Thursday, July 28, 2016

Bad Thoughts



"Let not the seeds of bad thoughts sprout anywhere near you.  At least from this day onwards, live up to the word you have given to Swami and walk along the flowery path shown by Sai.  Receive in full Sai's Grace and Love."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(Sanathana Sarathi - Aug. 1996)

Baba's Storytime - From God to God



An ardent devotee of Lord Ganesha used to worship Him every morning before commencing his daily routine. Once, during his travels, he passed through a village when he could not find a single idol of Ganesh to whom he lamented, "How can I carry on my work without having first worshipped Lord Ganesh?"

After much thinking, he came up with a solution.  Out of a lump of jaggery which he was carrying, he made an idol of the elephant-faced God to offer worship.  But he faced another problem.  "I have to offer something to the Lord; what shall I offer Him" he thought.

The only solution he could come up with was to break off a piece of jaggery from the idol and offer it to his jaggery Ganesha!

This is actually what we are all doing in our various forms of worship of God.  We offer back to God what is already His; because there is nothing in creation which is outside God.  Even the I - notion is nothing but Consciousness, which is God.  Our mind, which is already part of God, is offered to God.  A true understanding of this will enable us to give up the sense of separation from God and of the false assumption of individuality.  It is actually wrong to consider something as ours, which already always belonged to God.  True self-surrender is to recognise this misconception and realise that we have to separate existence from God.

(From the book "I Am I" by Ratan Lal)

Worldly Love



"What is termed love in ordinary worldly life is not real love at all.  It is only one or other form of attachment based on human relationships in the family or in society."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(Divine Discourse - 27.7.1996)

Wednesday, July 27, 2016

Sai Madhuryam



"Of what use is all Sadhana
without sense control?
Of what avail is practice of yoga
without forbearance?
Of what use is Japa without 
peace of mind?
It is like ploughing a barren field."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Monday, July 25, 2016

Immortality



"Once Sage Narada asked Lord Vishnu as to what the royal path of immortality was.  Lord Vishnu replied, "One should realise that God is present in all beings.  The spark of divinity is present in all.  Man is not a mere mortal.  He is essentially divine.  Jiva (individual soul)  is negative and Deva (God) is positive.  Both the positive and negative are required for the electric current to flow.  Oh Narada!  I assume the form of a human in order to move among men and protect the world.  I am present in everyone in the form of the Atma.  When man constantly contemplates on the principle of the Atma, I manifest Myself."

The same divine principle of the Atma is present in all.  One who realises this truth experiences all-pervasive divinity.  God is in you, with you, around you, above you and below you.  However, you cannot realise this truth unless you give up negative feelings.  God is everywhere.  You have not to search for Him.  Develop firm faith that He is in you.  God has no specific form.  He transcends all names and forms."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(From Bhagavan's Birthday Discourse - 25.11.2005)

The Path of Righteousness


"Considering truth as the basis of your life, follow the path of righteousness.  Then the principle of love will manifest in you.  When you have love, you will be successful in all your endeavours."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~ 
(Sanathana Sarathi - Dec. 2005)

Friday, July 22, 2016

The Ant and the Contact Lens

Brenda was a young woman who was invited to go rock climbing. Although she was very scared, she went with her group to a tremendous granite cliff. In spite of her fear, she put on the gear, took hold of the rope, and started up the face of that rock. Well, she got to a ledge where she could take a breather. As she was hanging on there, the safety rope snapped against Brenda's eye and knocked out her contact lens.
Well, here she is, on a rock ledge, with hundreds of feet below her and hundreds of feet above her. Of course, she looked and looked and looked, hoping it had landed on the ledge, but it just wasn't there.
Here she was, far from home, her sight now blurry. She was desperate and began to get upset, so she prayed to the Lord to help her to find it.
When she got to the top, a friend examined her eye and her clothing for the lens, but there was no contact lens to be found. She sat down, despondent, with the rest of the party, waiting for the rest of them to make it up the face of the cliff.
She looked out across range after range of mountains, thinking of that verse that says, "The eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth." She thought, "Lord, You can see all these mountains. You know every stone and leaf, and You know exactly where my contact lens is. Please help me."
Finally, they walked down the trail to the bottom. At the bottom there was a new party of climbers just starting up the face of the cliff. One of them shouted out, "Hey, you guys! Anybody lose a contact lens?"
Well,  that would be startling enough, but you know why the climber saw it? An ant was moving slowly across the face of the rock, carrying it on it's back!
Brenda told me that her father is a cartoonist. When she told him the incredible story of the ant, the prayer, and the contact lens, he drew a picture of an ant lugging that contact lens with the words, "Lord, I don't know why You want me to carry this thing. I can't eat it, and it's awfully heavy. But if this is what You want me to do, I'll carry it for You."


A True Story -- By Josh and Karen Zarandona

Thursday, July 21, 2016

Sai Blossoms



Silence



Silence, silence, silence.
Silence awakens the sleeping seeker in me.
Silence enlightens the aspiring seeker in me.
Silence fulfils the self-giving seeker in me. 
Silence, silence, silence.

~ Sri Chinmoy ~

Wednesday, July 20, 2016

May All Living Beings in All the Worlds be Happy



Baba's Storytime - Lord Vishnu Hides Himself



Lord Vishnu was tired of attending to the countless requests of his devotees who only wanted the fulfillment of their worldly desires.  He decided that he would hide himself in a solitary cave in the Himalayas or deep in the ocean floor where nobody could find him.  The great devotee, Narada, however told Lord Vishnu wherever he hid himself, people are sure to discover him.  So Narada suggested that Lord Vishnu should become the indweller in all beings because nobody will think of looking for him there!

The mind's tendency is to always go outward.  It would rather see everything that is external to itself than seek the place from where it arose. It has to be clearly understood that "You" as "so and so" are not the indweller of the body.  It has no such person as inside it.  But rest assured, the Atma is the only indweller in each of us.  That is where we should look for Lord Vishnu, who is none other than our Atma.  Let us direct our prayers to him there.

(From the book "I am I" by Ratan Lal)

Humanness




"It is only when men cultivate humanness that society will shine with radiance and the nation and the world will progress. Humanness can be promoted only through spirituality and not by any other means."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(Divine Discourse - 18.1.1996)

Monday, July 18, 2016

Blessed Guru Purnima




Guru Brahma, Guru Vishnu, Guru Devo Maheswara,
Guru Sakshat Param Brahma Thasmai Sri Gurave Namaha.


(Guru is Brahma, Guru is Vishnu, Guru is Maheswara. 
Guru is verily the supreme Brahman. So, salutations to the Guru.)


Om Shanti Shanti Shantihi

Sunday, July 17, 2016

Sai Madhuryam



Through meritorious deeds
And acts of sacrifice,
Developing love in the heart,
Suppressing demonic traits,
Fostering devotion to God,
Lead your daily life,
O man!
In boyhood man is immersed in sport;
In youth he is lost in sensual pleasures;
In old age, unaware of the Divine Lord,
He pursues one thing or another;
Unable to give up evil tendencies,
Incapable to taking to the path of Devotion,
He wallows in the cesspool of Karma
And makes human life a clod of earth.

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

Divine Wisdom



Tuesday, July 5, 2016

Ways of the Divine



"The ways of the Divine should be properly understood. God exists not for  one nation or one community.  God incarnates on earth for the benefit of mankind.  Each one gets the reward according to his deserts."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(Divine Discourse - 30.6.1996)

Quotable Quotes




 "To meditate means to go home to yourself. Then you know how to take care of the things that are happening inside you, and you know how to take care of the things that happen around you."

~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~


Monday, July 4, 2016

Where Am I From?



The Cosmic Lion’s Roar By Mr. G. S. Srirangarajan

The most common conversation that I have heard between Bhagavan and a devotee in the Mandir verandah is Swami asking the devotee, “Where do you come from?” Invariably, the devotee replies: “Swami, Canada”, “Swami from Delhi”, “Swami, Italy” and so on. But this dialogue goes on every day and often one starts wondering as to why Swami asks the same question every time. Does He not know where we come from and why the same question again and again?

Later, we understood that Swami does this to set us on the path of introspection. We start thinking, “Hey what is wrong with my answer? What does Swami expect from me?” Thus begins our inward journey, a journey of self introspection wherein the mind is used as the instrument to turn itself within and look for a deeper meaning and purpose in life.

Now we all know that an appropriate answer to this question is, “Swami, I have come from you.” Many devotees have given this answer and we have seen a blissful smile on Bhagavan’s face. But well, you can never outsmart Him. When I discovered this answer I got fully prepared for the situation, if at all it would arise; and arise it did. One day, it was Darshan time. Bhagavan came towards me and asked, “Where do you come from?”

With great joy and a sense of pride for I was well prepared, I replied, “Swami, I have come from you.” Immediately, I saw a frown on Swami’s face instead of the blissful smile that I expected and He said, “That is different saar, which place do you come from?” 

I knew I was caught. Whom was I talking to? The indweller of my heart. How could I play with Him? Swami wishes that the answer must come as a result of deep self enquiry and not merely from the tip of our lips! The journey inwards has to be undertaken.

(Source: Radio Sai)

Saturday, July 2, 2016

A Few Coins

Life is full to overflowing with miracles if you only open your heart to see them. I saw another one just the other day. I had been running errands all morning and was about to head home. The morning heat, though, felt more like a Summer afternoon than a Spring morning and my mouth was parched. I decided then to stop by a local convenience store to get something to drink first.

As I walked in I heard a mother talking to her son. "Are you sure you want to spend your birthday money on ice cream?" The little boy who couldn’t have been more than five years old nodded, yes. I stood behind him as the cashier filled a small cone with vanilla ice cream. The lady handed him the cone and he handed her his money. He was about to turn around when the cashier told him to wait and dropped a few small coins into his hand. 

The little guy looked at his change for a moment and then lifted his hand up to a charity box on the counter and dropped them in it. He turned around and our eyes met. He smiled at me and I winked and smiled back. Then he walked out of the store with his Mom, happily eating his ice cream.

After watching that little miracle of love my heart felt lighter and the world seemed brighter. Life made sense once again. It felt so good to be a part of God’s creation. It felt so wonderful to be on a world that had such kindness in it. I knew too that all of the angels in heaven must have been cheering when they saw that little act of love.

In the eyes of God no gift is too small. In the eyes of God every act of love is priceless. By simply sharing a few coins that little boy had made this world a better place and me a better person. By simply being kind that little boy had given life another miracle and made Earth a little more like Heaven. May we all do the same.

~ Joseph J. Mazzella