"Change your vision and the world will

appear accordingly.

Let the eye be charged with the Divine,

it will see all as God."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(S.S. October 1992)

Extend your Hand

"If you lift your hand to serve,

to console, to encourage another being,

you are lifting it for God.

Every deed performed do it in My name.

Every person who passes near your path,

give him the sweetness of your smile.

Give freely the nectar of your cup of happiness,

of kindness, of blissfulness.

Give them the warmth of your love.

Extend your hand as I extend Mine to you."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Becoming a Veggie

I grew up in a family where meat, fish and eggs were part of the daily diet. I had some friends who were vegetarian but the thought of becoming vegetarian myself never occurred to me.

In 1993, I heard about Sathya Sai Baba's work and my two children and I started attending weekly bhajan sessions at our local Sai center at Sacramento, California. Soon after, my daughter, a teenager watched a TV program that was particularly disturbing for her - it portrayed the inhumane treatment of poultry and cattle prior to being slaughtered for food. "I am not eating any meat or chicken any more," she announced.

"Oh well, just another teenage fad," I thought. "This will probably last a week, or maybe two." But I agreed as long as she was ready to prepare her meals herself.

Weeks passed and I marvelled at her resolve. She did not flinch even once as she quite happily prepared her vegetarian meals. Soon she started working on her younger brother. Being very resolute and articulate, she had him convinced in no time. Now they both began to work on me.

We had subscribed to the Sanathana Sarathi and each time it arrived in the mail, my daughter read it cover to cover. She would run to me with any quotes from Swami she could find to support her case. Trips to the supermarket became battlegrounds: my son would look at me with big soulful brown eyes, "How would you feel if you were this chicken's mother - would you like your kid to be cut up and served for food?" Oh please! Up until then, chicken was simply a well-packaged piece of high-protein food - I did not think of it as having been alive at some point, let alone having a mother!

Soon my defences began to crumble and I half-heartedly agreed to try. I decided to give up cooking meat every other day and so Tuesdays, Thursdays and Saturdays became vegetarian days for a while. But my heart was not in it - and needless to say, I did not succeed. Giving up a habit of over 40 years was not easy, I found out.

Then one day I was in my back yard. There is a small lake behind our property. The water was clear and I could see the fish swimming around. Does God really exist in all creatures, I wondered. Without much thought, I threw out a challenge. "OK, Swami, if You are present in every creature, make that fish swim to me," I said in my mind.

Sure enough, a fish made its way slowly to the shore where I was standing, then turned to the right and swam away. My doubting mind jumped right in. "Oh, that was just a coincidence," I thought. "Surely the fish was just swimming with the current!"

No sooner had I finished this thought, the fish made a sharp turn around, swam swiftly back to where I was standing, paused in front of me and for several seconds, looked directly into my eyes.

After that experience, the desire to eat any fish, meat or fowl simply vanished and to this day, I remain a happy vegetarian.

(Author: Jeroo Captain)

Bliss

Any sensual bliss in the world,

any heavenly bliss,

isn't worth one sixteenth-sixteenth

of the bliss of the ending of craving.

~ Udana ~

(The Daily Enlightenment)

Celestial Poems of Sathya Sai Baba

If you bring bunches of flowers and worship Him,

He neither appreciates nor accepts.

If you offer the lotus of your heart,

He readily accepts with a compassionate heart.

Do not forget this good and noble word.

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Happy Chinese New Year

May your homes be filled with

Sai's love and blessings in the Year of the Dragon.

Happy Chinese New Year!

Devotion Whence And Whither?

Where does devotion dwell?

Not only in winning words,

Nor in the sweetest song.

But in the little deeds

Done with love all day long.

What does devotion shun?

Egos that usurp His role,

Tongues that do not speak true,

Acts irreverent of Him,

Thoughts not of cheerful hue.

When is devotion false?

When the outer show is grand

And wears the hypocrite's pose.

When artificial routine

Robs the fragrance from the rose.

How does devotion grow?

With ears that listen with love;

With small acts that kindness breeds;

With hands that hold and help;

With efforts that fill the needs.

Where does devotion end?

As Lord Sai works through you

His love you cannot miss;

Replete with thoughts of Him

The journey's end is Bliss.

~ Hal Honig ~

(S.S. April 1994)

A Loveless Heart

"A loveless heart is a dry desert.

Love is the foundation of life.

The air that is inhaled and exhaled has to be loved

in order that it may replenish and revive."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Knowing ...

"Knowing that we will all die one day,

will you still quarrel?"

~ Dhammapada ~

Knowing that we will all die one day,

will you still bear a grudge?

Will you still not forgive and forget?

(The Daily Enlightenment)

The Power of Namasmarana

Two persons by the name of Jyaana Dev and Naama Dev were walking through a forest. They felt very thirsty but could not catch sight of a well or a lake anywhere. They trudged along. At last they saw a well and ran towards it. They eagerly looked into it. There was water in the well but how could they drink? There was neither a rope nor a vessel to draw water. There was no question of somehow going into the well as it was in a dilapidated condition.

Jnaana simply closed his eyes as if in prayer. Soon he was transformed into a bird and he flew into the well and drank water to his fill. Naama began chanting the name of Lord Vittal with intense devotion. The water level began to rise slowly until the level of the water was within the reach of Naama Dev. He just put his hands into the well and drank water to his fill.

Such is the power of Namasmarana.

(Chinna Katha by Bhgawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Celestial Poems of Sathya Sai Baba

"Religions are different, but the path is one.

Clothes are different, but thread is one.

Ornaments are different, but gold is one.

Colours of the cow are different, but milk is one.

Beings are different, but breath is one.

Castes are many, but birth is one.

Doctrines are many, but Divinity is one.

Flowers are different, but worship is one.

Unaware of this knowledge, people go astray

And pursue many a path to eke out their living.

What more can I tell you, oh virtuous men of this assembly?"

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Bhagawan is Sundaram

"Needless to say how beautiful it is to watch Swami.

If He is not beautiful, we won't wait for Him right from

6.30 till 9.30. Though the darshan is cancelled,

we are ready to go there again by 2 o'clock.

Though we have seen Him in the morning and evening,

when He goes outside, we run after His car.

Why? What is that attraction?

It is because of His beauty or Sundaram."

(From the book "Divine Reflections" by Prof. K. Anil Kumar)

Bhagawan is Sivam

"Baba has complete understanding and awareness.

He is not merely a philosopher.

He knows engineering, medicine, geography, history, everything.

We know certain things. We know things half way.

Incomplete knowledge is dangerous.

Complete understanding is awareness.

So, Sai is Sivam."

(From the book "Divine Reflections" by Prof. K. Anil Kumar)

Bhagawan is Sathyam

"Baba speaks of love, love, love.

Somebody asked why Swami speaks of love every time.

He does it because you have not cultivated that quality of love.

You know love, you've heard about love.

But you don't love anybody.

You don't have that lovingness.

You don't have that loveliness.

You know what love is. What for?

until I enjoy love, until I become love myself,

He is not tired of repeating any number of times.

So it is not repetition. Truth is changless.

Baba is Sathyam."

(From the book "Divine Reflections" by Prof. K. Anil Kumar)

I Need the Lord of Lords

Many ask ... "Is He the Lord?"

I say, "He is Lord of Lords."

When I started to explore the world,

My parents said, "He is your world."

On many occasions I was in the devil's jaw,

But He took me out of that evil maw.

Since I am a man I need something,

But I will never ask to be a king.

I want neither plates of gold

Nor anything that's bought or sold.

I need His friendship

To alleviate my hardship!

I need Him to be my Teacher

As well as my divine Preacher.

I will be His honest slave

Until I go down to my grave.

~ R.Yashwant ~

Criticism

"If someone criticises you loudly,

it goes into thin air.

If he accuses you within,

it goes back to him."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(Divine Discourse - 23.11.98)

The Truth Hurts

The Truth hurts,

sometimes.

But it only hurts you

as much as you refuse to accept it.

Not seeing the problem,

of not facing the Truth,

that you have a tooth decaying away,

will only cause you more pain.

(The Daily Enlightenment)

Bid Farewell to Bad Qualities

"We are bidding farewell to the year and welcoming the New Year,

we give a send off to one while welcoming the other.

So also, we should bid farewell to bad qualities

and welcome good, divine qualities.

Offer all your bad qualities to God.

Only He can take them and bestow His grace on

you to foster good qualities."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(Divine Discourse 1994)