Knowledge

"Information-oriented knowledge makes man a machine,

a computer;

whereas transformation-oriented knowledge makes man

a composer."

~ Baba ~

(Divine Discourse - 20.11.88)

Celestial Poems of Sathya Sai Baba

"Why should you go for a paltry plant in the backyard

When you have the very Kalpavriksha (wish fulfilling tree)

That grants you all your wishes?

Why should you buy a cow for money

When you have Kamadhenu (the celestial cow)

Ready to give you milk in plenty?

Why should go in search of gold and silver

When you have the very Meru, the mountain of gold?

Why should you seek the foul worldly life

When you have the Lord Himself here,

Ready to grant you devotion and liberation?

~ Baba ~

Die Young

How do you train yourself to truly

live your life?

Train your "self" to die

before your actual death.

With the death of the egoistic self

comes freedom in this very life.

(The Daily Enlightenment)

Love (Pt.3) - Hurdles to Living in Love

Ego:

The 'I', 'Me', 'Mine' syndrome

makes us myopic and self-centred.

Excessive Materialism:

The search for happiness in excessive materialism

makes it (happiness) even more elusive,

leading to desperation in man.

Unhealthy Competition:

The desperate man believing that the end

determines the means enters into a frenzied

rat race to succeed at all costs.

Mental Agitation:

Negative emotions rise when the insatiable desires

are not met.

Loss of peace:

The mental agitation in turn vitiates the atmosphere

at home and outside

resulting in violence in society.

The result:

Devoid of Love,

life becomes a long, arduous journey.

(From the book "Love" by Sudha Geethanath)

Happy Birthday, Swami

Happy Birthday, Swami

Dearest Swami

Thank you for the happy times and memories we have shared.

Our love for you shall never cease for in our hearts

You shall always remain.

To our own dear Bhagawan,

Happy Birthday!

~ Divine Blossoms ~

Love (Pt.2) - Why Live in Love?

One living in love has no enemies; has kinship with everyone;

enjoys sound sleep;

enjoys expansive love and lightness of the heart;

views life as a celebration;

is vibrant, joyous and contented;

actually lives in God, the source of immeasurable

Peace, Bliss and Love.

(From the book "Love" by Sudha Geethanath)

Love (Pt.1)

Love:

It is selfless, unconditional and steady.

It is infinite.

It knows no hatred, greed or envy.

It is ever compassionate and empathises.

It is .... Divine.

There isn't a man in whom love is totally absent.

Yet, this love is not Divine. It is natural or worldly.

"Divine Love always gives to others and receives nothing."

~ Baba ~

It is changeless. It is expansive. It is Bliss.

"Natural Love always expects something from others."

~ Baba ~

It is narrow. It is painful.

(From the book "Love" by Sudha Geethanath)

When Depressed

When depressed, depress not your head - lift it up.

Look to the sky. Gasp - take a deep breath.

Open your eyes wide. Smile.

And where is the depression now?

If you are mindful of your body postures when you are depressed,

you will notice that it takes certain patterns - you slouch and your breathing becomes sighing,

and your eyes become lifeless and small as you frown.

Maintaining these postures is almost a sure way of maintaining the depression.

Do the opposite and see what happens.

Our body, speech and mind work in unison - each affecting the other.

Hence, spiritual cultivation means the mindfulness and purification of these three doors.

(The Daily Enlightenment)

The Body

"The body is a house given to you for rent;

the owner is God.

Live there so long as He wills,

thanking Him and paying Him the rent of

faith and devotion."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Akhanda Bhajan

"The spiritual vibrations produced by Bhajans confer great joy both on those who sing them and on those who hear the songs. Bhajans remove all negative thoughts, soothe the nerves, purify the mind and fill the body and the heart with sweet love for the divine.

As one sings Bhajans, the mind is saturated with God Consciousness and a great ecstasy wells up from within. No mental or intellectual effort is called for, as there is no need to understand anything while uttering the holy names of God and singing His glory.

The singing and the atmosphere created by Bhajans takes one beyond the realms of the body, mind and intellect and helps to establish communion with the Higher Self (consciousness) within. Therefore, singing Bhajans becomes a beautiful and blissful experience. Many great composers and musicians like Thyagaraja established communion with God through devotional music.”

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Lokaas-samasthaas-sukhino Bhavantu

"When you utter the prayer, "Lokaas-samasthaas-sukhino Bhavantu",

("May all the people in all the worlds be happy"),

you should pray wholeheartedly with the conviction

that the same Divine dwells in everyone."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Celestial Poems of Sathya Sai Baba

"By performing meritorious deeds.

By practising the quality of sacrifice,

By fostering feelings of love,

By conquering demoniac tendencies and

By contemplating on Divinity,

Lead your lives day by day."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Give Up Attachment

Once upon a time, there lived a beautiful and charming princess in Greece. She was not only beautiful but also adept in shooting, hunting and running. In fact, she had earned the title of "the fleet-footed princess." Many handsome and heroic princes desired to win her heart and hand. So, the princess hit upon a clever plan. She announced that she would marry the young man who would beat her in a foot race. Hundreds of young warriors came to race with her but she always out-ran them.

At last one young hero was bent upon outrunning her. He sought the advice of a wise man. He explained to him about the fleet-footed princess and her challenge. He also expressed his regret over the fact that many young warriors were being put to shame by the princess.

The wise man said: "Don't worry, you take within your pocket several shining pieces of jewellery and gems. As you run, go on dropping one piece after another on the racing track at strategic points."

On the day fixed for the race, the young man equipped himself with fine pieces of jewellery. The young man and the princess started running. Both of them were good runners. Whenever the princess was on the point of outstripping him, the young man would softly drop a dazzling piece of jewellery. The princess spontaneously stopped to pick up the lovely piece of jewelllery that was after all on the racing track. She was confident that inspite of the halts she would be able to outrun her rival. These brief but frequent halts made him reach the goal ahead of her. Thus the young man won the race as well as the heart and the hand of the princess.

Why did the fleet footed princess lose this time? It is all because of her love for jewellery. Love of lucre always makes man weak and prevents him from realising his real goal in life. If we want success in life, we have to give up attachment and be prepared to sacrifice what we have as the young man did.

(Chinna Katha from Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Are You Free?

There is the popular misconcept that to be free,

one must have a car, money, time... (The Buddha had no car!)

How real is freedom if it is that conditioned?

True freedom is the ability to be at ease with whatever comes along - it is unconditioned;

a state of mind.

Are you free?

If not, why are you not freeing yourself?

(The Daily Enlightenment)