Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

EMBODIMENTS of Divine Love! Prema (Love) transcends the three gunas (Satwa, Rajas and Tamas). It is boundless. It flows continually like an eternal light. The sages called it Atma. This divine flame of love shines in every heart. Atma and Hridaya (heart) are synonymous with Divinity. For this love, there is no distinction of 'mine' and 'thine'. It is totally free from selfinterest. Love is like the mariner's compass, which always points to the north. At any time, any place or in any circumstance love points only towards God. Hence, everyone should try to understand how the Love principle works. Love can be compared only with love. Prema (love) and Anuraga (affection) are one and the same. But affection, when it is directed towards worldly objects, gets tainted. Because of this pollution, joy and sorrow ensue. Man becomes a prey to desires and disappointments. However when Love is directed towards God, it becomes pure, selfless, enduring and divine.

Nectar is described by the scriptures as extremely sweet. But nectar nowhere approaches the sweetness of love. As against love, nectar appears insipid. The uniqueness of such love is beyond the comprehension of ordinary people. Such love arises only when you churn the ocean of bliss. Hence, all our actions should be based on Love. But in this mundane world, love assumes external forms. When pure gold is given to the goldsmith for making a jewel, he mixes copper and other metals with it and thereby its value is reduced. Likewise, because pure love is mixed with worldly attachments, it gets tainted. But when such tainted love is directed towards seva (service) it gets purified.

Failing to understand pure love, man is leading a miserable existence. A man who is neck-deep in water would still be able to speak. But the man who is wholly submerged cannot speak. Likewise a man immersed in pure love cannot find words for his experience. It is those who are above the surface that attempt to describe it. How, then, is this divinity to be described? There is a basic means for this. Some persons have a direct vision of the Divine. Some others inspite of all their sadhana are not able to get such an experience. What is the reason? There are different kinds of japamala (rosaries). One is a Rudraksha Japamala. Another is a string of lotus seeds. There are coral japamalas. No one can see the string which runs through all the different beads. Only in a rosary made of transparent sphatika (crystal) beads can the thread be seen. In the same way, in the hearts of all the persons Brahmasutra (the subtle thread of Divinity) is present. But only in a heart filled with pure love can Divinity be perceived. It is thus not easy to recognize the Divine. Kabir asked: "How is it possible to perceive you, Oh Krishna, when you are all-pervading and are present in the minutest particle and in the mightiest object in the cosmos?" Hence, everyone should have the conviction that wherever he may render service and whomsoever he may serve, he is rendering service to God because God is omnipresent. Such service alone is true sadhana.

Kabir declared: “Oh Rama! I am not qualified to perform sacrifices or penances. I can attempt to realise you only through love. Please enable me to attain you through love." Therefore, through love, you must seek to serve all and enjoy Divine bliss. When you embark on service in this spirit, the whole world becomes one single home. From the earliest times, Bharat has held forth this path of service. This is not intended for Bharatiyas alone. Once the Moghul emperor Babar wrote a letter to his son, Humayun, when he ascended the throne. "Bharat is a country noted for its adoration of God. It is a magnanimous nation which gave asylum to people of all faiths. Bharatiya culture is a wonderful one. It has been nourished and cherished by Bharatiyas from times immemorial. No other faith has such an all-encompassing outlook. It is your great fortune that you are becoming the ruler of such a nation. You must be grateful all your life to God for conferring such a blessing on you. You should not impose any restrictions on the religious practices of the Bharatiyas. Do not go against Bharatiya culture. Do your duty (as a ruler). When you want to take any vital decision consult all the great scholars of Bharat. If you do not follow this path, you will come to ruin." Such was the warning of Babar. Babar wrote that Bharatiya culture was based on equal respect for all religions. He also said that service, sacrifice, Dharma and love are the vital limbs of this culture.

In the sacred culture of Bharat, the spirit of service occupies a primary place. But, alas, because true sevaks have become rare in the country, the nation is a prey to all kinds of troubles. The nation needs more sevaks. People should realise that service is the passport to leadership. Hence, in the service organizations, no distinction of high or low should be permitted and all should be invited to take part in service. In fact, human birth is intended for service. Whatever other accomplishments one may have, they are not equal to the joy to be derived from rendering selfless service. Hanuman, who was powerful, courageous and great in so many ways, was content to describe himself as a servant of Rama when he was asked in Lanka who he was. You may realise from his example what a great thing it is to be a servant of God. The Lord of all the worlds, Sri Krishna, was willing to serve as the charioteer of Arjuna. The attitude of service has always been dear to the Lord. All Sai sevaks should at the outset cultivate the feeling that they are all sparks of the Divine. Only then will they be able to render service wholeheartedly. They should also realise that no purpose will be served by worshipping God without purity of heart. This Love has also to be practised in different forms of yoga and spiritual exercises like Pranayama and Hamsa Gayatri. Exercises like Pranayama are related to the body. All such physical exercises will not lead to realisation of the Divine. The exercises will have to be done with the mind. When the body and the mind are associated in sacred service, that becomes true yoga. Through seva, the mind gets purified. The body gets sanctified. Without pure mind, the body is utterly useless. The natural state of the mind is purity. It is polluted by contacts with the world. When it is purified through love, it regains its natural state.

Acquire love through love. Only through love can unity in diversity be experienced. This kind of unity through love can be witnessed only in Prasanthi Nilayam and nowhere else. There are a myriad pairs of eyes here. There may be larger gatherings elsewhere, but the eyes of the crowds there are directed in different directions. But here the eyes of everyone, young and old, men, women and children, are all turned towards only one direction. Look at anyone's face. The eyes are turned only towards Swami. What is the reason? Only love. At this Conference, many inconveniences have been experienced. But all efforts at keeping the entire area clean and maintaining order and security have been made out of love. Many tasks have been performed successfully only through love. It is love that confers peace on the heart. When one's heart is filled with peace, the whole atmosphere is filled with peace. You have been witnesses to what happened yesterday. The entire sky was covered with dark clouds. At 7-30 a.m., a heavy downpour seemed imminent. But instead of a downpour, the clouds "airconditioned" the atmosphere and left. When you have good thoughts and feelings, nature responds in the same manner.

There is an example in the Ramayana. When Rama embarked on the search for Sita, the monkeys, the rocks and many other elements in Nature came to his help. As Sai is the very embodiment of Love, the entire Nature co-operated and helped. There was no hindrance to any of the activities. Nor was that all. All elements were indeed helpful. Even this morning, would it have been possible for so many to gather early in the morning but for the cool weather? In the carrying out of sacred tasks in the service of the Divine, the Vedic prayer has indicated the spirit in which they should be done. "Let us live in amity. Let us move together. In harmony and understanding let us live together. Let us promote unity and friendliness." If only we have unity, how much joy can we experience! Unity is strength. To develop unity, you must have the consciousness of spiritual oneness.

Today our Conference has come to a close. When you go forth from here, you must carry with you wherever you go, the sacred ideas you have gathered here. Moreover, you must interest your friends and relations in these ideas and draw them into service activities. Do not entertain any fear or embarrassment regarding your participation in service activities. Be firmly convinced that what you are doing is something sacred. In service, there is nothing good or bad. Whatever requires to be done to serve anyone, at any time, in any form, you should do without hesitation. There are in the Sathya Sai Organization lakhs of such sevaks. And it is because of that we have been able to have this prodigious Conference. There are any number of preachers in the world. There are equally numerous scholars. But there are few who practise what they preach and make others. do likewise. Here alone there is a power that simultaneously preaches and practises. Whatever I say, I practise. I speak only on what I am doing. The students present here know this well. Love, love, love. I love all and I ask all to love. My greatest wealth is love. People speak about My powers and My miracles, but My Love is My greatest miracle. All should share in this love. Only then there will be oneness. All of you should take a vow continually to develop the Seva Organizations. Let all join in the activities. Treat all as the children of one God. Whomsoever you may serve, consider you are serving God. Then you will experience the Divine. You are bound to have that experience soon. Never give up the organization. Regard it as the breath of your life. This is real penance. Having this firm resolve, become exemplary leaders. This is My sole desire. Swami's love will accompany you everywhere.