Offer God real flowers grown in the garden of your heart ~ Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
"We often say that we have no Shanti. Why? Because you are multiplying your desires. One who is bereft of desires is peaceful. Desires are like the luggage we carry during the journey. If we have less luggage, the travel will be more comfortable. So also in your life's journey, you should restrict your desires that burden you."
~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(Food for Thought No. 2687)
Why and how should festivals like Vinayaka Chaturthi be celebrated as occasions for spiritual transformation?
"The Lord's family is an ideal one, maintaining harmony and peace in spite of the antagonistic elements present amongst them. The vehicle of Shiva (the bull), Parvati (the lion), Ganesha (the mouse) and Subrahmanya (the peacock) are, in their natural state, inimical to each other. But living in the presence of the Lord, they shed their enmity and live at peace.
Harmony in the Divine family shows that where there is divinity, there is peace and amity. Hatred and jealousy arise when the Omnipresence of the Divine is forgotten or ignored.
Holy days like Vinayaka Chaturthi should be celebrated only to remind ourselves of such sacred truths and to sanctify our minds and lives accordingly. They should not be treated as holidays for feasting and merry-making.
Ganapati should be worshipped so that all the Ganas (spirits) become friendly and helpful to us. Tyagaraja sang that if he has the daivanugraham (Lord's grace), all the grahas (planets) will be in his grasp. We must purify our hearts so that the Lord may shower His grace on us."
~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(Divine Discourse - Sept 10, 1984)
Ganapati can make even inauspicious occasions auspicious. He is always engaged in conferring boons on all. With His grace, any desire can be realised. – BABA
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| 14 September 2026 |
"What is that you have to offer to Vinayaka on this day of Vinayaka Chaturthi? Today people spend lot of money in offering various fruits to God. All these offerings are made only as a ritual. Ultimately people themselves consume them! No benefit accrues from making these offerings.
Pathram, Pushpam, Phalam and Thoyam - these are the four things that you should offer God. Here Pathram (leaf) means body. This body may wither away at any moment. So never develop attachment towards the body, instead offer it to God. Pushpam (flower} means Hridaya. This flower will never fade away. Mind can be compared to Phalam (fruit) and Thoyam stands for tears of joy. All these four should be offered to God. This is the offering that God expects."
~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~
(Divine Discourse: September 13, 1999)
Ego and lust are battles fought silently within, yet their outcomes shape everything you are.
Letting go of ego isn't weakness, it's a quiet victory that opens space for clarity and growth. But giving in to lust is a surrender that steals your sense of self, leaving only desire without direction.
Life teaches that control over impulses defines freedom more than external victories ever could.
Mastery over what moves you internally is the truest measure of strength. Because the wars worth fighting are never with others, but within yourself.
Which inner battle are you fighting today, and which one could define who you become?
Samastha Lokah Sukhino Bhavanthu
A Beautiful Divine Leela: Beyond the Form
This touching Leela of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba serves as a profound reminder of the true essence of faith, surrender and devotion.
About thirty years ago, the father of Dr. M Sai Kumar IAS(an alumnus of SSSIHL and Chief Secretary of Tamil Nadu) traveled to Prasanthi Nilayam when his wife was critically ill. The doctors had virtually given up hope for her survival. Knowing his distress, Swami blessed him with a small Shivalingam and instructed him to perform daily Abhishekam (sacred bathing of the idol) and administer the sanctified Teertham to his wife.
He obeyed Swami’s divine command with unwavering faith. Miraculously, his wife made a complete recovery. She was around fifty at the time of her illness and went on to live a full life for over three more decades, passing away peacefully in her eighties.
Witnessing this miraculous healing, relatives and neighbors began visiting their home whenever someone fell ill, seeking the sacred Teertham. Even after his father’s passing in 2009, Dr. Sai Kumar faithfully continued the tradition of performing Abhishekam and distributing the holy water.
Years later, a small chip developed at the base of the Shivalingam. Concerned that the idol was damaged and might break further, Dr. Sai Kumar carefully placed it inside a cupboard and stopped the daily worship.
Soon after, Swami appeared in his dream with a direct question: “Why have you stopped performing the Abhishekam?”
Dr. Sai Kumar replied, “Swami, the Lingam is chipped.”
Bhagawan then gave an unforgettable revelation: “I am in a wheelchair, have you stopped worshipping Me? Just because My physical frame is in a wheelchair, does your devotion change?”
The message pierced straight to the heart. Awakening to the truth, he realized that genuine worship does not depend on the outward perfection of a form. He immediately took the Shivalingam out, placed it back on the altar, and resumed the sacred Abhishekam with deeper reverence.
This divine leela carries an enduring spiritual truth: Divinity transcends physical limitations. External forms may alter, age, or show imperfections, but the formless Divine remains eternally whole. Swami gently reminds us that the Lord seeks neither flawless idols nor external rituals He seeks the purity of our love, faith, and total surrender.
Samasta Lokah Sukhino Bhavantu
When a guru was sitting and teaching his disciples, one day he said: 'Guru Brahma, S'ishya Brahma, Sarvam Brahma'. Thus the guru was implying that everything in the universe was Brahman. Every day, one disciple was accustomed to greet the guru respectfully on his arrival, but after this particular event, he did not do so and he never got up from his seat. The guru questioned him on this strange behavior and the disciple replied that the previous day, the guru had said that everything was Brahman and therefore there was no difference between them.
Then the teacher felt that what he said came back to him as a boomerang and he wanted to teach the student a good lesson. He went to the board and wrote 'Guru Brahma' as two different words. He also wrote 'S'ishya Brahma', and 'Sarvam Brahma'. When you look at these three, though Brahma is occurring as the same in all the three, the Guru, S'ishya and Sarvam are different. Only when these three words also become one, you can say that all are one.
Thus, until you are able to experience this oneness of all in practice, the student will remain a student and a teacher will remain a teacher and there is no escape from the need for the student having to respect the teacher. The basis is one but the containers are different.
(From the Divine Discourses of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba)
