Ten Guidelines from Sathya Sai Baba - Guideline No.10 - Love Yourself

"As much as I love you, how can you not love yourself? You were created by me for one reason only - to be loved and to love in return. I am a God of Love. Love Me ... love your neighbour ... but also love yourself. It makes my heart ache when I see you angry with yourself when things go wrong. You are very precious to Me!"

~ Baba ~

Ten Guidelines from Sathya Sai Baba - Guideline No.9 - Be Kind

"Be kind to others for I love them as much as I love you. They may not dress like you or talk like you or live the same way as you do, but I still love you all. Please try to get along, for My sake. I created each of you different in some way. It would be so boring if you were all identical. Please know that I love each of your differences."

~ Baba ~

Ten Guidelines from Sathya Sai Baba - Guideline No.8 - Be Patient

"I managed to fix it so in just one lifetime, you could have so many diverse experiences. You grow from a child to an adult ...have children, change jobs many times, learn many trades, travel to so many places, meet thousands of people and experience so much. How can you be so impatient then when it takes Me a little longer than you expect to handle something on My To-do list? Trust Me in My timing for My taking is perfect. Just because I created the entire universe in six days, everyone thinks I should always rush, rush, rush."

~ Baba ~

Ten Guidelines from Sathya Sai Baba - Guideline No.7 - Share

"You were taught to share when you were only two years old. When did you forget? That rule still applies. Share your joys with those who need your encouragement. Share with those who are less fortunate than you. Share your laughter with those who have not heard any in such a long time. Share your tears with those who have forgotten how to cry. Share your faith with those who have none."

~ Baba ~

Ten Guidelines from Sathya Sai Baba - Guideline No.6 - Have Faith

"I see a lot of things from up here that you can't see from where you are. Trust me, you wouldn't want the view from My eyes. I will continue to care from you and meet your needs. Have faith in Me that I know what I am doing. You only have to trust Me. Although I have a much bigger task than you, it seems as if you have so much trouble just doing the simple part. How hard can trust be?"

~ Baba ~

Ten Guidelines from Sathya Sai Baba - Guideline No.5 - Talk To Me

"I want you to forget a lot of things. Forget what was making you crazy. Forget the worry and the fretting because you know I am in control. But there is one thing I pray that you will never forget. Please don't forget to talk to Me. Often! I love you!

I want to hear your voice. I want you to include Me in on the things going on in your life. I want to talk about your friends and family. Prayer is simply you having a conversation with Me. I want to be your dearest friend."

~ Baba ~

Ten Guidelines from Sathya Sai Baba - Guideline No.4 - Leave It Alone

"Don't wake up in the morning and say, "Well, I am feeling much stronger now ... I think I can handle it from here!" Why do you think you are feeling stronger now? It is simple. You gave me your burdens and I am taking care of them. I also renew your strength and cover you in My peace. Don't you know that if I give you these problems back, you will be right back where you started? Leave them with Me and forget about them. Just let Me do My job."

~ Baba ~

Ten Guidelines from Sathya Sai Baba - Guideline No.3 - Trust Me

"Once you have given your burdens to Me, quit trying to take them back. Have faith that I will take care of all your needs, your problems and your trials. Trust in Me. Problem with the kids? Put them on My list. Problem with finance? Put it on My list. Problem with your emotional roller coaster? For My sake, put it on My list. I want to help you. All you have to do is ask."

~ Baba ~

Ten Guidelines From Sathya Sai Baba - Guideline No. 2 - Put It On The List

"Something needs to be done or taken care of? Put it on the list. No, not on your list. Put it on MY to-do-list. Let me be the one to take care of the problem. I can't help you until you turn it over to Me. And although my to-do list is long, I am after all ... God. I can take care of anything you put into My hands. In fact, if the truth were ever really known, I take care of a lot of things for you that you never even realise."

~ Baba ~

Ten Guidelines From Sathya Sai Baba - Guideline No.1 - Quit Worrying

"Life has dealt you a blow and all you do is to sit and worry. Have you forgotten that I am here to take all your burdens and carry them for you? Or do you just enjoy fretting over little things that come your way?"

~ Baba ~

(As published in the November 2007 edition of Nava Sarathy)

Rely on His Grace

"Resolve that relying on His Grace, you shall be free from illness from this moment. Transfer the faith that you have in drugs to God; put your trust, not in medicine, but in Madhava.

I am astounded by the number of people resorting to tablets and tonics. Resort to prayer, to Sadhana, Japam and Dhyanam. They are the vitamins you need, they will restore you. No tablet is as efficacious as Ram Nam. I shall give you Vibhuti and that will cure you."

~ Baba ~

(Sadhana - The Inward Path)

Guru Poornima (July 25)

Be simple and sincere. It is sheer waste of money to burden the pictures and idols in the shrines and altars of your homes with a weight of garlands, and to parade costly utensils and vessels and offerings, to show off your devotion. This is deception; it demeans Divinity, imputing to it the desire for pomp and publicity. I ask only for purity of heart, to shower Grace.

Do not posit distance between you and Me; do not interpose the formalities of the Guru-sishya (Preceptordisciple) relationship, or even the altitudinal distinctions of the God-Devotee relationship, between you and Me.

I am neither Guru nor God; I am You; You are I; that is the Truth. There is
no distinction. That which appears so is the delusion. You are waves; I am the Ocean. Know this and be free, be Divine.

~ Baba ~
Guru Poornima Festival

Prashaanthi Nilayam

19-7-1970

He Knows the Way

As I drive along the endless road,

I see the landscape beyond man's eye.

Each leaf tells a story, each rock hides a secret,

and each mountain grows out of karma.

I am in the Land of the Living Avatar.

Part of me is anxious with anticipation.

A greater part is serene.

I know not the Will of the Avatar;

I feel simply His Love.

This pilgrimage of uncertainty is the path

to detachment.

Moment by moment Maya melts away.

For in THAT moment I have accepted and surrendered:

Only He knows the way.

~ Smita Pujara ~

Baba's Banquet

"I always begin my discourse with a sloka or a poem and conclude it with a bhajan. Do you know what they are?

The first poem or sloka is like a plate, the discourse can be compared to the various delicious items that are served on the plate, and the bhajan in the end is like a plate covering the delicious items.

Do not treat this as a Mandhu (medicine), thereby taking a little. Treat this as a Vindhu (banquet) and partake of the delicious items that I serve to the maximum extent. Experience and enjoy this banquet."

~ Baba ~

(From the Dasara Discourses 1998)

Waves

All are waves on the same, one ocean, composed,

as ocean water is, of the same substance: Spirit.

Some of the waves are higher then others.

Some waves don't even want to distance

themselves from the ocean.

All waves, no matter how high, are in essence

one and the same.

The difference between the Guru and the disciples,

then, lies only in their respective closeness to the ocean:

in how conscious each one is of his essential reality.

The greater the sense of ego, the taller the wave,

and the greater, in consequence, the ignorance.

The greater one's awareness of the ocean as one's soul reality,

the smaller the wave, and also the less his sense of

having a separate individuality.

Paramahansa Yogananda

Whom Krishna Saves

"Whom Krishna saves, who can destroy?
Whom Krishna destroys, who can save?"

Peace and Contentment

Gautama, the Buddha, was passing through a forest when he saw a cool stream. He stopped, washed his feet and hands. After drinking some water, he walked across to the shade of a large tree and sat down, thinking about the Supreme Divinity.

The king of that place was going on horseback along the same way. As he was always engaged in war with other kings to enlarge his own kingdom, his heart was full of hatred, fear and jealousy.

Seeing that a Sanyasin was sitting idle with closed eyes under a tree, he got down from the horse's back and started shouting angrily at the Buddha.

"Oh, Sanyasin, open your eyes and see who is in front of you. Even a king like me does not sit idle. You Sanyasins feed yourselves on others' labour and preach idleness to others as well." Speaking in this tone, he went on pouring hot words of anger and abuse on Gautama till he himself felt tired and exhausted.

Gautama, who was calm all the time, slowly opened his eyes and, with a smile, said to the king, "Sit down, my son. Surely you are tired and thirsty. May I fetch you some cool water from that stream?"

The king was stunned by these soft and sweet words of love. He immediately felt that this Sanyasin must be the great Prince Siddharta who had left the pleasures of the palace in search of peace and then became Gautama Buddha or Gautama the Enlightened One.

So he fell at the Sanyasin's feet and said, "Please forgive my mistake. Tell me how, in spite of all my anger and abuse, you are so quiet and calm and even so loving towards me."

"My son," said the Buddha. "Suppose you offer a plateful of sweets to another but he does not accept it. Where does it go then? "

Prompt came the answer from the king. "Of course, it goes back to the giver."

"Then don't you see that I have not accepted a single word of all that you said? How then can those words hurt me?"

(Spiritual Impressions)

Devotion to God

"Bhakhti or devotion to God is not to be judged or measured by rosaries or candles, daubings on the forehead or matted hair or jingles on the ankles; purity of motive and intention is essential, so that Prema which is the one component of Bhakthi does not leak out of the heart.

The genuine outer signs of Bhakthi are three: faith, humility and apprehension. Faith is the ultimate victory of truth and love; humility before elders and the wise; apprehension in the presence of evil; fear to mix with bad company, to enter into evil designs, to act counter to the whisperings of conscience."

~ Baba ~

(Sadhana - The Inward Path)

First Aid

When it was suggested that each seva dal member should always carry with him a first aid box so that he could serve people more often, Baba modified the contents of the box:

"Carry in it a few tablets of Discrimination and Detachment, an ounce or two of Sense Control, a packet of Love and a bandage strip of Fortitude. Then you can render first aid to people suffering from a stroke of ego, or a bout of greed or a jaundiced vision, or an allergy for service."

(Sathyam Shivam Sundaram - Pt.4)

Don't Preach What You Don't Practise

One day, a poor woman visited the great Shri Ramakrishna Paramahamsa along with her greedy son.

She said: "Guruji, my son is very fond of sweets. He wants to eat them everyday. And he is spoiling his teeth. He does not pay heed to my advice or warnings. Please help him stop this habit!"

Shri Ramakrishna Paramhamsa looked at the boy but instead of talking to him, asked the woman to come with her son again after a fortnight.

The woman brought the boy again after two weeks. As both sat down, Shri Ramakrishna looked tenderly at the boy and asked, "My dear son, is it true that you trouble your mother to get you sweets every day?" The boy hung down his head and said, "Yes, Sir!" and became silent. "You are an intelligent boy. You know that sweets spoil your teeth. Your mother too is worried about you. If she spends money on sweets every day, how can she buy new books and clothes for you? Don't you think you are committing a mistake?"

Shri Ramakrishna's words touched the boy's heart. He looked at the Great One and said, "Yes, Sir." and became silent again. "Then you will stop asking for sweets from today. Is it not?" asked Shri Ramakrishna in an appealing tone.. The boy smiled this time and said, "Yes, Sir. I will stop troubling my mother for sweets from today."

Shri Ramakrishna was pleased with the boy's reply. Lovingly, he drew the boy close to him and said, "My son, you are a nice boy. You understand what is good and what is bad for you. You will surely grow into a happy man." As the boy bowed down, Shri Ramarishna blessed him and turned to the other devotees.

The boy went out into the garden. His grateful mother asked Shri Ramakrishna, "Gurudev, why did you make us wait for two weeks to give these few words of advice?"

Shri Ramakrishna smiled and said, "You see, when you came two weeks ago, I too was eating sweets now and then almost everyday. So from that day, I stopped eating sweets. That gave me the courage to advise your son to do so."

(Spiritual Impressions)

Brothers

Swami often asks young boys, "How many brothers do you have?" The boys invariably reply along expected lines by saying two or three, etc., as is the case. Swami then smiles and softly whispers, "All are your brothers!"

After this, He asks of another boy. "How many friends do you have?" Taking the cue from the earlier conversation, this second boy would say, "Swami, all are my friends."

Swami would again smile and gently say, "No, all are not your friends. God alone is your friend!"

Prayer of Surrender

"Why are you so troubled? Let me take care of all your concerns. I will look after them. I take charge only when you are capable of surrendering completely to Me. It is precisely for this that I am waiting. When you surrender to Me fully, you will no longer have to worry about anything. Let go of all fear, all distress. You reveal that you do not trust Me; entrust yourselves completely.

Surrender means the capacity to distance one's thoughts from worries, from the various difficulties you have to face, from all your different problems. Hand over all these matters to Me and say, "Lord, take care of them. Thy will be done." This amounts to "Thank You, Lord. With everything in Your Hands, I know that all will work out for my highest good."

Surrender means not having expectations, not being upset if the outcome of events is different than anticipated. When you worry, you show that you do not believe that you are loved and cherished, that I am in charge of your lives, and that nothing escapes Me. Do you want Me to take care of things or not? You simply must stop worrying! I will lead you only if you surrender completely. And when I have you along a path which is different from what you had expected, I Myself will carry you in My arms.

Your mind is the cause of agitation, as are your thoughts and worries, and that desire to do everything yourselves. I intervene for both your spiritual and material needs, when you turn to Me inwardly, saying, "Please, You take care of this!", after which you close your eyes and sleep peacefully! But you will benefit only when in your prayers, you have entrusted yourselves fully to Me.

When in pain, you pray for My help, but of the kind that you yourselves desire. You do not entrust yourselves to Me, instead you want Me to adapt Myself to your request. You are like those patients who tell the doctor what medicine they need, instead of asking him! Do not do this.

Even during very difficult times, say, "Lord, I praise You, and thank You for this problem, this need of mine. Please deal with these matters in the way You think best for this transitory term on earth - You know what is necessary for this time."

If you say sincerely "Thy will be done", which amounts to "You take care of this", I intervene with My full omnipresence and resolve the most crucial situations, even those that seem impossible.

At times, do you have the impression that your misfortune is increasing instead of diminishing? Do not be troubled close your eyes, and trustingly say these words, "You take care. Thy will be done."

Then I will do just that, and when necessary, also perform a miracle. I am thinking of you constantly - I can only help you completely when you entrust yourselves totally to Me."

~ Baba ~

(from "Handbook on Union with God

Through Finger Postures")

To Be Alone

"To be alone is the best way to find God within."

~ Baba ~

(Facets of the Divine Diamond)

Prayer

"Prayer is not asking.

Prayer is putting oneself in the hands of God,

at His disposition and listening to His voice

in the depths of our hearts."

~ Mother Teresa ~

God! God! God!

From the depths of slumber,

As I ascend the spiral stairway of wakefulness,

I whisper:

God! God! God!

Thou art the food, and when I break my fast

Of nightly separation from Thee,

I taste Thee, and mentally say:

God! God! God!

No matter where I go, the spotlight of my mind

Ever keeps turning on Thee,

And in the battle din of activity,

my silent war-cry is ever:

God! God! God!

When boisterous storms of trials shriek

And worries howl at me,

I drown their noises, loudly chanting:

God! God! God!

When my mind weaves dreams

With threads of memories,
On that magic cloth I do emboss:

God! God! God!

Every night, in time of deepest sleep,

My peace dreams and calls:

Joy! Joy! Joy!

And my joy comes singing ever more:

God! God! God!

In waking, eating, working, dreaming, sleeping,

Serving, meditating, chanting, divinely loving,

My soul constantly hums, unheard by any:

God! God! God!

Paramahansa Yogananda

Baba in the Moon

On 20 May 2010, the devotees of Sri Sathya Sai Baba in South Africa, who were gathered for singing bhajans in His honour, had extraordinary fortune to see the image of their Swami on the face of the moon.

When a devotee noticed it, she immediately communicated it to all the others who were assembled in the bhajan hall. Simultaneously, in other parts of South Africa, other people testified that the same thing happened.

The following day, the principal daily paper in English, the “The Post” published the photos on the first page with three columns of news. The people in South Africa began to consult friends and relatives and some have started investigations to pick up testimonies in various parts of the country.

Reported by JK Aggarwal

Oh Krishna!

"Oh Panduranga!

Without any shade or shelter,

I am carrying on this burden of life

only for Your sake.

I become restless if I don't see

Your beautiful smile.

Oh Krishna!

At lease come in my dreams.

Grant me Your vision

because I can no longer bear

separation from You.

Oh Krishna!

Sing a sweet song and fill my heart

with nectarine words and bliss.

Distill the essence of the Vedas,

transform it into divine music,

play it on Your enchanting flute,

and captivate me with Your melody.

Sing, oh Krishna! Sing for me!"

(Telugu song)

The Lord and the Bhaktha

"The Lord rushes towards the Bhaktha

faster than the Bhaktha rushes 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 so many saints

who have placed faith in Him."

~ Baba ~

(Sadhana - The Inward Path)

A Prayer

"Dear Lord,

I approach this day with love and humility,

may it speak to me of Truth and Wisdom.

Please let it unfold like the beauty

of an opening rose.

As I walk to meet its challenges,

prepare me for its gifts.

If I stumble, if I fall, help me up again.

Show me with clarity what must be done

in love and devotion to You.

Teach me to be always aware

of the moment offered,

putting the past behind me and

the future in Your care.

Still my restless thoughts,

enabling me to focus dearly with increasing

consciousness of the oneness of love

in the unity with all."

~ Jenny Branson ~

(Sai Reflections)

Do Something Beautiful for God

"Come with me into a world of poverty,

into a land where men are dying endlessly,

Into a world of inhumanity ...

Can't you see they're starving?

Where's your charity?

They laugh and cry, they're people

just like you and me,

They need help and not just sympathy.

Show each one something beautiful for God above,

Something beautiful to show your love,

Show each one something beautiful for God above,

Something beautiful to show your love.

A day goes by, the night is long for everyone,

A child is crying, perhaps he'll live to see the sun,

And yet he knows the morning may not come.

Throughout the world our brothers live in poverty,

They're everywhere if only we had eyes to see.

So look around and find your sanity.

Show to mankind the love He has shown you,

And feed His lambs as He has fed each one of you.

He loves them as much as HE LOVES YOU.

Show each one something beautiful for God above,

Something beautiful to show your love,

Show each one something beautiful for God above,

Something beautiful to show your love."

~ Mother Teresa ~

(The St.Mary Cray Seva Newsletter)

Children

"Children must grow up in the

atmosphere of reverence, devotion,

mutual service and co-operation.

They must be taught respect

for parents, teachers and elders."

~ Baba ~

(Facets of the Divine Diamond)

Bring Yourself to Me

"My eyes direct your eyes the direction to see Me.

My ears direct your ears to hear only of Me.

My smile shows you the happiness I bring.

My hands show your hands how to serve Me in everyone.

My heart shows you the love I have for you.

Use your body as an instrument I have given you,

to bring yourself to Me."

~ Baba ~

(Sai Darshan)

Dear Lord ...

Dear Lord,
When I arise from my slumber every morning
And the sun streams into my bedroom,
I call You silently,
Om Sai Ram, Om Sai Ram.

Wherever I go,
Whatever I do,
I call You silently,
Om Sai Ram, Om Sai Ram.

When mental worries torture me,
And I know not where to turn,
I call You silently,
Om Sai Ram, Om Sai Ram.

When joy overtakes me
And I walk with light steps,
I call You silently,
Om Sai Ram, Om Sai Ram.

When night falls and
All is quiet,
I call You silently,
Om Sai Ram, Om Sai Ram.

And so with each passing day,
Om Sai Ram, Om Sai Ram.

A Universal Prayer

So far today, Baba, I've done all right.

I haven't gossiped,

Haven't lost my temper,

Haven't been greedy or grumpy,

Nasty or self-centred.

I am really glad about that

But in a few minutes, Baba,

I'm going to get out of bed

And then I am going to need a lot of help.

Amen.

(From the Sai Newsletter of Scotland)

Giving Love to All

Giving love to all, feeling the love of God,

seeing His presence in everyone...

that is the way to live in this world.

Paramahansa Yogananda