 852.  VISHNU is described as "Buyagasayamam"
          sleeping on the snake and also as "Samthaakaaram". 
          The "Bujaga" or snake, which has
          visha or poison, represents the World or "Vishaya"
          and, when you rest upon it, instead of allowing it to
          envelop you, you can afford to have "Santham". Let
          your boat be on the waters; but do not allow the
          waters to enter the boat. Be in the World, but not of
          it. That is the secret of a successful life.
  
 853.  SARANAGATHI, or unconditional surrender, is
          the main gate to enter the mansion of Mukthi. It
          has four floors: Dhyanam, Karma, Bhakti and
          Jnanam. Each floor rests upon the one beneath and
          the uppermost cannot be reached without ascending 
          the first three. Remember this, when you hear
          people arguing about the relative superiority of the
          Yogas or labeling themselves as "this" or "that" in
          the Adhyathmic field.
  
 854.  PLEASE do not be under the delusion that God
          needs light and that He requires illumination.
          He is "Jyothiswarupa" with the splendour of a
          thousand suns. He is the force which makes Light
          shine, and He is above and beyond the Thejas that
          Nature can supply. It is not so much this stone
          structure that needs illumination. When you come to
          think of it, it is the temple that you are carrying
          about with you in body that must be fitted with
          lights. "Dehodevalaya Proktham". The body is said
          to be the temple. "Jivodevah Sanathanah". And in
          that temple is installed the Jivi who is the "timeless"
          God.
  
 855.  YOU try to avoid grief; you try to taste joy instead. 
          It is the nature of man to do so. For he is
          essentially "Anandaswarupa". When we seek
          "Ananda", it is like the call of the deep for the deep.
          When someone asks you, "How do you do?" and
          you answer, "Quite well, thank you", he does not
          stop to enquire why you are well. It is only when
          you answer that you are ill, that he stops and expresses 
          concern and probes into the causes,
          symptoms and care of the illness. "Wellness is
          natural"; illness is unnatural. Anxiety is caused by
          the unnatural only. So you are "Suka-Swarupa" also.
  
 856.  CLARIFY the Buddhi by Sadhana so that you get
          a vision of the Lord who dwells within, that is
          the Sudarsana which saved Gajendra, the wild
          elephant (man) that was caught by the alligator
          (egoism) while rollicking in the lake. The objective
          World (Samsara) looks upon joy and grief as
          teachers of hardihood and balance. Grief is a friendly 
          reminder, a good task-master; even a better
          teacher than joy. The Lord grants both, protection and
          punishment; for how can he be the Lord if he does
          not insist on strict accounting and strict obedience?
  
 857.  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. 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.
  
 858.  THE youth today, in India as well as in other
          lands, are afflicted with deep discontent which
          manifests itself in revolt against rules, regulations,
          curricula and social norms and an agitational approach 
          to every little problem that affects them.
          What is the basic cause of this phenomenon? The
          Reason lies in the fact that they have started to
          neglect the ancient culture of India and its ideals.
          They are imitating undesirable and fanatic norms of
          behaviour and are addicted to a code of disbelief,
          having no roots anywhere.
  
 859.  WHEN God has come assuming a Form, take it
          from Me, it will not fill inferior vessels or embellish 
          tawdry stuff or enter impure bodies. So, do
          not extol these falsities and ruin those unfortunates.
          Deal with them severely and they will be cured.
          Those who have seen the brilliance of the diamond
          will not be misled by glass trinkets. The Lord is like
          the diamond, call it by any name. But a trinket cannot 
          be turned into a diamond, however loud the
          praise and however adamant the claim.
  
 860.  WHO can give us the secret of transcending the
          barrier that divides the region of death from
          the region of immortality? Of course, the Lord has
          often sent Messengers to tell humanity about it, and
          He himself has come down in human form to communicate 
          it and save mankind from perdition. It is
          because the task of guiding man has gone on so
          consistently that today, at least in India, there is this
          quantum of earnestness to achieve it and to escape
          from the cycle of birth and death.
  
 861.  THE Jnanendriyas are more important for Sadhana 
          than the Karmendriyas; Buddhi is more
          important than all the rest of the inner instruments
          given to man. Make Buddhi the master of your
          Manas and you will not fail. You will fail only when
          the senses establish mastery over the mind.
  
 862.  EASWARASSARVOTA Bhoothaanaam Hrddese
          Arjuna Thishtath, "Oh Arjuna, the God resides
          in the heart of all being" says the Lord. He is not to
          be found specially in Amarnath, Kasi, Tirupati,
          Kedaram or Gokarnam. Just as every drop of the
          ocean has the taste, the composition and the name
          of the ocean, so too every single being has the
          Divine taste and composition and the name of the
          Lord. Only you do not realise it so clearly. The
          Godavari realises itself by reaching the sea; man
          realises himself by merging in the Absolute. 
          "Gamyam ithi Lingam" (That which merges in the
          goal is Lingam).
  
 863.  YOU have to trace your ancestry and be proud of
          it. From Paramatma, Moola Prakrithi descended 
          with the emergence of Maya, and from the stuff
          of that illusion, Akasa; and from Akasa, Vayu; from
          Vayu, Agni; from Agni, Jala; from Jala, Earth. By a
          combination of the five elements, this Tabernacle of
          Paramatma, which is you, was produced. The entire
          ladder has now to be climbed up in order to reach
          the Paramatma, the Origin of all. There is a regular
          syllabus for the promotion of the spiritual aspirant,
          which is given in that form in the Veda and in the form
          of an elaborate story in the Bhagavatha.
  
 864.  THE discovery of Truth is the unique mission of
          man. Man is a mixture of Maya and Madhava;
          the Maya throws a mist which hides the Madhava.
          But through the action of the healthy impulses inherited 
          from acts performed while in previous
          bodies, or through the cleansing done by austerities
          in this body, or through the Grace of the Lord Himself, 
          Maya melts away; for it is just a mist which
          flees before the Sun. Then Nara is transformed into
          Narayana and this Bhuloka is elevated into a
          Prasanthi Nilayam.
  
 865.  EVERYONE has a mother as the source of his life
          and body. So, the mother has to be strong in
          mind and body, ripe in culture and character,
          sanctified by holy thoughts and steeped in love and
          dedication. Good mothers make a good nation.
          Mothers have to be repositories of  "Thyaga, Yoga
          and Bakthi", Detachment, Discipline and Devotion.
          Their Karma (Activity) must be based on these three
          urges.
  
 866.  THE one Namaskaram you do, do with devotion.
          That is enough. You do not even do that; you
          do it so callously, so indifferently and automatically.
          When you fold your hands and bring them
          together, feel that you are offering at the Feet all the
          actions of the Five Karmendriyas and the Five
          Jnanendriyas as indicated by the ten fingers. Again,
          the purpose of Namaskaram is to touch the Feet, to
          have Sparsan of the Lord. The Negative pole
          Mayasakthi, and the Positive pole, Mahasakthi,
          have to meet in order to produce a spiritual current
          that will flow through you.
  
 867.  COME, I am the repairer of broken hearts, of
          damaged Anthahkaranas. I am like the smith
          who welds, mends and sets right. Ten years ago, a
          devotee prayed to Me in song, "My heart has gone
          dry, my lamp has gone out, my path is dark, my
          brain is confused. Lord make me fit again for life's
          arduous journey". The Lord will be waiting outside
          the door of the puja room of the Bhakta, anxious to
          fulfill his wish. Verily he, who has the Lord as His
          Servant, is the real Prabhu.
  
 868.  EVERY little movement or incident results in
          sound. Only, you may not be able to hear, because 
          the range of your ear is limited. The falling of
          an eyelid over the eye makes a sound and the dropping 
          of dew on a petal makes a sound. Any little
          agitation disturbing the calm is bound to produce a
          sound. The sound caused by the primal movement
          that resulted in the enveloping of Brahman by self-evolved 
          Maya is the Pranavashabda or OM. The
          Gayathri is the elaboration of that Pranava and so, it
          is now held so venerable that initiation into Adhyatmic 
          life is achieved by its contemplation.
  
869.  YOU may complain that God is hard and heartless 
          since He does not respond to prayer, give a
          signal from his pictures and speak from "nowhere"
          in clear unambiguous terms, assuaging, assuring,
          advising - but let Me tell you: God is Love. Love is
          God. His Akara (Form) is Prema (Love). His Swabhava 
          (essential Nature) is Ananda (Bliss); and His
          Raktha (Life-blood) is Sathya (Truth). Even when
          the stony cliff echoes your voice and responds when
          you cry, will not the Softest, Sweetest, Love-filled
          Heart of God respond? When there is no response,
          infer that there is something wanting in the cry; perhaps, 
          the cry is hollow, insincere, mere play-acting
          set to a pattern, addressed to someone alien to
          oneself, taken to be far away and distant as a tyrant
          or task master.
  
 870.  KNOW that God is the One that is dearest and
          nearest to you, as dear and as near as your own
          heart and pray to him. Surely his answer will be
          vouchsafed immediately. You may have huge hordes 
          of men in the army; but they are useful only
          when the few Generals who lead them know
          where they are and whether they should proceed
          and how to overcome the enemy, whose strength
          and weakness they have comprehended. Hordes of
          people sing, recite, adore, worship, praise and
          prostrate, but these are the soldiers. Those who
          believe, those who have faith and who practice the
          disciplines are the Generals in whom the Master
          confides.
  
 871.  TALKATIVE persons easily step into scandal mongering. 
          Too much talk and a tongue addicted to 
          scandal are twins; they work together and
          in unison. A poet addressed his tongue thus "Oh,
          Tongue, knower of taste, relisher of sweetness, always 
          prefer the Truth". One should not inflame passion, 
          diminish enthusiasm or inflict injury
          "Sathyam Brooyath, Priyam Rooyath" (Speak the
          Truth, Speak pleasantly), "Nabrooyath Sathyam
          Apriyam" (If unpleasant, do not speak the truth),
          "Priyam cha na anvartsham brooyth" (Though it
          may be pleasant, do not speak falsehood).
  
 872.  THE Lord has said in the Gita: "Anudevega
          Karam Vakyam Sathyam Priya Hitam Chayat".
          (Speech, that does not offend, that is truthful,
          pleasant and beneficial, has to be praised). Such
          speech sanctifies the tongue. It knows and respects
          the limits. The ear cannot tolerate a false or discordant 
          note. Every one of the senses responds within
          its own limits of tolerance and protests when that
          limit is exceeded or disregarded. You must be
          vigilant that they are put to use with proper attention 
          to those limits. When they stray from the path
          or overstep the boundaries, reason bites its head
          and makes you inhuman.
  
 873.  YOU can master all Knowledge and win loud applause. 
          The crowds that gather may praise
          and proclaim: "Ah, what a wonderful lecture he
          gave". You can be hailed as a King and rule over
          the realm. You can pile up vast wealth and donate
          old and land. But what is the benefit gained?
          Karna gave away the earrings he wore and even
          sliced off his Divine suit of armour and gave it away
          in charity. Wherein lies the key to greatness?
          Whereto does renunciation lead? The question is,
          does it purify the heart? Does it help the Divinity
          within to manifest itself?
  
 874.  BRAHMACHARYA does not mean merely
          desisting from marriage. It means becoming
          soaked in Holy Love for the Divine through
          transparent sincerity, unselfish will, pure consciousness 
          and holy thoughts. You all know that
          Hanuman is described as the Eternal Brahmachari.
          He was married to Srivatsala, yet he earned that
          description. How? Brahmachari means, "He who is in
          Brahman". Hanuman had no other thought than
          Rama (who is Brahman) and so, was ever moving in
          Brahman and living in Brahman. Your thoughts,
          feelings, desires and activities must all move in
          Brahman, the Universal Absolute. That is to say,
          whatever is spoken and whatever is seen must be
          cognised as Brahman. That is the real Brahmacharya
          stage.
  
 875.  LIFE can be sanctified and elevated to a worshipful 
          pilgrimage if only every one clings to his
          way and sees it in its proper perspective. Idle brains
          exaggerate matters; and cynics cause great social
          damage. Gulfs are widened by thoughtless criticism.
          If only all of you would remember the principle
          underlying the brotherhood of man, mankind will
          become a mighty family full of peace and joy.
  
 876.  MOHAKARMA flows from delusion and leads
          to further delusion. Man must outgrow this
          tendency and turn towards Dharma Karma, that is
          to say, moral activity, idealistic activity, activity
          that sublimates lower instincts and impulses and
          transform every deed into an act of dedication.
          When the attitude is confirmed and consolidated, all
          Karma becomes Brahmakarma. Man merges in the
          Universal and loses the inhibiting individuality.
          That is the Karma which the Atma craves for and
          delights in.
  
 877.  PREMA or Love is a much misused word. Any
          positive response to the attraction is called
          Love. Any feeling of attachment, however trivial or
          transitory, is characterised as Prema. We must certainly 
          coin new words or set aside specific words to
          indicate the forms of Love. The attachment of
          parents to their children or of children to parents
          must be called affection. The response to the attraction 
          of sex can be best described as fancy, fascination 
          or delusion, Moha. The feeling of Kinship or
          comradeship evokes dearness. The pleasure one
          gets through a sense of possession, especially of
          material objects, can be known as satisfaction. Only
          the yearning to reach for the sublimity that lies inherent 
          in Truth is entitled to be called by that holy
          word "Prema".
  
 878.  IT is My general practice to induce people to learn
          the sweetness of the Name. I begin My Discourses 
          with the recitation of a spiritual poem and end
          them with these Namavalis and in between I give
          the lesson I love to teach. It is like a tasty health
          giving meal which I serve to you on a plate (the problem) 
          covering it with a lid (the Namavalis). That is
          how you may take it.
  
 879.  HOW can a person, who cannot swim,
          teach others the art? How can one whose granary 
          is empty, pour out charity? Acquire the
          wealth of devotion, fortitude and peace, before venturing 
          to advise others how to acquire them.
          Bharath (India) has suffered slights and disregard as
          a result of a spate of teachers who have not cared to
          practice what they teach. I know you have the enthusiasm 
          to carry My message among the people of
          this country and other countries. Let Me remind you
          that the best and the only successful way in which
          you can do it is to translate the Message into your
          own lives. Your thoughts, words and deeds must be
          saturated with the message. They then will spread
          effortlessly and efficiently, and the face of the World
          will be transformed.
  
 880.  THE Name undoubtedly brings in the Grace of
          God. Meerabai, the Queen of Rajasthan, gave
          up status and riches, fortune and family and dedicated 
          herself to the adoration of the Lord, Giridhara
          Gopala. Her husband brought a chalice of poison
          and she was ordered to drink it. She uttered the
          Name of Krishna while she drank it. It was transformed 
          into nectar, by the Grace the Name
          evoked.
  
 881.  GOD is the harmony of all the Forms and
          Names that man gives Him. Only those who
          are ignorant of the Glory of God will insist on one
          Name and one Form for His adoration and, what is
          worse, condemn the use by others of other Names
          and Forms. Since you are all associated with the
          Sathya Sai Organisation, I must warn you against
          such silly obduracy. Do not go about proclaiming
          that you are a sect, distinct and separate from those
          who adore God in other Forms and Names; thereby,
          you are limiting the very God whom you are extolling.
  
 882.  PEOPLE pray to God to relieve them from pain,
          grief and loss, to confer on them health, strength
          and wealth. But if you develop an intimate attachment 
          to Him and make Him yours, then He will
          manage to give you all that you need. Do not
          demean the relationship into bargaining: give me
          this; then I shall give you that in exchange. If you
          insist on wages you become a coolie. Become His
          own. He is providing for the idler, the insane and
          the shirker; can He not provide for you?
  
 883.  THE duration of life is under the control of Him
          who gave life, the Creator. It does not depend
          on the calories of food consumed or the quality of
          drugs that are injected, or the qualification of the
          physician who prescribes the medicine. The chief
          causes of ill health and death are Fear and Loss of
          Faith. If one concentrates on the Atma, which has no
          change in characteristics, no subtraction or senility,
          and no decline or damage, man can conquer Death.
          Therefore, the most effective prescription is the injection 
          of Atma-Vidya (Knowledge of the Atma, the
          Soul as one's Real Self).
  
 884.  THE future of India is in your hands. You are
          fully aware of the characteristics of this
          Kaliyuga we are passing through. You find around
          you injustice, irregularities, immorality and untruth,
          with all their devilish attributes and atrocities. But
          we have to march ahead in spite of all this with a
          quite tolerant and benign attitude towards life. Almost 
          all the fields and walks of life are polluted
          with these poisonous feelings; but the field of
          education, being the most prominent organ, needs
          our special attention.
   
 885.  EVERY Indian will have to recognise the culture
          based on Vedic philosophy. You will know how
          restless and agitated the youth of India are today,
          trying to rob everything of pride and without
          achievement and thus, getting involved in meaningless 
          pursuits. The student of today is not able to
          realise what he should primarily be concerned with.
          It is only in name that he is a "Vidyarthi", the seeker
          of Knowledge. In practice, he is only a "Vishayarthi",
          a seeker of worldly pleasures.
  
 886.  LOVE is the seed, courage is the blossom and
          peace is the fruit that the Sages grow in the garden 
          of their hearts. They toiled for identifying themselves 
          with the Truth, not for painting falsehood
          with the authenticity of Truth and parading as if
          they had accomplished the mission on which they
          had come to earth. They achieved such success that
          Bharath, for centuries, was the Preceptor of
          Humanity; but now the Preceptor has started to take
          lessons from the least intelligent of the pupils and is
          rearing its head in pride when the pupil congratulates 
          him.
  
 887.  IN the Gita, the Lord has declared "Beejaymmaam 
          Sarva Bhoothaanam", "I am the seed for all
          beings". The tree is a broad spread of leaves and
          flowers, fruit and green. All have grown out of one
          single small seed, and every fruit of that tree has
          seeds of the same nature inside it: contemplate for a
          while on the magnificent multitude of life, all its
          rich variety of strong and weak, prey and hunter,
          distressed and delighted, creeping, crawling,
          flying, floating, walking, hanging, burrowing,
          living, and swarming. All this uncountable variety
          of created beings have come out of the "Beejam"
          (Lord) and again, visualise the immanent Divinity.
          You will become humble, wise, and full of Love.
  
 888.  DO NOT waver, hesitate or doubt your destiny.
          Yearn to realise your Reality; that yearning itself 
          will endow you with a steady endeavour and
          the Grace of God which will remove all obstacles. Be
          an example to others. Do not scatter advice without
          the authority born of practical experience. Do not
          search for the faults of others, seek your own. Love,
          Cooperate, Help, and Serve. This is your prime duty.
  
 889.  THE six demons, Kama (Lust), Krodha (Anger),
          Lobha (Greed) Moha (Attachment), Mada
          (Pride) and Matsara (Hate) pursue you and turn
          you on to wrong paths and make you servile, stupid
          and sad. Fight against them resolutely. That is the
          life-long war you have to wage. It is not a seven
          year war or a thirty year war; it may be a
          hundred year war, if you live a hundred years.
          The struggle knows no respite. This is a civil war,
          where vigilance alone can bring dividends.
  
 890.  THERE are no characteristics in God, but in the
          characteristics of Sathya, Jnana and Ananda
          there is God. God is everywhere and no spaceship
          can hit against Him; no astronaut can espy Him.
          He is too subtle for all that type of contact, subtler
          than ether or Akasa. So, do not lend your ears to
          people who swear there is no God. God is too vast
          and too far above the reach of reason or imagination.
          You can only get glimpses of the Bliss derived
          from the contemplation of His Magnificence.
  
 891.  KRISHNA is hiding in the recesses of your
          hearts. You have to trace Him there and hold
          fast. He runs away but leaves footprints marked by
          the spilled milk on which he has trodden in His hurry
          to be beyond our reach. Yes, the lesson is: recognise
          his Footprints in everything of beauty, every act of
          goodness, every tear of gratitude and every sigh of
          compassion; and discover Him in the bower of your
          own heart filled with the Fragrance of Love and
          Light of Virtue.
  
 892.  A HEART without Love is as dreary as a town
          without a temple. Spiritual pride is the most
          poisonous of all varieties of Pride. It blends and
          leads the person suffering from it into ruin. Beware
          of Pride; be always aware that you are but an instrument 
          in My Divine Mission of Dharmasthapana,
          Revival of righteousness. Try to be more and more
          efficient as such instruments. The hand that wields
          the instrument knows how and when it has to be
          applied.
  
 893.  AT THIS critical hour in the history of the
          World, when the demoniac forces of fear and
          anxiety, injustice and inequity are raging in wild
          fury, it is the duty of every human being to be
          equipped with spiritual strength so that he may not
          be overwhelmed by the storm. This is an urgent and
          essential task and I must say, that the women of
          India have a contribution to make, a service to
          render and a role to play. They must bring God into
          the heart of the child and help it to keep Him there.
          For Faith in God is the tonic that man needs to get
          back his health and happiness.
  
 894.  SOCIAL service should not become show-cial,
          work carried out for publicity or with the
          camera in view. Nor should it become slow-cial
          work. Why go slow, when you are doing good to
          the deserving? Do as much as you can. If you cannot 
          do any good, at least desist from doing harm or
          from finding fault with those who serve you.
  
 895.  YOU know that you can draw cheques upon a
          bank whenever you need money, provided you
          have enough current deposit therein. If the Bank
          goes bankrupt, it will be a disaster. The educational
          system is the Bank on which the nation draws a
          cheque whenever it wants strong, reliable skilled
          workers. If it goes bankrupt, as it nearly has
          today, it is a national disaster.
  
 896.  SERVICE: Let that be the slogan for this nation.
          Service not for those who have many to serve
          them and the wherewithal to help themselves, but
          for the diseased in the hospitals who have no one to
          nurse them, give them a smile or a flower or write
          a letter home for them.
  
897.  THE chief means by which you detach your
          mind from distractions and attach yourselves to
          the search for God are: Yoga and Thyaga. Kama
          (desire) has to be gotten rid of by Thyaga (Renunciation); 
          and Rama (God) has to be secured by Yoga
          (the conjunction of all your faculties for the common
          purpose). Desire discolours the intelligence; it perverts 
          judgment; it sharpens the appetites of the
          senses; it lends a false lure to the objective world.
          When desire disappears or is concentrated on God,
          intelligence is self luminous and it shines in the
          pristine splendour; and that splendour reveals the
          God within and without. That is the real "Atmasakshatkara".
  
 898.  OF WHAT benefit is it to have a body if you do
          not seek to know how best to utilise it? Learn
          from the Saints and Sages who have realised the
          Truth about the path you shall tread and the goal
          you have to attain. That goal is God. He is beyond all
          notions of good and bad, right and wrong. These
          are earthly measures, by which the temporary is
          weighed and judged. He has no Form, no Limbs, no
          duality, no preferences, no prejudices and no
          predilection. To say that He is "Sathyaswarup"
          (having the characteristic of Truth), and
          "Jnanaswarup" (having full wisdom), and
          "Anandaswarup" (full of Bliss) is also not correct.
          For He has no "Swarup" or "Swabhav"; He is Sathya;
          He is Jnana; and He is "Ananda". That is the experience 
          of those who have tasted "Ananda".
  
 899.  YOU may boast that you have been visiting Puttaparthi 
          since twenty years or that you have
          made the place your permanent residence; but, unless 
          you follow the lessons I emphasise, that boast is
          mere empty vanity. If you develop love for all
          beings, in the faith that God resides in all, you may
          be anywhere else, but your prayers would reach Me
          and My Grace will reach you. While in My previous
          body, I told Nanashab that I am in ants, insects and
          animals, besides all men. When a dog ate all offerings 
          intended for Baba, it was declared to have
          reached Baba, for he had eaten it in that form.
          "Nana says, he is giving Me food, but when I go in
          the form of a dog, he drives Me off".
  
 900.  INDIA has always laid down disciplines to cultivate 
          Universal Love; the Yagnas and Yaga
          which are recommended in the Vedas are for
          Lokakalyana, Lokasangraha, the welfare and
          security of all mankind. That is why India is like the
          engine which drags the wagons along, all the wagons
          that are coupled with it. The wagons are the different 
          nations. "Lokaasamathaah Sukhino
          Bhavanthu" is the prayer that rises from the children
          of the land since thousands of years. God is Omnipresent. 
          He is immanent in every being and in
          equal measure. So man must visualise Him equally
          in himself and in others.
  
 901.  ONCE Ramadas wailed, "Oh Lord! you are
          Mighty, all powerful, all knowing; I am alone
          helpless, orphaned and poor". Then the Lord interrupted 
          the self condemnation and said, "No, how
          can you call yourself poor, helpless and orphaned? I
          am with you and in you, showering My Grace. The
          only orphan in the Universe is Myself, for I have no
          guardian, no means of support, nobody to fall back
          upon. I am the A-natha; all else are Sa-natha (with
          Lord), for I am their Natha (Lord)".
  
 902.  THE Universe is the Body of God; in that Body,
          the Unity Consciousness is Bharath, the Ekabhava. 
          "Ekam Sath" the Vedas declared eons ago!
          That is the heartbeat of Bharath today. This is the
          reason why Sages, Saints, Divine Personages and Incarnations 
          of God appear here and proclaim their
          message to mankind from this land. The precious
          message is being exported but very little is used inside 
          the country. That is the tragedy. For the influence 
          available from positions of authority and for
          acquiring and accumulating power, individuals talk
          ill of others and breed hate.
  
 903.  MAN strives to provide himself with food
          clothing and housing for the sake of the body.
          He must also provide himself with something to keep
          the mind healthy and happy. It is the mind that conditions 
          even the body. The mind is the instrument,
          the flywheel, and the thickest comrade of man.
          Through it, one can ruin oneself or save oneself.
          Regulated and controlled, channeled properly it
          can liberate; wayward and let loose, it can entangle
          and bind fast.
  
 904.  TRAIN the mind to dwell on the inner equipment 
          rather than the outer attractions. Use the
          mind to cleanse the feelings, impulses, attitudes,
          tendencies and levels of consciousness. Let it not
          accumulate dirt from the outer world and deposit
          them within itself. If it is attached to work (Pravriti
          Marga), the consequences of work get attached to it.
          Unattached work is the purest; it does not encumber
          the mind with elation or disappointment. "I did it",
          this is mine", these are the two fangs that make the
          individual poisonous. Pull out the fangs, the snake
          can be handled and played with as a pet.
  
 905.  THE Lord is closest to you. He is the Mother,
          Father, Teacher, Friend, Guide and Guardian.
          Call on Him and He responds immediately. From
          dawn to dusk, spend every minute in His company.
          That is the reason why I have directed that every
          Sathya Sai Organisation must arrange for Nagar
          Sankirtan in the pre-dawn Bhahmamuhurtham. It is
          a mission of Love and all will welcome it. It is a
          great act of social service to wake up people with
          the Name of God. It is a purifying pilgrimage,
          casting off anger and hate that infest the atmosphere.
  
 906.  THE Gita speaks of "Yukthahara Viharasya",
          habits of feeding and recreation, which are controlled 
          and regulated. The gross part of food is discarded 
          as feces, the subtle part is transformed into
          muscle, blood etc., and the more subtle of the subtle
          aspects are transmuted into the mind and its
          activities. That is why the Sages have prescribed
          certain limits and levels of food, in order to promote
          the spiritual urges and prevent contrary tendencies.
          But nowadays, as a result of the downgraded time, 
          spirits and food that damage the spiritual urge, are being
          increasingly favoured.
  
 907.  THE Karma or activity is the indicator of inner
          character. Observing one's actions, their motives, 
          their consequences and the extent of one's involvement, 
          it is possible to declare one as a Pasu
          (beast) or Pasupathi (The Lord of Individual Souls:
          that is to say, as Divine as God Himself).
  
 908.  AT school, the first lesson is "Baa Baa Black
          Sheep, Have you any Wool?", and the second is
          "Ding Dong Bell, Pussy in the well". Gone are the
          days when the first lesson was on Rama, Krishna or
          some great sage or saint? Getting to know about
          black sheep will make children black sheep; getting
          to know about the great and the good will make
          children great and good. Children of Baba Vihar
          are therefore told stories of Rama, Krishna and
          other Divine Persons. Learn those tales and decide
          to live like them. Learn Indian ways and Indian
          tales, and be true Indians.
  
 909.  WHY say "Good morning" or "Good night".
          "Namaskar" or "Namaste" is the Indian way, the
          really humble way. You must have Bhaya Vinaya
          and Viswasa - Fear, Humility and Faith. Fear of
          what? Fear of doing wrong and of falling into falsehood. 
          Humility before whom? Before elders,
          teachers and parents. Faith in what? Faith in God, in
          your own strength and in your own victory.
  
 910.  "TAMASOMA Jyothigamaya" is the prayer.
          Egoism is Thamas. There is an easy way to illumine 
          the inner consciousness and the outer behaviour 
          with the light of God. Put the lamp of the
          Name of the Lord, the illumining flame, on the
          tongue! That is the doorstep. That light will drive
          out the darkness from both, inside and outside.
          Have it ever burning, clear and bright. You will soon
          reach remarkable heights and enjoy happiness, the
          like of which you cannot get by sticking to the senses.
  
 911.  KRISHNA took upon Himself three vows: (1)
          "Parithraanaya Sadhoonam Vinaasaayacha
          Dushkrithaam, Dharma Samasthaapanaarthayya
          Sambhavaimi Yuge Yuge" - "For the protection of
          the good and the punishment of the bad; for the
          establishment of the Moral Order, I shall concretise
          Myself, age after age"; (2) "Anayaaschinthayathramanm 
          Yejanah Paryappasatha, Shaamnishya-Abhiyukthaanaam 
          Yoga Shemam Vahamyaham" - "Who ever is wholly immersed in
          my contemplation, with no other thought; I shall be
          ever with him and I shall bear the burden of his
          welfare"; (3) "Sarvadharmaan Parithojya Maamekam
          Saranam Vrajas Ahamthwaa Sarva Paapebhyo Mokshaysh 
          Yaami Maasuch" - "Surrender unto Me,
          giving up all other duties and obligations, I shall
          liberate you from all sin; do not grieve".
  
 912.  WHEN Dharma (which means, that which is
          worn, the apparel, clothes) was sought to be
          removed from the wearer, the Lord blessed
          Draupadi with the grant of an unending series of
          saris. Today, the Sanathana Dharma which is the
          robe of Bharathamatha is sought to be taken away
          by her unworthy and deluded sons; and the Lord
          has come to grant solace and strength. You will see
          splendid saris pouring into her lap from every door
          of the Durabar Hall, where she is being insulted.
          You will witness this great Miracle by the Avatar
          who has come to protect her honour and her
          heritage.
  
 913.  YOU stay far and complain that Grace has not
          come. You do not scrape off, by the process of
          repentance, the mud and rust that prevent attachment. 
          You come for needs sometime and stray away
          into the distance. I do not mean physical distance at
          all. You may be physically far but mentally by My
          side. I do not measure distance in miles or meters. I
          am always with you, in you, beside you; only you
          have to be aware of that and make use of My
          presence. You must become an "Aartha", torn by intense 
          suffering to sense the Lord.
  
 914.  THE Lord has to take the Form that is suitable for
          the task He has to fulfill. To catch a gang of
          decadents, the Police Officer has to move among them
          as a decadent. That is why the Human Form has been
          taken. But who, challenged with impurity by their
          own wives, dare challenge the Avatar and ask for
          proof! Of course, if you desire to understand, you
          are welcome; be near, watch, learn and believe. Put
          on the role, if you have the courage and the conviction 
          that you can enact it well. Are you not tired of
          playing the parts of beggar and clown, in scene after
          scene, birth after birth? Aspire for the nobler role, at
          least now, in this birth.
  
 915.  IF you plan to give joy to others, you will be joyful.
          Who are these others? Even when
          the Lord has come with a definite Human body, all
          humans that you come across are but parts of His
          Glory and Splendour. "Iswarasarvabhuthanaam,
          Hrdresse Arjuna Shrishtethi", "Oh! Arjuna, the Lord,
          dwells in the regions of the heart in all beings", says
          the Lord in the Gita.
  
 916.  HOW can we find time for all this when we
          have to toil every moment for feeding and
          clothing ourselves? But you forget, the Lord will
          grant you these material things and even immortality, 
          if only you place full reliance on Him.
          Whatever you do, have the name, Rama or Krishna,
          or Siva or Hari on your tongue, no extra time or
          energy is needed for that. When you rise in the
          morning, rise with the Name on your tongue and
          slide into sleep with the Name on your tongue.
  
 917.  CONSIDER the condition of the field of your
          heart; it is overgrown with thorns and bushes of
          lust, anger, greed and envy. Remove them, root and
          all. Do not allow the land to turn fallow. By continuous 
          good work, plough the field and fill the
          field with the water of Prema. Select the Nama-seed
          that appeals to you and sow it in the field. Discipline 
          is the force which will guard the growing
          crop against cattle. Virtue is the pesticide. Fostering
          the field with great care, you can bring home the
          precious harvest of Ananda.
  
 918.  ONE day, Krishna pretended to be fast asleep!
          With the flute carelessly thrown aside by His
          side, when Radha approached the fortunate flute
          and asked it in plaintive terms, "Oh lucky Murali!
          Tell me how did you earn the great good fortune.
          What was the vow you observed, the vigil you
          kept, the pilgrimage you accomplished"? The flute
          got a voice through His Grace: "I rid myself of all
          sensual desire of envy, greed and ego, that is all. I
          had no feeling of ego left to obstruct the flow of His
          Prema through me to all creation".
  
 919.  REVERE Jnana as you revere your father; adore
          Love as you adore your mother; move fondly
          with Dharma as if it is your own brother; confide in
          "Daya" as if it is your dearest friend; have Shantams
          as if it is your better half; treat Sahana (Fortitude)
          as if it is your own beloved son. These are your genuine
          kith and kin. Move with them; live with them; and
          do not forsake or neglect them.
  
 920.  THIS is a place where you must try to help and
          not hinder; this is the atmosphere of peace and
          Prasanthi. Do not behave here as you do when you
          gather elsewhere. There is no scope here for envy or
          malice of hate or competition. When Kama and
          Vrodha are rising in hot flames from the heart, how
          can the cool rays of Shanti, Sathya, Ahimsa and
          Prema emanate therefrom? This human birth is a
          rare chance! Use it for spreading joy, and not grief.
          Of course, it is natural for man to resent and to
          grow angry. But you should not allow anger a free
          and furious scope.
  
 921.  KRISHNA had undoubtedly the power to transform 
          in a trice the wayward mind of His
          kinsman into unillumined instrument for resolute
          action. But Krishna did not use the power! He only
          prescribed the medicine and the regimen. Arjuna
          had to swallow the drug and follow the regimen
          himself in order to be saved. He said, "You are My
          friend; you are My kinsman; you are now so near to
          Me that I am now your charioteer; you are also in
          great distress; I agree that the delusion, which has
          overpowered you, must be removed quickly; but,
          your Ajnana must fall off through your own efforts
          not through some Miracle of My design".
  
 922.  ONE can claim genuine victory only when one
          has reached not the dead satellite but the
          living star; not the Chandra but the Ramachandra,
          the Lord who rules over the inner satellites, the
          inner planets, the inner motives and agitations.
          Then one's inner reaction and agitation will be
          transmuted into the Divine. All that one experiences
          through the senses, the mind and the intellect will
          take on the Divine lustre, reveal their Divine core,
          and man will be shaped through the mould of Love.
  
 923.  ONE can be in the World but yet unaffected.
          Activity will then be for the Almighty by His
          Grace and through His will. Do not get work done
          by cooks, servants, ayahs and others in the
          home, women must not depend on these for the
          care of their children or attendance on their husbands. 
          Earning leisure for Dhyana through these
          servants is not a spiritual gain.
  
 924.  I ALWAYS encourage Samathanam, Sanghikam
          and Saam Krishikam activities: the three S's. If it
          is for reviving the values recognised as great by
          time or recreating the damaged structure of the good of
          Society or restoring vigour to some fine art that is
          declining, you can count on My Blessings. I always
          exhort people to win, not the titles that come to
          those who canvas support but the title that the
          Upanishads proclaim as the highest decoration for
          spiritual aspirants: "Amirthaaya-Pathrash",
          "Children of immortality".
  
925.  EVERYONE'S heart is Dharmakshetra where the
          battle between the forces of Good and Evil is
          fought. The whole country is Dharmakshetra. So,
          the mothers and children of this land must be
          devoted to Dharma, above all. The Gita begins with
          the words, Dharmakshetra, and ends with the
          words: "Sarva Dharmaan Parithajiya"; "Through
          Dharma, you have to transcend Dharma". That is
          why Kausalya exhorted Rama when He went into
          the forest: "May the Dharma, which you are
          upholding by this act, be your guardian when you
          are in the forest as an exile". And Rama upheld
          Dharma even under the most trying circumstances.
  
 926.  THIS World is His play; it is not an empty
          dream; it has purpose and use; it is the means
          by which one can discover God; see Him in the
          beauty, grandeur, the order and the majesty of Nature. 
          These are shadows of His Glory and His splendour; 
          that is why the Vedas have three Sections or
          Kandas; Karma, Upasana and Jnana. Karma leads
          to the consciousness of the ever-present, immanent,
          all powerful God. Upasana or adoration of that God
          lends to the knowledge that He is in all. When you
          experience that, there is no second, that is Jnana.
  
 927.  MY place is among you, with you and
          wherever work lies. That is why I moved
          among you and stood at your back. This is just to
          show you that, even in your own places, when you
          do Bhajan or some other type of adoration like serving 
          children, the sick or the poor, I do not sit on a
          special seat, apart and distant. Do not believe I am
          on the pedestal that you offer Me. I am part of you,
          a partner and partaker in all your efforts, inspiring
          and instructing when you ask or need inspiration
          and instruction.
  
 928.  BY developing spiritual qualities, you will be
          promoting the resuscitation of this country and
          its culture. Look at the warning that the sacred texts
          offer! Somaka, the Asura, stole the Vedas! Ravana
          kidnapped Sita, Duryodhana grasped an empire;
          Kamsa slaughtered children; but not one of them
          realised their heart's desire that their names be exalted 
          by history. Sentence of death awaits everyone,
          cutting off their pride and pomp. Some young persons 
          feel that the work they have on hand gives
          them great pleasure but they do not pay heed to its
          future consequences. When you seek beneficial
          results, you have to involve yourselves in beneficial
          activity.
  
 929.  THERE are some who are attracted by various
          systems and methods like Hathayoga, Kriyayoga
          or Rajayoga, which claim to help people to realise
          the self. But I must tell you that none of these can
          make you realise God - I am saying this most emphatically. 
          The Prema Yoga, Discipline of Love,
          alone can lead you to God. Those Yogas may calm
          the minds' agitation temporarily and may improve
          health and prolong life for a few more years - but
          that is all that they can do. What is the good you
          hope to achieve with that body in those extra years?
          If Love is absent, they weigh you down as life's big
          burdens.
  
 930.  WHAT is the immortal part of man? Is it the
          wealth he has accumulated? The residences
          he has built, the physique he has developed, the
          health he has acquired, and the family he has
          reared? No, all that he has done, developed or
          earned are destroyed; he has to leave them all to the
          ravages of time. He cannot take with him even a
          handful of earth, the earth he loved so much. If only
          the dead could take with them a handful each, the
          Earth would have become scarce; it should have
          been rationed by now! Discover the Immortal "I";
          and know that it is the spark of God in you! Live in
          the companionship of that vast measureless
          Supreme and you will be rendered vast and
          measureless. Consider all objects that you collect
          here as given on trust to be used in this caravansari,
          during your pilgrimage, in this Karmashetra.
  
 931.  THE law of Karma is not an iron law. By dedication, 
          by purification which invites benediction,
          its effects can be modified and its rigour mitigated.
          Do not despair; do not lose heart. When vices hold
          sway over your heart, it becomes foul and sooty.
          The flames of Kama, Krodha and Lobha char the
          heart. Grace is provided by the quenching of these
          flames. Grace confers Ananda, which Kama, Krodha
          and Lobha can never confer.
  
 932.  WHY is it that the World reveres Rama and
          revolts at Ravana? Rama is not its uncle's son
          or Ravana its step mother's child. It is the kinship of
          the spirit, your innate goodness, responding lovingly 
          and adoringly to the goodness in Rama and
          reacting revoltingly to the wickedness of Ravana. It
          is not enough nor is it essential that you should
          utter the name of Rama loudly, respect it in the fullness 
          of love and admiration. If you have no spirit of
          love in you, dig into your heart with external instruments 
          like Raga, Stotra etc., and it will start to flow.
  
 933.  WE are today celebrating the Advent of Krishna. 
          The Avatar (incarnation) in the Krishna.
          Form has a vast mystery enshrined in it. Brindavan
          (the forest of Brinda) is the tangled jungle of life.
          The cows tended by Lord Krishna in Brindavan are
          none other than the humans that are helpless
          without His care and guidance. Gokula (the herds
          of cows) is the name given in the Bhagavatham (book
          on the Glory of the Lord) to the region where
          Krishna tended the cows. "Go" means also the individual 
          who is enclosed in the body. So, Gokula, is
          the region inhabited by man.
  
 934.  ONE poet has sung, "Oh, Krishna, Oh, Gopala,
          do not count on your being kind to me,
          being moved by my appeals for mercy. Don't
          I know that you killed with your own hands your
          maternal uncle? You killed the very nurse who came
          endearingly to you in order to feed you at her
          breast! With no iota of compassion towards the
          father of your dearest devotees, you tortured him
          and killed him while the son, Prahlada was looking
          on! You approached Bali as if for alms, and when he
          gladly placed all he had at your feet, you trampled
          on his head and pressed him into the nether
          regions! How can a heart that has no tenderness
          melt at my misery"? Yes, the Lord is above all attachments, 
          He has no favorites or foes.
  
 935.  BY THE example of your lives, you have to restore 
          confidence among the people in the
          higher values of life. Do not neglect the great lessons 
          embedded in Sanathana Dharma, which have
          sustained countless generations in this land for
          many centuries. "May all the Worlds be happy",
          this is the goal towards which Sanathana Dharma
          is leading us. Welcome within the fold of your Love,
          all men without distinction or race or religion,
          colour or class. Have the picture of the Happy,
          Love filled human community in your heart. That
          will give you enough encouragement in your mission.
  
 936.  ISSA Vassyam Idam Sarvam; "All this is enveloped 
          by God". All this is soaked in God;
          saturated with God. Everything is the substance of
          God. We are on the Earth; around it revolves the
          moon. Both, the Earth and the Moon are illumined
          by the Sun. Dependent on the Sun, planets like Mercury, 
          Venus, Mars, Jupiter, Uranus, Neptune, Pluto,
          and Saturn dutifully move along the orbits at different 
          speeds. Their Satellites also belong to the Solar
          family. Whenever we lift our eyes up to the sky at
          night, we notice Stars beyond numbers. And in the
          Milky Way, we see thick masses of Star Clusters.
          In space, there are more than ten thousand crores of
          Stars, and regarding the Galaxies in the Milky Way and
          elsewhere, we have more than ten crores. Without
          being lost in numbers, we must ponder over the
          mystery of the Unity and Harmony of this Cosmic
          projection.
  
 937.  IT IS not possible to consider Creation and the
          Creator, Nature and God as different or separate.
          Can we see that waves are separate from the sea?
          They are of the sea, with the sea, and from the sea.
          Man too is of God, with and from God. The bubble
          is born in water, stays in water and is lost in water.
          The Cosmos too is a bubble born in the Absolute,
          exists as the Absolute and merges in the Absolute or
          Paramatma. Nara (the human) is the bubble. God
          (Narayana) is the sea. Recognise this truth, as the
          bubble cannot be conceived without positing water.
          The Cosmos, this World, cannot be conceived
          without God.
  
 938.  GOOD men are the targets for maligning by the
          small. Have your own errors and evils hidden
          so that you can tackle them in solitude; do not inflict
          them on others. Wrestle with them and overwhelm
          them in the silence of Sadhana. Deal with others
          only beneficially and in joyful cooperation. Look at
          Lord Siva. The poison, which will ruin the World
          ruthlessly, has been contained in His throat! The
          Moon that can shower cool, calm comfort is worn
          by Him on His head for all the Worlds to benefit
          from! That is a lesson for you. Why render others
          miserable, because you are too weak to suppress the
          bandits your heart has welcomed?
  
 939.  I KNOW there are many of you who argue and
          discuss how and in what manner these structures
          came to be built so grandly. If you have known Me
          through and through there will be no such argument at all. 
          You will know that this is but an insignificant 
          product of My power. I have done this only
          as an example; unless those who lead are
          themselves active and earnest to bend and bear the
          burden, all those who are encouraged to follow will
          lose heart and miss the way. Religious leaders have
          a great responsibility in this respect. People fly high,
          only to cast their eyes on a wider circle, searching
          for sustenance as vultures do! The eye belies what
          the wings proclaim.
  
 940.  WHEN you have filled your heart with sympathy 
          for the distressed, the Lord will shower
          His Grace. Draupadi had earned the Grace through
          her devotion and virtues. Sita, too, had stuck to the
          highest ideals of life in spite of her severe sufferings.
          She was kept as a prisoner by her abductor. When
          Hanuman offered to cross the ocean with her on
          his shoulders and take her safe to her Lord Rama,
          she replied that she would not allow herself to be
          abducted back from the custody of Ravana since
          that would deprive Rama of the chance to punish
          him for his crime and retrieve her. Quite in consonance 
          with Dharma.
  
 941.  THE Gita is His Command; how can you earn
          the Master's Grace if you do not carry out the
          Master's commands. If the son says, "Leave me to
          myself, I need no instructions from you"; how can
          he expect the father to give him a share of the
          property? The Gita also helps you to recognise the
          incarnations of God. Usually, when the Lord appears 
          with Form, man is pestered by doubts and he
          actually loses the precious chance. He asks himself
          and all those whom he meets "Is it true?"; "Can it be
          true?"; and before his doubts are removed, he
          deserts the quest and wanders into the wilderness. Of
          course, steady enquiry is essential! Do not be led
          by others; awaken your own reason; amass your own experience; 
          and decide for yourself your own path
  
 942.  NOTHING that is experienced will go to waste.
          It will shape the course of events. It will
          change attitudes and habits. It will purify and
          clarify situations and outlooks. That is why I want
          you to read the Gita; it is like learning Eatha (Swimming) - this 
          learning of the Gita. Eatha saves you
          from drowning. Gita saves you from drowning in
          the treacherous flood of worldly desires. The Gita is
          the real purpose for which the Avatar of Krishna
          was undertaken.
  
 943.  TO condemn all is unjust, untrue, and unkind.
          Take My own instance. I never exult when I am
          extolled, nor shrink when I am reviled. Few have
          realised My purpose and significance: but I am not
          worried when things that are not in Me are attributed 
          to Me. Why should I worry? When things
          that are in Me are mentioned, why should I exult?
          "Sayiki Sarvam Yes, Yes, Yes". For Sai, it is always
          S.S.S. If you say "Yes, you are the Lord", I am
          the Lord to you. If you say "No", I am "No" to you. I
          am "Ananda, Shantham, Dhanam", Bliss, Equanimity,
          and Courage. Take them as your "Atonathathwam" and
          you will not be wrong.
  
 944.  THE influence of the Divine is such that while
          you are contemplating it, all traces of envy and
          greed will disappear from the mind. The boy Krishna 
          had entered a Gopi's house and was just standing 
          beneath the pot of curds when she discovered
          Him. Krishna ran out into the street and the Gopi pursued 
          Him and wanted to catch Him quickly, for she
          was so distressed that the boy was running in the
          hot sun. She never worried about the loss of curds
          or milk or butter, but the very thought of Krishna's
          tender feet walking over the hard stones in the sun
          was something she could not bear. The Prema that
          Krishna showered made everyone forget everything 
          else. He too gave such disarming replies to the
          queries of the mother and the Gopis that no one
          could have anything but Prema towards Him. That
          is the characteristic of Avatars at all times.
  
 945.  DHARMA is the very habiliment of India, the
          dress that Bharathamatha wears to protect her,
          honour to reclaim her status to shelter herself
          against heat and cold and to set a standard to her
          sisters. When the wicked Kaurava princes seized
          hold of the sari that Draupadi wore and tried to
          inflict insult on her honour, Krishna rescued her
          and foiled the foul design. Dharmaraja sat as if he
          was unaware of his rights and duties. Bhima was
          involved in doubt concerning his obligations to his
          elder brother and his consort. Arjuna cared more for
          his own interests. Nakula and Sahadeva waited and
          weighed the pros and cons. But the Lord did not
          wait! His Grace knew no delay or doubt.
  
 946.  DHARMA, the very clothes that Bharathamatha
          has worn since centuries, which is the expression 
          of her natural style, is now seized by wicked
          irreverent hands. They wish to dress her in unbecoming 
          styles on their own initiative or frenzied dictates. 
          So Krishna has to come again for resuming the
          eviction of the wicked. Krishna revealed the hollowness 
          of the people who were confident of their
          capacity to dishonour Draupadi and the weakness
          of those entrusted with the task of protecting her.
          Now too, the Lord has to foil the attempts to undermine 
          Dharma and to stand in support of those who
          are the traditional protectors and protagonists of
          Dharma.
  
 947.  YASODA one day was searching for Krishna
          who had strayed away. She thought He went to
          the house of Radha. Radha just closed her eyes and
          meditated on Krishna for a while and when she
          called "Krishna", Krishna was there. Then Yasoda
          shed tears of joy. She said, "I love Krishna as a
          mother. I have a sense of egoism in me that He is
          my son and that I must save Him from harm and
          seek to give Him guidance and protection. Your
          Prema is pure; it has no egoism promoting it".
  
 948.  REMEMBER always that it is easy to do what is
          pleasant; but it is difficult to be engaged in what
          is beneficial. Not all that is pleasant is profitable. Success 
          comes to those who give up the path strewn with
          roses and brave the hammer blows and the sword-thrusts 
          of the path fraught with danger. As a matter of
          fact, no road is strewn with rose petals. Life is a battlefield, 
          a Dharmakshetra, where duties and desires
          are always in conflict. Smother the fiery fumes of
          Desire, Hatred and Anger that rise up in your hearts. It
          is sheer cowardice to yield to these enemies that turn
          you into beasts.
  
 949.  THE vision of the Virat, the Cosmic Form, is
          given to those who surrender their ego and take
          refuge in the Lord (as Arjuna did) and who imbibe
          with care the Gita sung by the Lord in the silence.
          God is Omnipresent. He is the inner Motivator of
          every particle in the Universe. To declare that He is
          amenable only to your style of worship and that He
          will answer only the Name that you have learnt to
          use, is to insult His Omniscience and His Glory. See
          Him in all; serve Him in all; revere Him in all. Pray,
          "Let the Whole World prosper; let all mankind be
          happy".
  
 950.  IMAGINE the Prema of the Gopis. One noon,
          Krishna stealthily entered the house of a cowherd
          and drank all the milk in the pot. The Gopi discovered 
          Him and, when she admonished Him,
          Krishna took to His heels. When the Gopi saw Him
          running over the hard cobblestones of the street,
          she shed tears of contrition. "These Lotus feet must
          feel great pain", she wept. "Oh, what a great
          sinner I am", she wailed. Krishna will make the
          most wicked heart melt in repentance. He is Premaswarupa 
          and Santhaswarupa and so He makes
          every heart sprout up to Prema and Shanthi.
  
 951.  VASUDEVASSARVAMIDAM does not mean
          that all this is just Krishna, the son of
          Vasudeva. It means that all this is God, by whatever
          Name He is known. So if you decry anyone, you
          are decrying God, which is His real core. If you become 
          aware of the God in you and the God in all
          else, there is nothing to equal the peace and joy that
          you get.
 
  
 952.  LET Me tell you, without reforming conduct in daily
          behaviour and acts, "Ananda" will be beyond reach.
          I consider "Pravarthana", Practice, as essential. A
          man or an institution is to be judged by his integrity
          and whether acts are according to the principles
          proposed. The mind, the body and the word; all three
          must work in unison. By such disciplined Karma, the
          senses will be sublimated and Prasanthi won. Then
          out of this Prasanthi will arise Prakanthi or the
          great light. From that will emerge Paramjyothi,
          the Supra-splendour of illumination. That illumination
          will reveal Param-Atma, the Over-Soul, the Universal.
  
953.  PRASANTHI Nilayam is holding forth and exemplifying 
          the higher ideals in the material,
          ethical, economic, moral, spiritual, worldly and
          even political fields. There is no place here for anything 
          contrary. This can be asserted without any
          possibility of contradiction. In spite of this, some
          ignorant individuals rely more on their guesses than
          on facts and indulge in spreading wrong conclusions. 
          Let me tell them that if a single person in
          the whole world points out a wrong step in Prasanthi 
          Nilayam, he shall be met with and be convinced
          that the Prasanthi Nilayam is eagerly bent upon the
          task of upholding and demonstrating high and holy
          ideals of achieving spiritual realisation. It does
          not seek those worldly riches, nor does it yearn
          for earning favours and fame.
  
 954.  IN Prasanthi Nilayam, no misuse or extravagance 
          can ever happen. For any festival,
          either Sivarathri, Navarathri or the Birthday,
          many people imagine that lakhs of Rupees are spent
          here. For the Dasara celebration, all who have come
          served their best in the fullness of devotion that
          dwells in their hearts and so, not a Naya paise is
          spent for any purpose. The Rithuriks, who officiate
          at the Yagna and the lecturers who deliver discourses, 
          all come and share in the joy out of Love and
          Faith. Their comforts are looked after by the members 
          of the Seva Dal and the Sevasamithis and by
          the Volunteers who dedicate their strength and
          skills to make the Festivals a success. No paise is
          spent on any item.
  
 955.  TODAY, you find the Prasanthi Nilayam area
          clean and pleasing. What is the reason? How
          many sweepers have we employed? How many
          coolies are engaged, you may wonder? No, not one,
          Everyone cleans the place where he is staying and
          the adjacent area. Thus, cleanliness is ensured
          without any cost. It can be asserted that at no place
          in the World are resources put to such good use,
          with the least expense, as at Prasanthi Nilayam.
  
 956.  MAN has Truth as his nature, that is to say, you
          can rely on man's behaviour being always
          true; he will speak out only what he feels to be sincere;
          he will act according to his words. His
          thought, word and action will be consistent and
          complementary. If in any one case this concordance 
          is absent, then the person is a man only in
          outer form. He is worse than a beast, for beasts are
          free from the burdens of thought and speech.
  
 957.  GOD gives an ear to the prayers that rise in all
          languages and even from the silence of the
          dumb. He has no trace of anger or worry. You too
          have no reason to develop anger and anxiety. When
          the teeth bite your tongue, do you get angry at them
          for hurting? Do you break the teeth that hurt it so?
          No, teeth and tongue are both yours. Similarly, he
          who hurts you and you are both limbs of the same
          body - God. Feel that Oneness and avoid hate. God
          is on the lookout for the inner vision. He blesses
          those whose hearts are so vast that they can take in
          all His children. How can He be pleased when you
          are so selfish and narrow minded that you send
          away His children from the doorstep of your heart?
  
 958.  WHAT has brought you all, in this vast number, 
          from your homes and villages to this
          place?. It is the Love you have for Me, and the Love
          I have for you. The reason for your presence is not
          any force or authority or temptation to earn material
          profit or gain. Ponder over the things I have told
          you out of My Love. Try to cleanse your minds
          through repentance for the wrongs done or contemplated 
          and, through a firm resolve to shape your
          lives anew according to the Divine Plan, by which
          each can stand revealed as fully Divine.
  
 959.  RAMA strove to uphold Sathya as the main
          plank of Dharma. Whatever the trial and however 
          hard the travail, He did not give up Truth.
          Sathyam is Dharmam; Dharmam is Sathyam; the
          two are irrevocably intertwined. "Sathyam Vada;
          Dharmam Chara", say the Upanishads. Rama will be
          remembered as long as mountains raise their heads
          and the ocean exists because of this strict adherence
          to Sathya and Dharma. If He had argued "Why
          should I be bound by the word of my father?", He
          would not have earned this immortality. The Immortal 
          had come in the Form of Rama to show the
          way to Immortality.
  
 960.  WHEN you travel towards God, obstacles have
          to be bypassed. Prahlada went against his
          father; Vibhishna went against his brother;
          Jamadagni had to harm his own mother; Meera
          could not obey her husband; because they stuck to
          the path of God and broke through all those who
          opposed them. Young men like you have the problem, 
          I know, of being forced to marry against your
          will by parents who seek to hasten you into marital
          security. You have to win them over and get their
          approval as Sankara did when he wanted to enter
          the monastic order.
  
 961.  BELIEVE that All are God through Jnana, even
          then compassion compels you to love and
          serve. Believe that God is Master or Father and that
          you are His children or servants through Bhakti.
          Even then, His command is to wipe the tears,
          nourish the sick, and help the lame to climb over the
          stile through pity and sympathy. Believe through
          faith in Karma that God has to be adored through
          dedication. The highest form of adoration is by
          means of Seva done in Love.
  
 962.  RAMA is the personification of Viveka, the discriminating 
          faculty of the intellect. Sita and Lakshmana are the higher 
          levels of consciousness - Sujana and Prajnana. Rama 
          puts an end to evil feelings and promotes good thoughts. 
          Rama is the emperor of Ayodhya. That name means 
          impregnable will. No enemy, that is to say, no demeaning
          feeling or thought can invade the heart when Rama
          is installed therein. Thyagaraja sang "Telisi Rama
          Chinthana Cheyeve Manasa", (Oh Mind, Meditate
          on Rama with the full knowledge of what He represents).
  
 963.  INDIA shone for centuries as the Karmabhoomi,
          where each activity of man was ennobled by a
          high purpose and sense of dedication. She was
          therefore acclaimed as Yogabhoomi, the land where
          the people yearned for atonement with God. 
          She was revered as the Thyagabhoomi, where the ideal
          of the mendicant monk, the naked fakir and the
          simple monarch, counseled by the sage, was placed
          before the people through precept and example. At
          the present time, it is being forged into a Bhwyabhoomi, 
          the land of skyscrapers, air conditioning
          and tinned foods and an undisciplined mass of
          humanity pulled from its roots and transplanted in
          other soils. This is an insult to our past and a
          defiance of history.
  
 964.  SRI Sathya Sai College is not founded, as some of
          you are guessing, to promote financial considerations, 
          nor is it intended as an instrument for
          publicity. It will be an example of an inspiration, a
          beacon, a pioneer and a lesson for educators
          and for all those who have the future of humanity in
          their hearts. The usual answer to the question,
          "Why College education? Is it to help secure jobs?
          Why this college?" is, "It is to sweeten the hearts of 
          the future mothers of this land with humility, faith and 
          discrimination; and to light the path they tread towards 
          truth and virtue".
  
 965.  YOUR car is not meant to be kept as a showpiece 
          in a glass case. It is meant for the roads,
          for taking you fast and safe to the place where you
          want to go. So too, your body must serve the purpose 
          of your journey. Journey to where? Not, as it
          has been happening, to the cemetery. You have
          nobler things to do than merely die! You must know
          your own Reality before you die and merge in that
          supreme joy. Eat just enough to keep the body
          trim and use the body to discover this Reality,
          namely, God. Sanctify every moment of your
          sojourn here with pious deeds and sacred thoughts.
  
 966.  MAN has been enslaved by money. He lives a
          superficial, hollow, artificial life. This is indeed 
          a great pity. Man should seek to possess only
          as much money as is most essential for his living.
          The quantity of riches one must earn can be compared 
          to the shoes one wears; if too small, they
          cause pain; if too big, they are a hindrance while
          walking. Money too has to be with us only just
          enough for a life of physical and mental comfort.
          When we have more, it breeds pride, sloth and contempt 
          for others. In pursuit of money, Man descends 
          to the level of the beast. Money is of the nature 
          of manure. Piled up in one place, it pollutes the
          air. Spread it wide, scatter it over fields - it rewards
          you with a bumper harvest. So too, when money is
          spent in all the four quarters for promoting good
          work, it yields contentment and happiness in plenty.
  
 967.  MOVE forward towards the light and the
          shadow falls behind; you move away from it
          and you have to follow your own shadow. Go every
          moment one step nearer to the Lord and then
          Maya, the shadow will fall back and will not delude
          you at all. Be steady; be resolved. Do not commit a
          fault or take a false step and then repent! Have the
          "thaapam" (the deliberation, the decision and the
          discipline) first, that is better than "Paschaath
          Thaapam" (regret for the mistakes made).
  
 968.  THE Universe is seen; it can be learnt about, it
          can be experienced and enjoyed. But God is unseen. 
          He has to be inferred through His handiwork.
          So too, society to which social service is rendered,
          cannot be seen as such. We can contact only individuals. 
          But through the individual you infer the
          immanence of the Divine. All are actors on the
          world stage in His play. Every atom is surcharged
          with His power, His might, His Glory. Every being is
          surcharged with His Bliss, His Beauty, His Goodness.
  
 969.  DO not compare the various manifestations of
          the Divine and pronounce judgment, declaring 
          that Rama is greater than Krishna or Siva superior 
          to Vishnu. This line of thought is poisonous and
          harmful to the devout aspirant. You do not know
          your own self, but yet, how dare you pronounce
          judgment on personalities and powers you have
          never experienced or understood. Rama is as 
          unknown to you as Christ and so it is best to keep 
          silent, and revere both with equal ardour. For all are
          manifestations of the same Divine Effulgence.
  
 970.  THE airplane runs on wheels for some length
          on the ground before it takes off into the air.
          You may ask "Why wheels for the airplane?" so too,
          when you reach a certain height in spiritual Sadhana, 
          rules and regulations can be folded up, as the
          pilot folds up the wheels when up in the air. While
          serving others through the Samithi, do not forget to
          do some Sadhana for your own advancement.
          Paraseva (service of others) is the negative Pole.
          Atma - Seva (service to oneself) is the positive Pole,
          and when they meet, the flash of Ananda (Bliss)
          emanates. Bliss obliterates all worries, all fears, and
          all anxiety. March on to that Consummation,
          through Sadhana and Seva. These are my Blessings to
          each of you.
  
 971.  THE Purusha Suktah of the Vedas says "Sahasra
          Seersha Purushah, Sahaeraakshah, Sahasrapad",
          The supreme Sovereign Person has a thousand
          heads, a thousand eyes and a thousand feet. The
          heads, eyes and feet of the thousands who gather
          here, are my heads, My Eyes, and My Feet. Nurse
          them respect them, attend to their needs - you have
          done your japam dhyanam and puja! The mantra
          says "Sarva Deva Namaskaraha Kesavam Prathi,
          Gachachathi"; the homage that you pay all to the
          Gods flow towards the one only, Kesava. I would
          elaborate it further and give you this new mantra;
          "Sarva Jeeva Namaskaraha Kesavam Prathi Gachchathi"; 
          The reverence, the Service that you offer to
          every single being (Jeeva) flows automatically to the
          One, namely Kesava.
  
 972.  GOD is to be recognised in all that exists, all
          that is charming or suffering, blooming or
          drooping. He is Intelligence in the insect, Faithfulness 
          in the dog, latent Energy in the rock!
          Vivekananda announced at Chicago that Hinduism
          uncovered the upadhi (Scabbard) and sought the
          inner core of the Divine in all things, animate and
          inanimate. A gentleman may wear morning dress,
          evening dress, dinner coat or luncheon slacks; he is
          the same inside all these dresses, isn't he?
  
 973.  THE Vedas are for the Glorification of the Gods,
          "Devaanam sthuthy antham",  in the
          Kaliyuga, one is asked to rely more on
          Namasmarana for Liberation. Why is it considered
          enough for the people of this Age? For other sadhanas 
          are fraught with difficulties. They need
          rigorous discipline and much preliminary effort.
          Again, there is another advantage in Namasmarana;
          as soon as the Name is uttered, the owner of the
          Name comes into view. When you think of the
          Form, the Name may not always accompany; you
          may not be able to identify. There may be more than
          One Name and you may be confused, but take the
          Name and the Form automatically appears before
          the mental eye.
  
 974.  THE true Guru is not a human Preceptor. It is the
          Cosmos itself, Prakrithi, Creation, the World
          around us. Life must have an ideal before it, it must
          proceed towards a goal, it must be a constant
          march. Life has as its sole purpose: man becoming Divine,
          the transformation of the man. We profess to
          be the God we really are. "Gu" in the word Guru
          indicates the qualities of Gunatheetha, that is unaffected 
          by attributes and attitudes, not associated
          with any one particular characteristic, and "Ru" means
          rupa-rahitha, that is not limited to any form but pervasive 
          in all forms. In this context, the Universe
          and all its components are to be looked upon as
          one's Preceptors and lessons learnt from each.
  
 975.  IT is all God, an expression of His Majesty! Derive
          joy from the springs of joy within you and
          without you; advance, do not stand still or recede.
          Every minute must mark a step forward. Rejoice
          that it is given to you to recognise God in all and
          welcome all chances to sing His Glory, to hear His
          chronicle, to share His presence with others. God
          has His Hands in all handiwork, His Feet on all
          altitudes His Eyes beyond all horizons, His Face
          before every face. That is what the Bhagavad Githa
          declares, you who read the Githa can vouch for the
          accuracy of that statement, if only you have faith in
          it and live in its light.
  
 976.  THE sages have laid down three categories
          which comprise the knowable world; God, Nature 
          and the I (Iswara Prakrithi and Jiva). God, when
          seen through the mirror of Nature, appears as I.
          Remove the mirror, there is only God, the image merges 
          in the Original. Man is but the Image of God.
          Even Nature is but an appearance of God; the
          reality is He alone. The Principle of Appearance
          that deludes as multiple manifestation is Maya. It is
          not external to God; it is inherent in God, just as all
          Powers are inherent in Him.
  
 977.  GOD, the Eternal Absolute is pictured, praised
          and adored as temporarily apparent and is
          adored in limited regions as Rama, Krishna, Vishnu,
          Eswara, etc. These are not basic fundamental expressions 
          of His Nature. These are only Forms assumed
          for certain purposes, like conferring peace on earth,
          re-establishing the norms of justice and strengthening
          the ideal of faith in the Supreme. The fixed and fundamental 
          Attributes are Sathyam, Jnanam, Anantham. This is the 
          swarupa of Brahmam.
  
 978.  THE Lord is now worshipped by offering Him all
          things that you crave for; by treating Him with all
          the honour you like to have yourself. The idol is
          bathed and washed, bedecked with jewels, fed and
          fanned, surrounded with fragrance, etc. since these are
          things you desire. But the Lord is pleased only when
          you do things the Lord desires! How else can you win
          the Grace? How else than by nursing and nourishing,
          scouring and saving His Children? How else than
          by helping them to realise Him as their Lord and
          guarding and cultivating Faith in Him, through your
          own straight and sincere living?
  
 979.  CLEANSE the heart by listening to spiritual discourses 
          seeking the Company and comradeship
          of the righteous, the simple, the sincere, the seekers
          and by cultivating goodness of character and sweetness 
          of disposition. Fill your hearts with the sweet,
          fragrant waters of Prema (Love). Then every act of
          yours, every word of yours (which are like the water
          drawn from the tank through the taps - tongue, hand,
          brain etc.) will be sweet and fragrant. If the tank is
          filled with pollution, how can the word be helpful,
          the thought beneficial, or the deed commendable?
  
 980.  SOME people are afraid of cynical criticism by
          unbelievers and therefore reluctant to move out
          in groups along the streets in the early morning
          hours singing the Glory of God. When you have the
          embodiment of fearlessness installed in your heart,
          why should the slightest tremor of fear affect you? If
          others do not join for fear of derision or ridicule,
          move out alone singing the Name. You came into
          this world alone with no companion, didn't you! During
          the years of life you collected all this kith and kin,
          you gathered wife and children, friends and acquaintances, 
          which attached themselves to you. When you
          return to the Realm from which you came, you enter
          the portals alone, with no one to keep you company. So
          too, let it be with the journey called Nagarsankirtan. 
          Come into street alone, collect kith and kin, if 
          they come to you, move with them unconcerned
          and unaffected; revel in your own sweet solitude and
          finally enter your home in the satisfaction that
          your job is well done.
  
981.  GOD likes such pure souls who come gladly to
          merge in Him. Some people say, "Oh, it is the
          Dasara Festival and lakhs and lakhs of people
          throng there. And they pour lakhs and lakhs of
          rupees there". Well, what they give is Alakshyam,
          not Lakshyam! My hand stretches out for receiving
          only when a pure heart full of Prema is offered; on
          all other occasions, He gives, never takes. Let the People 
          with poison in their hearts, barren of Love and Service,
          feel shame, and resolve to cleanse themselves 
          from now on.
  
 982.  IT was announced that I was born like Janaka, as
          the result of some Karmasesha! I have no sesha or
          Karma as already mentioned in the Githa. The
          Mahasakthi puts on the cloak of Mayasakthi in
          order to fulfill the purpose of contacting and protecting 
          mankind. I have no desire and so, no binding
          Karma. It is only you have the desire, aim and wish
          that drag you along various paths. For Me, your
          Ananda is My Food, your elation is the swing on
          which I sit, your activity is My Playground.
  
 983.  WE have hospitals and dispensaries and
          clinics in every street now because disease
          has its hold in every family, in every home. Even
          little children wear glasses, young people dye their
          hair, many wear dentures. The reason is, the atmosphere 
          in the modern home is filled with artificiality,
          anxiety, envy, discontent, empty boasting, vain
          pomp, extravagance, falsehood, and hypocrisy.
          How can anyone, growing up in this corrosive atmosphere, 
          be free from illness? If the home is filled 
          with the clean fragrance of contentment and peace,
          all its occupants will be happy and healthy.
  
 984.  THE Patient must drink the drug himself. There
          is no vicarious cure. The balm must he applied
          where the pain is. The cause of the illness and the
          misery is in your mental vision, for you are many
          when there is only one. You say "My God", "Their
          God", "Your God Baba", as if there are many Gods
          existing to help you quarrel and fight among yourselves. 
          Ask the Lord for the removal of your earthly
          troubles. There is no mistake in that. It is much better 
          than asking other men and losing self-respect
          and honour.
  
 985.  ATMA is the Ocean, Prakriti is just a wave of
          that vast ageless, boundless Ocean, and the
          Jivi is just a drop of that wave. You cannot give up
          the wave or the sea, you can only merge the Name
          and Form of the drop, Once you enter the depths of
          the Sea, it is all calm, it is all peace, agitation, noise
          confusion - all are only on the outer layers. So also
          in the innermost recesses of the heart, there is a
          reservoir of Santhi where you must take refuge.
  
 986.  THE doctors can serve the poor by treating them
          without insisting on payment: give the poor all
          the attention and care that you lavish on the rich
          paying patients. Do it for the sake of God; feel that it
          is the Puja you are offering Him. The lawyers can
          help those, who for want of a skilled advocate have
          to go undefended or have to suffer at the hands of
          unscrupulous men. Do not publish these acts of
          sympathy, do them spontaneously without fanfare.
          That is more precious than demonstrating your service 
          with the help of headlines and photographs.
          These reduce the worth of the deeds of compassion.
          You must be uncomfortable when those around you
          are unhappy; when you ease their discomfort, you
          are making them happy and making yourself
          happy, isn't it?
  
 987.  TAMASO maa Jyothirgamaya, is the Prayer,
          Egoism is thamas; sharanagathi is Jyothi. There is
          an easy way to illumine the inner Consciousness and
          the outer behaviour with the Light of God. Put the
          Lamp of the Name of the Lord, the illumining flame,
          on the tongue! That is the doorstep, that Light will
          drive out the darkness from both, inside and outside.
          Have it ever burning clear and bright. You will soon
          reach remarkable height and enjoy happiness; the like
          of which you cannot get by sticking to the senses.
  
 988.  SIVARATHRI is a very auspicious day for all. It
          is the fourteenth day of the Lunar fortnight,
          when the moon is waning and the sun is in the sign
          of Aquarius. The festival is however related to the
          moon, rather than the sun. That is the reason why it
          is called "Sivarathri", the night of Siva, unlike other
          nights, this particular night is the night of consecration 
          or dedication of illumination. On this night,
          there is just a minute part more to be conquered
          and that can be done by keeping vigil and dwelling
          on the Glory of God. The Vigil that is prescribed is
          symbolic of the eternal vigil one has to observe,
          while the rite of fasting is symbolic of diverting the
          senses of the pleasures they crave for. The night-long 
          bhajan is significant of the lifelong consciousness 
          of the Divine Presence that every one should cultivate.
  
 989. THE Lord is closest to you. He is the mother,
          father, teacher, friend, guide and guardian. Call on
          Him and He responds immediately. From dawn to
          dusk spend every minute in His company. That is the
          reason why I have directed that every Sathya Sai 
          organisation must arrange for Nagarasankirthanam in
          the pre-dawn Brahma-muhurtam. It is a mission of
          Love and all will welcome it. It is a great act of  social
          service to waken people with the Name of God. It is
          purifying Pilgrimage, casting off the foul fumes of
          anger and hate that infest the atmosphere.
  
 990.  THERE was once a wicked commentator who
          said that this direction removes the need to discriminate 
          between the right and wrong! He must
          have been the same person who said, "The Lord
          says in the Githa that He will be pleased if even
          a leaf, a flower, a fruit or a little water is offered to
          Him". Well, this hookah contains all four, the tobacco
          leaf, the red flower, denoted by the cinders, the shell
          of the coconut, fruit, and water through which the
          smoke bubble bubbles! Impertinence and irrelevance 
          cannot hide irreverence from the eyes of God.
  
 991.  THE Anandam that will well up within you and
          the contemplation of Anandaswarupa will
          drive out all grief, all worry. Siva it seems laughed
          when He took a good look at the chariot that was
          provided for Him when He started out to slay the
          Thripura - Asuras, the Asuras of the three bodies;
          Sthula, Sukshma and Karana (the Gross, the Subtle
          and the Causal). Vishnu, the Charioteer, was mostly in
          yoganidra, the Stable Earth was the Chariot and the
          two wheels were the Sun and the Moon, two
          spheres which never revolved in Unison! That
          slaughter laid the Asuras low. There was no more need to
          proceed against the Asuras. How did the evil forces
          that dwelt in the three bodies die? They could not
          exist where there is Ananda; for they are products
          of grief. Develop Ananda; then evil impulses and
          tendencies will vanish, for they will not get any
          foothold in the heart.
  
 992.  THE human body has been secured as a reward
          of many lives of meritorious activity. Being
          valued as a boat which can help us cross the ocean
          of change, Samsara, it has to be tended with grateful
          reverence. The Bhaghavad Githa calls the body 
          "Kshetra" which means a field. One can sow holiness 
          or sin and gather a harvest commensurate
          with the particular quality. Choose the crop you
          need before you sow the seeds.
  
 993.  KSHETRA also means the entire earth. Another
          significant meaning of the word is "a holy
          place". We say "Kasi - Kshetra", "Prayaga - Kshetra",
          etc. to indicate those places are sacred. The body is
          also a kshetra since it is a temple where God is
          installed and worshipped through thoughts, words
          and deeds. The temple has to be cleaned and kept
          healthy and pure. Purity is to be preserved and
          promoted not by multiple baths or by avoiding contact
          with others "condemned as untouchable". You
          cannot be pure by the observance of the superficial
          taboo, "Don't touch".
  
 994.  THE body can be cleaned if washed with water.
          Speech can be cleaned if it is saturated in truth.
          Life can be purified if it is sanctified by Tapas, and
          the intellect can be cleared of blemish through
          Jnana. Above all, the conviction that you are not the
          body but only a resident of the body has to grow in
          you. If you identify yourself with the body you
          carry about with you, you are inviting sorrow and
          suffering to overwhelm you, instead of the joy and
          peace which are awaiting to bless you.
  
 995.  AVATARS manifested in the Krithika Yuga for
          preservation of Vedic tradition, in the Tretha
          Yuga for the protection of Dharma, and in the
          Dwvapara Yuga for the promulgation of the right of
          Property. In the Kritha Yuga the Avatar saved the
          Vedas from neglect, in the Tretha Yuga, He saved
          women from dishonour, and in the Dwapara Yuga
          He saved property from injustice. Now, in the
          fourth Age, the Kali Yuga, all three are in dire
          peril. The Vedas are ridiculed, women are tempted
          into unworthy lives, and property is condemned 
          as theft! So, the Avatar has a threefold
          Task. Man has no purity in the heart, no sanctity in
          his emotions, no love in his deeds, no God in his
          prayers.
  
 996.  THE Earth is a caravanserai where men come
          and stay for the night and when dawn breaks,
          one by one they tramp their different ways. Kith
          Kin are the words we use for the attachment to the
          travelers cultivated in the caravanserai during the
          short term of acquaintance. Husband and wife are
          like two pieces of wood drifting down a flooded
          river; they float near each other for some time and
          when a current comes between them, they are parted. Each
          must move on to the sea at its own rate and in its
          own time. There is no need to grieve over their parting 
          of the two, it is in the very nature of Nature that
          it should be so.
  
 997.  MAN must be Yoked to Samsara and broken;
          that is the training which will teach that the
          world is unreal; no amount of lectures will make
          you believe it is a snake unless you actually                    
          experience it. Touch fire and get the sensation of burning; 
          there is nothing like it to teach you that fire is to
          be avoided. Unless you touch it, you will be aware
          only of its light. It is both light and heat; just as this
          world is both true and false; that is to say unreal.
  
 998.  COURAGE comes out of the grace of the Lord, it
          needs generations of learning and struggle.
          Meanwhile you must start with the first step, the
          cleansing of the mind and the cultivation of virtue.
          Even if you do not start with that step, at least do
          not laugh at those who do and discourage them. Do
          at least this much! Then, do not depend upon others
          for doing your work like attending to your personal 
          wants. Do it yourself; that is real freedom.
          Again, never accept anything "free" from others; Pay
          it back in service or work. That will make you a 
          self-respecting individual! Receiving a favour means
          getting bound to the giver. Grow with self-respect
          and dignity. That is the best service you can do to
          yourself.
  
 999.  THAT which is born has also to die; coming implies 
          going; that which has no birth has no
          death either. The Atma has no birth, no death, nor
          can you say it spreads or grows or weakens. It has
          no history, that is all that can be said about it. It
          is ever Intelligence, ever Bliss. There is the urge to
          desire a thing that is named Ichcha Sakthi - but it
          too is a derivative of the Atma Sakthi, the Divine
          that is your core. Realise it as such and do not 
          demean it by desiring deleterious objects. Desire, so
          sublimated, is the basis of Love, "Prema". It is the fruit
          of the tree of God-ward directed Ichcha Sakthi.
  
 1000. WHY attached false values to exterior symbols? 
           Why develop prejudice for the reason 
           that a man was born on the other side of a political 
           boundary or calls on God in another language? God 
           is the origin of all languages. Boundaries shift and 
           are subject to revision, resettlement and change.
           These are man-made differences and should not interfere 
           with God-ward activities. God has made the
           Universe as one single Home for one Single family.
           Each state is but an apartment in that mansion.
          
  
 1001. BAKTHI is defined as the means of discovering
           the Divine Reality within each being. Four steps
           are laid down in the scriptures to help man succeed 
           in this effort; Discrimination between the Permanent
           and the Impermanent; withdrawal from the process
           of catering to the senses; Positive control of the feelings, 
           thoughts, and pursuits; and incessant yearning 
           for Liberation from all bonds. Bakthi is the urge
           which manifests as all four endeavours. Bhakthi 
           is derived from "Bha" or Bhaghavan or God. It
           directs man to have God ever in mind and to cultivate 
           love for God within him.
  
 1002. DEVOTION fosters the highest virtue; it is the
           most precious treasure, it is the truest path, the
           only way to God. Man must live in Bakthi; for Bakthi; 
           through Bakthi. For Bakthi is Love of the purest
           and the noblest variety. Such love is the breath that
           sustains life that supports the Soul in the effort to
           merge in the super-soul. The years of life spent
           without the Light of Love are years of ruin, of dust
           and disease. One could as well be dead and decay
           forever.
  
 1003. THE Jivi has come to this birth in order to reveal
           the splendour of the spark of Godhead which it
           is. The body is the wick of the lamp, yearning for
           God is the ghee which feeds the flame. But like the
           rat which, attracted by the strong smelling cheap
           stuff inside the trap, neglects all other articles of
           food in the granary and falls prey to its foolishness. 
           Man too neglects his real sustenance and wastes 
           his life in pursuit of mortal riches.
  
 1004. YOU must dive deep into the sea to get the pearls.
           If you must realise the full fruit of this Avatar,
           dive deep and get immersed in Sai Baba. 
           Halfheartedness, 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? Therefore, how much more true
           must it be in the spiritual field? But if you
           have already attached yourselves to some Name
           and Form, do not change it, do not choose another
           in place of the Prema Swarupam.
  
 1005. 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. Behold and Acknowledge 
           the Glory that you have witnessed; proclaim
           the joy that you have experienced; confer the Grace
           that you have earned. For example, when people ask you
           whether you are going to Puttaparthi and whether 
           you too are singing Bhajans, say, "yes" proudly, 
           for there is no shame in walking on the right path.
  
 1006. THE only new thing is man's perverse behaviour, 
           the directions in which he has been wasting his 
           talents, misusing his capacity of playing
           false to his own nature. He has been forgetting the
           path prescribed in the Scriptures for the cultivation
           of his nature, therefore all this suffering and hence My
           advent.
  
 1007. YOU might have heard people talk about the
           miracles; My "making" this and "giving" that,
           My fulfilling all your wants,  My curing your illnesses. 
           But they are not so important as the Sathwa
           guna I appreciate, promote and instill. Of course, I
           confer on you these boons of health and prosperity
           but only so that you might, with greater enthusiasm
           and with less interruption, proceed with spiritual
           Sadhana. Bakthi leads to Sakthi and Sakthi will
           grant Yukthi. The Yukthi will help you to fix your
           Rakthi or attachment on the proper objects and your
           Bakthi thus promoted, finally results in Mukthi.
  
 1008. CRITICISING others and finding fault with them 
           are both results of egoism. Search your own
           faults instead. The faults you see in others are your
           own faults instead. The faults you see in others are
           but reflections of your own personality traits. Pay
           no heed to little worries; attach your mind to the
           Lord and then you will be led to the Company of
           good men and your talents will be transmuted.
  

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