Deepavali: The Lesson of Light and Love

 

On the auspicious occasion of Deepavali, what is the important lesson we must internalise? 

"Expansion is the essence of Love. Love is God. Live in Love. That is the Deepavali message I give you. 

When a lamp is lit from another, there are two where there was but one. The first one did not stop emitting light. You can light a million lamps from one, yet the first will not suffer a jot! Love too is like this. Share it with a million, it will still be as bright as when it was alone. 

There is another lesson too which the illuminations on Deepavali tend to teach. Each house in the street lights a few lamps and keeps them on the door sill, the parapet wall, the gate, the porch, the well, and what is the effect? The town is filled with light, the residents are happy, the children dance in glee, and the sky shines in the glow of earthly joy. Light spreads; it mingles with the light from other sources of light; it has no boundaries, no prejudices, no favourites. You may not like your neighbour. But the light from the lamp on your verandah shines hand in hand with the light from the lamp on his verandah! You cannot keep it back! \

Deepavali is intended to teach you this lesson of light and love; move out, clasp, spread, expand, give up limits of mine and thine, his and theirs, caste, and creed, in one limitless flow of Love. That is the culmination of all spiritual sadhana."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(Divine Discourse - October 29, 1970)

I shall be happy when each one of you becomes a Lamp of Love, shedding virtue and purity all around you. – BABA

Quotable Quotes

 

“To be truly present you need to not just turn off the television or radio in your house, you need to turn off the conversation and images in your head.”

~ Thich Nhat Hanh ~

Realisation of the Oneness

How does the realisation of the oneness of all beings help us overcome hatred and selfishness and manifest our innate divine qualities? 

"When the teeth bite your tongue, do you get angry at them for hurting you? Do you break the teeth that hurt it so? No. For teeth and tongue are both yours, both you. Similarly, he who hurts you and you are both limbs of the same body, God. Feel that oneness and avoid hate. 

God is on the lookout for this inner vision; He blesses those whose hearts are so vast that they can take in all His children. How can He be pleased when you are so selfish and narrow-minded that you send away His children from the doorstep of your heart? You must first have a clear understanding of the nature of the Goal - God or Goodness or the Universal Absolute—whatever the name, its grandeur, its beneficence, its magnificence. Then, that understanding itself will prompt and urge you towards it. 

The Universal of which you are a unit is pure, true, egoless, unlimited, and everlasting. Contemplate on It and your innate egolessness, truth, purity, and eternality will manifest itself, more and more every day."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(Divine Discourse - July 8, 1968)

God gives ear to the prayers that rise in all languages and even from the silence of thedumb. He has no trace of anger or worry. You too have no reason to develop anger and anxiety - BABA

Honour Every Human Being

"Honour every human being.  Show love towards every person.  Love is not a crop that can be grown on land or a commodity that can be purchased in a shop.  Whether one is an important person or a commoner only when he gives up egoistic pride and is ready to make a sacrifice will love blossom within him."

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(November 23, 1988) 

Divine Wisdom

 

Love Is Of Three Kinds

"Love is of three kinds, self-centered, which like a bulb, illuminates just a small room; love for friends and family which, like the moonlight, spreads wider but is dim, and love for all, which like the sunlight, is all pervasive and bright.  Cultivate the third type of love, it will save you.  All the service that you do to others through that love is in fact, service to yourself." 

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba ~

(February 27, 1961)

Signs of His Grace

"Do not get elated at the riches, status, authority, intelligence, etc. which you may have.  Consider that they have been given to you on trust, so that you may benefit others.  They are all signs of His grace, opportunities for service, signs of responsibility." 

~ Sri Sathya Sai Baba~

(October 25, 1965)

Our True Destination

"Life is a short play on the stage.  This body is like a bubble .  The mind is always fickle.  In the Gita, Arjuna confesses to Krishna that the mind, which is constantly vacillating, is difficult to control.  Nevertheless, man has to concentrate on his true destination.  What is the destination, the goal and the aim of life?  The Bhagavata and the Bhagavad Gita have made this clear.  Our destination is the source from where we came."

(From "Life" Bhagawan Uvacha Series Vol. 3 compiled by N.S. Venkatesh)

May All Living Beings in All the Worlds be Happy

 

Roots of Wisdom - Quietude and Action

 

"Living in the world, there is action in the midst of quietude and quietude in the midst of action.  Only when they are one will there be a perception of the immanent truth."

(From the book "Roots of Wisdom" written by Hong Yingming)