Tuesday, December 31, 2013

Light



Through darkness light will always come
How soon of course is up to us
We have the power to lift the gloom
And let light through - one shaft will do

Once the dark cloud has been broken
It starts to weaken with a lesser hold
The light is stronger by far than darkness
We have the choice which we will use

Sometimes the darkness seems to comfort
When the world seems such a frightening place
But not for long will this delude us
The light will lure us from darkest grey

These times are necessary to remind us
That life is not always with roses strewn
And that the darkness shown the colours
With their true depths of brilliant hues

So do not despair when dark clouds gather
Just look at them with eyes anew
And know that they are there to serve you
Give thanks to them, then let the light shine through.

~ Mary Latimer ~

Happy New Year 2014



Sunday, December 29, 2013

Divine Wisdom


"Share love with everybody.
Always maintain unity and purity."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(1.1.2003 New Year Discourse)

Quotable Quotes



"Don't look for success in getting achievements.
Look for success in just giving and forgiving."

~ Ajahn Brahm ~

Saturday, December 28, 2013

Charity

"Charity is giving of money, time or energy
for a good cause;
Sacrifice is giving up on one's 
bad traits and weaknesses."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~


Friday, December 27, 2013

Celestial Poems of Sathya Sai Baba



"Donning ochre robes
Do not make you a devotee;
Reciting hymns vociferously
Do not enable you to understand the inherent divinity;
Chanting the slokas in Geeta, loud and long,
Do not earn you the merit;
Only the one who observes harmony
In speech and action becomes a noble one."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Wednesday, December 25, 2013

Quotable Quotes



"Non violence succeeds only when we have a living faith in God.  Buddha, Jesus, Mohammed, they were all warriors of peace in their own style.  We have to enrich the heritage left by these world teachers.  God has his own wonderful way of executing his plans and choosing his instruments.

The Prophet and Abubaker  trapped in a cave were saved from their persecutors by a spider that had woven its web across the mouth of that cave.  All the world teachers you should know, began with a zero!"


(From the book "My God" by Mahatma Gandhi)

Quotable Quotes



"Each day there are new blessings.
Let us give thanks to God."

~ St.Mary Euphrasia ~
(Foundress of the Congregation of
Our Lady of Charity of the Good Shepherd)

Divine Wisdom



A Christmas Message




 Today we celebrate the birthday of Jesus Christ. Jesus taught that you should seek the Kingdom of Heaven and to enter that Kingdom, you must cultivate loving hearts. Then your hearts would become the Kingdom of Heaven. When Jesus was born in the manger, three kings were led by a star to His place of birth. One of them, seeing the infant Jesus observed: "This Child will be a lover of God." The second said: "No, God will love Him." The third one said: "Verily He is God Himself." The significance of these three statements is - "To love God is to be His Messenger." To be loved by God is to be a son of God and finally, as Jesus Himself said: "I and My Father are one." Be aware that all of you are messengers of God. All of you are Children of God. So be free from selfishness and manifest the qualities of the Divine Father from today.
   

~ Baba ~
 (Divine Discourse - 25.12.94)

Monday, December 23, 2013

Sai is Resident in Every Heart



"You have it in your power to make your days on earth a path of flowers instead of a path 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 so He is present in every living thing and you.  Adore everyone as you adore Sai."


~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(S.S.S. Vol.lX)

Sunday, December 22, 2013

Feed the Hungry



"There is no meaning preaching spirituality to a starving man.
Feed the hungry.
Offer solace to those in distress and despair.
The educated should try to teach the illiterate.
Doctors ought to render medical service to the poor.
Businessmen and industrialists should keep reasonable income
for their upkeep and utilize the surplus for charitable purpose."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Friday, December 20, 2013

Wishing You a Holy Christmas



“Develop love of God. All other forms of love are not love at all, but only fleeting and impermanent attachments. Man's biggest folly is forgetting his Divinity. All should realize that they come from God. All are children of God. Everyone should seek to get nearer and nearer to God. That is spiritual practice (Sadhana). You must feel that God dwells in your heart. You must develop compassion in the heart, because without it, the heart is only a stone. 

That is the message of Jesus: The message of love. Love is God. Live in love. Start the day with love. Spend the day with love. End the day with love. This is the way to God. Only the person who is filled with love will be dear to the Lord. 

Today, devotees from many countries are here. Whatever happiness you may have experienced here, you must sustain that when you go back to your countries. That is got by God's grace. You can get it through love and love alone. When you have that love, your proximity to God is ensured forever."


- Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(Divine Discourse - 25.12.96)

Gifts to Give




To your enemy . . . forgiveness,
To your opponent . . . tolerance.
To a friend . . . your heart.
To a customer . . . service.
To all men . . . charity.
To every child . . . a good example
To yourself . . . respect
(Author unknown)

Wednesday, December 18, 2013

The Way to Happiness



Keep your heart free of hate.
Keep your mind from worry.
Live simply, expect little, give much.
Fill your life with love.
Scatter sunshine.
Forget self, think of others.
Do as you would be done by.
Try this for a week and you will be surprised.

(Author unknown)

Tuesday, December 17, 2013

The Little Christmas Tree



This is the story of a little fir tree who dreamt of growing up so that he could go and be a Christmas Tree amongst the Humans.

The other older trees, knew more about life, and they told him that being a tree with the Humans wasn’t as good as all that. But the little fir tree didn’t want to believe the older trees – and he didn’t have long to wait.

He was so pleased when one day some children came with their parents to choose a fir tree to decorate their living room. The children adored him at first sight.

So he was dug up, then brought into the living room, where he was hung with decorations.

After they had finished decorating him, the little fir tree shone with a thousand lights.

Christmas was getting closer and everyone admired the little Christmas Tree. The young fir tree thought: “All the bigger fir trees were wrong” and he lifted his branches even higher so people could admire him better.

Up till January, he was the prince of the living room; but then he started to lose his needles.

Now nobody looked at him, touched him, or even bothered to gather up the tiny needles that fell. Then, the whole family decided to put him down into the cellar. The fir tree started to feel very sad that he had even been chosen by the family.

After several days’ wait – it seemed never-ending to him - the little fir tree was replanted. He was so happy to be back in this good old earth that he’d missed so much during those endless days when he was shut up in the cellar!! Suddenly he understood that the family had left him in the cold of the cellar to keep him healthy.

Each year, the family dug him up again to put him back into the living room. He was very happy with his new family. And yes, in the end the bigger trees were wrong about something - some humans are good after all...


Monday, December 16, 2013

The Season of Giving

 

There are those who give little of the much which they have - and they give it for recognition and their hidden desire makes their gifts unwholesome.

And there are those who have little and give it all.  These are the believers in life and the bounty of life, and their coffer is never empty.

There are those who give with joy and that joy is their reward.

And there are those who give with pain and that pain is their baptism.

And there are those who give and know not pain in giving, nor do they seek joy, nor give with mindfulness of virtue;  they give as if in yonder valley the myrtle breathes its fragrance into space.  

Through the hands of such as these, God speaks and from behind their eyes, He smiles upon the earth.

It is well to give when asked, but it is better to give unasked, through understanding.

And to the open-handed the search for one who shall receive is joy greater than giving.

And is there aught that you would withhold?

All you have will some day be given;
Therefore give now, that the season of giving may be yours and not your inheritors.

("The Prophet" by Kahlil Gibran)

Quotable Quotes



"Peace begins with a smile."

~ Mother Teresa ~
 

Coloured Glasses



"You wear coloured glasses and see everything through those glasses.
Correct your vision; the world will get corrected.
Reform yourselves; the world will get reformed.
You create the world of your choice."

 ~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(S.S.S. Vol.IX)

Wednesday, December 11, 2013

Quotable Quotes



"Remain calm, serene, always in command
of yourself.  You will then find out 
how easy it is to get along."

~ Paramahansa Yogananda ~

Tuesday, December 10, 2013

Celestial Poems of Sathya Sai Baba

 

"You cannot harvest good by doing bad;
You cannot harvest bad by doing good.
You cannot raise a mango tree by planting lemon;
Nor can you raise a lemon tree by planting a mango."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Sunday, December 8, 2013

Divine Wisdom




"Each religion forgets that God is all Forms and all Names,
all attributes and all assertions.  
The Religion of Humanity is the sum and substance of all
these partial faiths; for there is only one Religion
and that is the Religion of Love."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(S.S.S. Vol. IX)

Saturday, December 7, 2013

A True Devotee



"A true devotee will be steadfast in faith,
whatever the ups and downs of worldly fortune.  
He prays to the Lord not for padartham
(things, material objects or the fulfilment of worldly desires),
but for para-artham, the happiness that is supraworldly."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(S.S.S. Vol. IX)

God Answers

 

God answers prayer in three ways:
yes, no and wait awhile.
If you receive a no answer,
look for the lesson the no answer teaches.
God sometimes shuts doors to lead you to the right open door.
If you experience difficulty and hardship,
perhaps it is because God wants to do something
for you other than you expected or have yet experienced.

(Author unknown)

The Wind and the Moon



Once upon a time, there were two very good friends who lived together in the shade of a rock. Strange as it may seem, one was a lion and one was a tiger. They had met when they were too young to know the difference between lions and tigers. So they did not think their friendship was at all unusual. Besides, it was a peaceful part of the mountains, possibly due to the influence of a gentle forest monk who lived nearby. He was a hermit, one who lives far away from other people. 

For some unknown reason, one day the two friends got into a silly argument. The tiger said, "Everyone knows the cold comes when the moon wanes from full to new!" The lion said, "Where did you hear such nonsense? Everyone knows the cold comes when the moon waxes from new to full!" 

The argument got stronger and stronger. Neither could convince the other. They could not reach any conclusion to resolve the growing dispute. They even started calling each other names! Fearing for their friendship, they decided to go ask the learned forest monk, who would surely know about such thing.

Visiting the peaceful hermit, the lion and tiger bowed respectfully and put their question to him. The friendly monk thought for a while and then gave his answer. "It can be cold in any phase of the moon, from new to full and back to new again. It is the wind that brings the cold, whether from west or north or east. Therefore, in a way, you are both right! And neither of you is defeated by the other. The most important thing is to live without conflict, to remain united. Unity is best by all means."

The lion and tiger thanked the wise hermit. They were happy to still be friends.


The moral is:
"Weather comes and weather goes, but friendship remains."

(From Buddhist Tales for Young and Old)


Wednesday, December 4, 2013

Celestial Poems of Sathya Sai Baba



"Pain and pleasure exist together;
It is impossible for anyone to separate them apart.
We cannot see pleasure existing separately;
Pleasure indeed is the fruition of pain."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Tuesday, December 3, 2013

Quotable Quotes




Whoever you are ...



"Whoever you are, you are Mine
I will not give you up
Wherever you are, you are near Me
You cannot go beyond My reach."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
 

The Love for a Mother



When your mother has grown older and you have grown older,
When what was formerly easy and effortless becomes a burden,
When her dear loyal eyes do not look out into life as before,
When her legs have grown tired and do not want to carry her any more,
Then give her your arm for support, accompany her with gladness and joy,
The hour will come, weeping, when you accompany her on her last journey;
And if she asks you always answer her, and if she asks again speak also,
And if she asks another time speak to her not stormily but in gentle peace,
And if she cannot understand you well explain everything joyfully,
Because the hour will come, the bitter hour, when her mouth will ask no more.

(Poem translated from German and written by Adolf Hitler in 1923)

Sunday, December 1, 2013

You Are What You Eat

 

There lived in Mallur, in the state of Karnataka, a pious Brahmin who was a great scholar.  He had an equally devout wife. Always intent on worship, recitation and meditation, this noble man was known far and wide for his virtuous character. 

 One day, a sanyasi (renunciant) called Nityananda came to his door seeking alms, this made the Brahmin extremely happy. After giving him whatever he could that day, he invited the monk to come the next day too to have dinner with him as he was keen to honour the ascetic with due hospitality.

So the next morning he hung green festoons over his doors and made elaborate arrangements to welcome the holy man. But, at the eleventh hour, physical impurity rendered his wife unfit to prepare food for the honored guest or for anyone else.

At this moment, a neighbour volunteered to cook the meal and so she was brought in and introduced into the kitchen. Everything went off well and all were as happy as they could be under the circumstances. However, there was one issue which bothered the saint greatly; for some unknown reason during his meal he was drawn by an overpowering desire to steal the silver cup which the host had placed near the plate. 

In spite of his best efforts, the evil idea won him over. The sanyasi was at rest only after he clandestinely hid the cup in the folds of his robe as he casually conversed with the Brahmin over the dinner. And after the meal he hurriedly returned to his dwelling lest somebody discovers his act.

But that night the mendicant could not get a wink of sleep; his conscience pricked him constantly. He felt he had brought disgrace to his Guru as well as to the ancient enlightened sages whom he invoked by the mantras he recited.

He could not manage a second of rest until he ran back into the Brahmin’s house the next morning. Once there, he fell at the feet of the noble host and submitted the stolen article with tears of repentance trickling down his cheeks.

Everyone wondered how such a good man could stoop so low. Then someone suggested it might be that the person who cooked the food transmitted this fault to him through the food she prepared. And when they examined the history of the neighbour, they found she was infact an irrepressible thief!

The tendency to steal had, by subtle contact, indeed affected the food she prepared. This is the reason why spiritual aspirants are advised to live only on fruits and tubers, when they reach a certain stage of spiritual achievement.

To purify the mind and the intellect for the correct reflection of the truth, the first caution is regarding the food one intakes. And this is no trivial matter when it comes to progressing on the spiritual path.



(Chinna Katha from the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)

Thursday, November 28, 2013

The King with One Grey Hair

 

A very, very long time ago, there were people who lived much longer than they do today. They lived many thousand years. At that time, the Enlightenment Being was born as a baby named Makhadeva. He lived 84,000 years as a child and crown prince. At the time of our story, he had been a young king for 80,000 years.

One day, Makhadeva told the royal barber, "If you see any grey hair on my head, you must tell me immediately!" Of course, the barber promised to do so.

Another 4,000 years passed, until Makhadeva had been a young king for 84,000 years. Then one day, while he was cutting the king's hair, the royal barber saw just one little grey hair on all the king's head. So he said, "Oh my lord, I see one grey hair on your head." The king said, "If this be so, pull it out and put it in my hand." The barber got his golden tweezers, plucked out the single little grey hair, and put it in the king's hand.

At that time, the king still had at least another 84,000 years left to live as an old king! Looking at the one grey hair in his hand, he became very afraid of dying. He felt like death was closing in on him, as if he were trapped in a burning house. He was so afraid, that the sweat rolled down his back, and he shuddered.

King Makhadeva thought, "Oh foolish king, you have wasted all this long life and now you are near death. You have made no attempt to destroy your greed and envy, to live without hating, and to get rid of your ignorance by learning the truth and becoming wise."

As he thought this, his body burned and the sweat kept rolling down. Then he decided once and for all, "It is time to give up the kingship, be ordained as a monk, and practice meditation!" Thinking so, he granted the income of a whole town to the barber. It amounted to one-hundred-thousand per year.

Then the king called his oldest son to him and said, "My son, I have seen a grey hair. I have become old. I have enjoyed the worldly pleasures of great wealth and power. When I die, I want to be reborn in a heaven world, to enjoy the pleasures of the gods. So I will be ordained as a monk. You must now take the responsibility of ruling the country. I will live the life of a monk in the forest."

Hearing of this, the royal ministers and the rest of the court rushed to the king and said, "Our lord, why do you suddenly want to be ordained?"

The king held up the grey hair in his hand and said, "My ministers and subjects, I have realized that this grey hair shows that the three stages of life - youth, middle age and old age - are coming to an end. This first grey hair was the messenger of death sitting on my head. Grey hairs are like angels sent by the god of death. Therefore, this very day is the time for me to be ordained."

The people wept at the news of his departure. King Makhadeva gave up his royal life, went into the forest, and was ordained as a monk. There he practised what holy men call the 'Four Heavenly States of Mind'. First is loving-kindness, tender affection for all. Second is feeling sympathy and pity for all those who suffer. Third is feeling happiness for all those who are joyful. And the fourth state is balance and calm, even in the face of difficulties or troubles.

After 84,000 years of great effort meditating and practising these states as a humble forest monk, the Bodhisatta died. He was reborn in a high heaven world, to live a life a million years long!


The moral is: Even a long life is too short to waste.

(From "Buddhist Tales for Young and Old")

Tuesday, November 26, 2013

Celestial Poems of Sathya Sai Baba



"Of what use is all spiritual effort without self-restraint?
Of what use is all Yoga without the virtue of patience?
Of what use is all Japa without the virtue of peace?
All these acts, without cultivation of virtues
Are like tilling a barren land."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Good Health

 

"For accomplishing any task, good health is necessary.
The ancient sages realised the Divine by maintaining perfect health.
The body is given only to do righteous deeds.
As it is the instrument for action,
it should be maintained in a proper condition."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(S.S. Dec. 1994)

Today I Spoke to God

 

Today I spoke to God and this is what I heard
If you're out there being selfish, you haven't heard my word
People out here need you
The young and old need help
Please give them my love, and give it through yourself
Bury all your hatred
Show love, and lend a hand
Surrender all your hatred, and rectify my plan
You are my flowers in a meadow from above, and every single person
came from me, to earth, with love.

~ Keith Evans ~

Quotable Quotes



Monday, November 25, 2013

Namasmaran


"Chanting of the Lord's name is the only way
to liberation in the Kali Age.
God's name only will redeem us.
Any mighty task can be achieved by chanting
the divine name."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~


Namasmaran means Summoning God

Pedda Bottu, the great devotee of Bhagawan Sathya Sai Baba often asked Him, "Swami, what is meditation (dhyan) and how to do it?"

Swami used to put her off.  He would merely say, "Don't bother about dhyan.  You are doing namasmaran.  That is good enough."

One night she was sleeping under a tree opposite Swami's residence.  As it began to drizzle, she removed herself from there and prepared to sleep in the verandah outside Swami's room.  As she was making her bed, she said to herself as a matter of habit, "Om Sri Sai Ram."

Swami came out and pulled her up, "You stupid, won't you allow Me to sleep?"

Pedda Bottu said, "Swami, who stopped You from sleeping?"

Swami retorted, "When you are summoning Me, how can I go to bed and sleep?"  

The poor lady explained, "I am in the habit of doing namasmaran and uttered, 'Om Sri Sai Ram' within myself.  I did not intend to call you."

Bhagawan told her, "What does that japam mean?  It amounts to calling Me.  Namasmaran is no different from summoning the God."


(From the book "Tapovanam" by J.V.Sastry)

Sunday, November 24, 2013

Contentment



"Desire is the fire in your frame.
It reduces you to ashes.
Contentment is the effective drug to destroy it.
Dedicate all to the Lord - that is 
genuine contentment."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(Dhyana Vahini)

Friday, November 22, 2013

Let the Different Faiths ...



"Let the different faiths exist.
Let them flourish and let the glory of God
be sung in all the languages of the world 
and in a variety of tunes.  
Respect the di8fferences between the faiths and
recognise them as valid as long as they do not extinguish 
the fame of unity.  The Lord within you,
then you will not be tempted into sin
and fall into evil."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Birthday Blessings



"All are mine and I belong to all.
My benediction is "May all be happy". 

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(Divine Discourse - 23.11.97)

Happy Birthday, Swami




Sai, you are more precious than silver
Sai, you are more valued than gold
Sai, you are more beautiful than diamonds
Nothing we desire compares with You

Sai, you are our beloved Lord
Sai, you are the lotus in our hearts
Sai, you are our guardian and our saviour
All we want is always serving You

HAPPY BIRTHDAY, SWAMI!

Thursday, November 21, 2013

Smile



A smile is free and gives a lot.  It enriches those who receive it,
without making the giver any poorer.  It only lasts a second,
but its memory may last forever.  No one is rich enough
to be able to go without, nor too poor to give one.
A smile creates happiness in the home and is the sure
sign of friendship.  It gives rest to the one who is tired and
courage to even the most disheartened!
In other words, smile!

~ French Unknown ~

It takes 72 muscles to frown,
only 14 to smile.

Wednesday, November 20, 2013

Celestial Poems of Sathya Sai Baba



"Sacrifice is not going to the forest,
By forsaking property and children.
Sacrifice is renouncing bad feelings.
That indeed is sacrifice and Yoga."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Tuesday, November 19, 2013

Divine Wisdom



A Heart's Words



"The Lord will accept a heart's words,
but He will not accept words and prayers
that do not come from the heart.
This is why God is described as Lord of the Heart.
It is only when you have faith in this that 
you will be able to manifest your divinity."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Monday, November 18, 2013

Quotable Quotes



"Hard it is to understand:
By giving away our food, we get more strength;
by bestowing clothing on others, we gain more beauty;
by founding abodes of purity and truth,
we acquire great treasures."

~ Buddha ~