Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

The true devotee will always be dwelling in God. The true devotee has no time to know or feel welfare or worries.

Attaining the Lord is the one and only idea in the mind. It is hard to understand this nature, except by examples. A small child runs about in fear shouting, “mommy, mommy!”, searching for its missing mother. The mother takes the child in her arms and places it on her lap. The child stops crying and is free from all fear. But can the child calculate and find out the difference between its previous state and its present relief? No. Nor is it necessary to do so.

Also, the one who seeks always to serve the Lord will immerse themself in God when the glorious chance comes. In that Presence, no anxiety or trouble can disturb a person. Anxiety and trouble pester only until the moment of attainment; then, all attention is diverted to the experience. The past struggle and travail are forgotten.

Therefore, aspirants and devotees must ignore and forget all the thousand troubles that have gone before and be engaged only in thoughts of the Lord. Immerse yourselves in them and derive joy therefrom. Devotion has no other reward. It is the cause, and it is also the effect; there are no two. Devotion is itself the realization. Through the path of wisdom also, when the veil of ignorance (a-jnana) is removed, the self-same realization occurs. In the path of devotion, one derives not one jot of joy from any source except the Lord. Every obstacle in this path can be overcome by the power of universal consciousness (chith-sakthi). This power is weakened by the feelings “I am the enjoyer and these are mine (ahamkara and mamakara)”. As long as one has this consciousness, one has no real contentment. One will be driven to seek for things that will give even more joy.

Every devotee hopes ultimately to experience the joy of supreme bliss as a result of their spiritual discipline.

But that bliss is not something newly earned or acquired; it is not some new experience to be won by spiritual discipline. It is always with one, within one; but it can’t be tasted because of the obstacle of the ego, which acts as a screen hiding it from view. One has to rend that veil asunder. Spiritual discipline is all the aspirant has to do.

Then, the ever-existing bliss can be cognized. It does not arise anew; it is always there. What does come and go is the screen of “I” and “mine”, which covers the bliss.

While trying to remove the screen of “I am the enjoyer” and “these things are mine”, the aspirant should not hasten frantically and worry too much if the expected bliss is not discovered. At such times, peace is an unfailing help. If peace is cultivated well at first, then one can succeed in any task, however difficult.

Everyone is entitled to acquire and benefit by peace such as this. All are children of peace. However many the progeny, peace is “mother” to each of them. For every one of them, old or young, great or small, she is “mother” in an equal measure; when they call her, each has to address her as “mother”. Children brought up by peace avoid all pain and sorrow, bear all varieties of happiness, and, at last, lay their heads on the lap of the “mother” in perfect security.