The Sai Teachings

                            Action for each New Year……
Do not waste time speculating over what would happen in this New Year. If your actions are good, your future is bound to be good.
Each one is responsible for their pleasure or pain. In this New Year, develop new and sacred feelings and make everybody happy. Do not struggle for money; strive for love. Once you develop love, there will be no scope for evil qualities like anger, jealousy, etc. If your thoughts and actions are good, your future will be good.
Pray for the peace and prosperity of the entire world. Peace can be attained only through practice of human values like…
              Truth, Love, Righteousness, Compassion and Tolerance.

The Sai Teachings

Simplicity in Realization

You dread that it is very difficult, nay, impossible, to realize God. It is very simple; its’ very simplicity makes you feel that there must be some hidden trap. You do not appreciate simple things and habits. For example, there is nothing as simple as speaking the truth; yet how many stick to Truth! If you venture into untruth, you have to invent new stories all along the line and keep in memory all the stories and all the persons to whom you have related them.
Each student has a watch on his wrist. And, you look at the watch at least a hundred times a day. Well, learn from the watch a great lesson. When you watch the watch, remember the five letters of the word, WATCH; each is giving you a fine lesson for life:

W tells you ‘Watch your Words’; A warns you ‘Watch your Action’; T indicates 'Watch your Thoughts’; C advises 'Watch your Character’; and H declares 'Watch your Heart.' When you are consulting your watch, imbibe this lesson that the watch is imparting.

The Sai Teachings

What is needed today….

Co-operation among individuals grouped as a society guarantees security and stability. The surest sign of awareness of one’s Divine Nature is the recognition of the bond of kinship with other beings. This bond has now snapped, and as a result, life has been rendered meaningless. The evil spirits of greed and pride, of envy and hatred, are executing their demonic dance in the hearts of man.
People are not able to appreciate the value of the air they breathe, of the Sun's rays that illumine the world, the drops of rain that sustain life, and the subtle power that underlies every object in Nature. They have become low-minded people, dedicating their lives to meaningless pursuits. What needs to be done today is to foster people who are determined to stand and even suffer to realise the holy goals of peace and prosperity for the entire world.

The Sai Teachings

Learn from Nature….

What or who is God? When the answer to this question is sought, one discovers that God is the glory immanent in Nature. The earth rotates on its axis at a speed of thousand miles an hour. As a consequence, we have alternations of day and night, which helps us to live on this globe. Besides, it moves around the sun at the rate of 66,000 miles an hour, causing the seasons which bring rains for crops and vegetation which sustain human life. The earth does not profit in the least by these rotations but human beings survive, enjoy life and prosper on account of them.

Nature must indeed be laughing at the sterile frenzies, the endless pursuits, and the countless miseries to which human beings submit themselves to, in their search for achieving the unachievable! You must search in Nature the sacred lessons it holds for you; then, you will understand how deep and how everlasting is the Truth that it conveys to you!

The Sai Teachings

Our Goal…

The fruit of love is present in each and every person’s life. To experience the fruit you need to remove the outer skin. Once you peel the skin of the fruit, also remove the bitter seeds within it. Then you can extract the sweet juice, partake it and discard the pulp. Understand that God has given you this body only to relish the sweetness of Love.

Peel away the skin of ego and pride. Remove all the seeds of evil intentions, thoughts and deeds. Discard the pulp of possession and attachment. Then what remains is the sweet juice of love.

All of you are farmers. You must engage in spiritual practices to cultivate your heart. Is there any use for an uncultivated land? Without wasting your life and keeping the land barren, focus on cultivating your heart to enjoy the sweetness of the Divine.

 

The Sai Teachings

5 Point Discipline

Silence is the first step in daily living, which makes the other steps easy. It promotes self-control, lessens chances of anger, hate, malice, greed and pride. Besides, you can hear His footsteps, only when silence reigns in the mind. Cleanliness opens the door to Godliness. Inner and outer cleanliness are essential to install God within your heart. Service saves you from the agony you get when another suffers; it broadens your vision, widens your awareness, and deepens your compassion. All the waves on the sea originate from the same sea and also merge in it. Service to others teaches you to be firm in this knowledge. Practice Love. Do not hate and none must be looked down upon as secondary, inferior or unimportant. Everyone has their allotted role in the drama designed by the Almighty. Do not slight, insult or injure anyone; He is in every being and your slight thus becomes a sacrilege.

 

The Sai Teachings

True Devotion

A true devotee would never get disillusioned at any point of time, nor get bored, tired or vexed listening to the same teachings. You may perhaps be reading and hearing the same message over and over again! How do you rationalize this?

Don’t you take food repeatedly for the same stomach, several times during your lifetime? Don’t you wash the same face many times in a week? That music, which you consider as pleasurable, don’t you listen to it, many times frequently? Consider an even simpler example: you drink coffee or tea – have you ever got bored of it, despite consuming it for 15 or 20 years? You perhaps wait for that cup with excitement and enthusiasm, and will even get a headache if it is delayed by a couple of minutes!

Similarly, it is essential to listen to such spiritual instructions, ruminate and experience the joy of devotion without the slightest feeling of disinterestedness.

 

The Sai Teachings

Subdue your Senses

You hear some good news and a little later, you hear some sad news. Sometime after that you hear harsh and abusive words. Your ears heard all words of praise and blame alike. But when happy news was told, your heart felt elated, and it shrunk when sad news was heard. The same heart got enraged when the ears heard harsh words and was filled with joy when it heard words of praise! The ears by themselves are incapable of any reaction; they merely transmit the message.

Thus the senses by themselves are not conscious, they are inconscient . Then how can the operations of these senses and the experiences resulting from them are deemed as Truth or Reality? Understand clearly that as the senses are unreliable, the reactions produced by them are also equally unreliable. If you enquire along these lines, you will develop discrimination and can easily overcome sorrow.

The Sai Teachings

Our Goal…

The fruit of love is present in each and every person’s life. To experience the fruit you need to remove the outer skin. Once you peel the skin of the fruit, also remove the bitter seeds within it. Then you can extract the sweet juice, partake it and discard the pulp. Understand that God has given you this body only to relish the sweetness of Love.
Peel away the skin of ego and pride. Remove all the seeds of evil intentions, thoughts and deeds. Discard the pulp of possession and attachment. Then what remains is the sweet juice of love.
All of you are farmers. You must engage in spiritual practices to cultivate your heart. Is there any use for an uncultivated land? Without wasting your life and keeping the land barren, focus on cultivating your heart to enjoy the sweetness of the Divine.

 

The Sai Teachings

Aspire to be…

A young woman today aspires to be a good wife but not an exemplary mother. A student today does not aspire to be an exemplary father, but an attractive husband. Adding to this woe, parents today encourage such education which promotes these aspirations.

Youngsters also forget their responsibilities to be discharged as exemplary parents. A typical father in today’s society does not want his son, above all, to be a man of virtue. He wants him to be a man of great education. Those parents alone, who aspire for transforming their children to be men and women of virtue, are worthy. Worldly education alone should not be the goal of life. Virtues are the true backbone of life. Education must be for life, not merely for a living. To accomplish this, spiritual thoughts and a spiritual path is highly essential.

 

The Sai Teachings

The Divine Principle

When you offer salutations to someone, understand that you are saluting your own self. That ‘someone’ is none other than your own reflection. See others just as you see your own reflection in the mirror. When you are surrounded by many mirrors, you see a number of reflections. Reflections are many but the person is one.

Reactions, reflections, and resounds are many but the reality is one. Names and forms may be different, but all beings are part and parcel of the same Divine Principle. Divinity is the underlying principle in the apparent multiplicity of this world. When I am speaking here, My voice is heard through each and every loudspeaker in this hall. In the same manner there exists the principle of unity in our hearts which we have to recognise.

The Sai Teachings

The Importance of Morality

The wellbeing of countries and even the universe depends upon morality. Without morality, nations will be ruined. There may be many people who use education and influence to earn money, but truly great people have upheld the highest morality in their lives.

You must be prepared to sacrifice. Sacrifice does not mean relinquishing your possessions. It means working really hard to earn a good name in the society you live in and bringing a good name to where you were raised. Your good name will last longer, and it will be eternal and permanent only with sacrifice. Scriptures explain the supremacy of sacrifice declaring, ‘sacrifice alone leads one to immortality’.

The Sai Teachings

The Right Knowledge

The bookish knowledge that many feverishly acquire is relevant only for the day of the exam. As you enter your professions armed with this knowledge, you will soon discover that you only have superficial knowledge on any subject and your general knowledge is almost zero. Without general knowledge and practical wisdom, you cannot discriminate.
World today needs practical knowledge. Water is formed from two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen. You can prove this in the laboratory. But when you sit for lunch, do you mix two parts of hydrogen and one part of oxygen to drink water? By sipping just a drop, you can even comment on the purity of the water and its taste. Thus discrimination and general knowledge is very essential to make sure your daily life and behaviour does not have any lapses. You must experience the enjoyable life in the right way at the right time.

The Sai Teachings

The Buddha

Lord Buddha experienced the unity of all creation. There was total transformation in Him once He attained the vision of oneness of the atma/soul. He realised that all worldly relations were false. He transcended body consciousness. That is why he earned the appellation Buddha (the enlightened one). Man should use his intellect to understand this principle of unity.

Intellect is of two types: one that sees diversity in unity is worldly intelligence. You should develop spiritual intelligence in order to realise the underlying unity of all creation. It gives you the experience of the atmic principle which is the same in the entire creation. Buddha attained the vision of the atma. Truly speaking, Buddha is not just one individual. All of you are Buddhas’. You will see unity everywhere once you understand this truth.

The Sai Teachings

The Right Answers

The world is a mixture of good and bad, of right and wrong, joy and sorrow, victory and defeat. In a world replete with such opposites, you must constantly make the choice between what is right and proper, and what is wrong and undesirable. You must not let yourself be guided by the mind. You must follow the directions of the intelligence.

Youth often tend to go by the inclinations of the mind, neglecting their intelligence and consequently are subject to agitations and frustrations. Discrimination is a big help to avoid such situations. Ask yourself “I am a human being; how must I conduct myself in this situation such as to win the respect and regard of others?” and act in accordance. You will certainly find the right answers on what you should do and where you should go. Humility and discrimination are the indices of an educated person.

The Sai Teachings

                                        What is Culture?

The observance of morality in daily life, the divinization of all actions and thoughts related to life, and adherence to ideals - all of these together constitute culture. Culture means that which sanctifies the world, which enhances the greatness and glory of a country, and which helps to raise the individual and society to a higher level of existence.

The process of refinement or transformation is essential for improving the utility of any object or life. For instance, paddy has to be milled and its husk removed before the rice is fit for cooking. This is called transformation. This means, doing away with unwanted elements and securing the desirable ones. With regard to people, culture means getting rid of bad qualities and cultivating virtues. The cultured person is one who has developed good thoughts and good conduct.

 

The Sai Teachings

“Silence” is our gift…

Do not indulge in arguments and disputes; one who clamours aloud has not grasped the Truth. Silence is the only language of the realised. Practice moderation in speech that will help you in many ways. It will develop Love, for most misunderstandings arise out of carelessly spoken words. When the foot slips, the wound can be healed; but when the tongue slips, the wound it causes in the heart of another will fester for life.

The tongue is liable for four big errors: uttering falsehood, scandalising, finding fault with others and excessive talk. These must be avoided if there must be peace for the individual. The bond of brotherhood will be tightened if people speak less and speak sweetly. That is why silence was prescribed as a vow for spiritual aspirants by the Scriptures. As spiritual aspirants in various stages of the road, this discipline will be very valuable for you.

The Sai Teachings

                                           Maintain Nature’s balance

Just as a child is entitled to enjoy the milk from its mother, there can be no objection to man enjoying the resources of nature. But as a result of uncontrolled desires and reckless exploitation of natural resources, Nature is exhibiting frightening disorders. Natural calamities like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, droughts and floods are the result of disturbances in the balance of Nature caused by this reckless exploitation.

Mankind today appears like a foolish man who is wielding the axe at the branch of a tree on which he is sitting. You have to develop a sense of spiritual oneness. Out of that sense of oneness, love will grow. Man today does not recognise this sense of oneness. ‘Man’ is not the body alone. One has the mind, intellect and the Spirit too. When the balance among these constituents is upset, people are plunged into troubles. On the other hand, when there is a balance, true humanness blossoms.

 

The Sai Teachings

The Right Solution

Suppose you dream that you are being bitten by a snake, and are struggling with pain, shouting and frantically searching for medicines. Now even though you are bitten by a snake, do you take medicine to remove the poison? No, you don’t do that, because this happened in your dream. You perhaps will even forget the pain, as soon as you wake up, isn’t it?

Similarly, today you are in deep slumber of ignorance and worldly attachments and hence undergo a lot of suffering. The world is ephemeral and full of misery. You suffer only because of ignorance and body attachment. The moment you are awakened from the slumber, your problems will be solved. Anyone and everyone who aspires to lead a happy life must reduce body attachment. You develop ego because of your position, associations, physical strength or wealth. If you want to enjoy bliss, never give any scope for ego.

 

The Sai Teachings

The Name “Rama”

Rama’s name is a life-giving essence with esoteric significance. It consists of three syllables: Ra + Aa + Ma. Ra representing Agni (the Fire God), burns away all sins; Aa representing Surya (the Sun God), dispels the darkness of ignorance; and Ma representing Chandra (the Moon God), cools one’s temper and produces tranquility.

The name Rama has the triple power of washing away one's sins, removing one's ignorance, and tranquilizing one's mind. How can this profound meaning of the name Rama be imparted to mankind? This can be done only by the Divine coming in human form and demonstrating to mankind the power of the Divine. Rama was one who, while appearing to lead the life of an ordinary man, led the Life Divine. He demonstrated the ideal life of a spiritually realised person.

 

The Sai Teachings

Pre-requisites for a Spiritual life

The first pre-requisite for leading a spiritual life is Faith. Your faith must stand ridicule of the ignorant and laughter of the low-minded. When someone ridicules you, ask yourself, ‘Are they ridiculing my body? Well, that’s fine, for, I need to escape this body attachment anyway. Are they ridiculing the Soul/Atma? That is impossible, for the Atma is beyond words or thoughts, unaffected by praise or blame.’

Second: Do not worry about ups and downs, loss or gain, or joy or grief. You yourself create the ups and downs and therefore can straighten them as well. You crave for a thing and when you get it, you call it joy; when you don't, you call it grief. Cut off craving, and there will be no more swinging from joy to grief.

Third: Rationalise and be convinced of the truth that all beings are Divine.

Fourth: Be always steady in spiritual practice until you reach the goal.

 

The Sai Teachings

Self Confidence

When a tree sways with the wind, its branches bend and toss up and down. But the tiny bird sitting on it is not afraid? Why? Because the bird relies on its wings. Even if the branch falls down, as long as its wings are fine, it is safe. With this realization, the bird sits bravely on the swaying branch.

However, human beings do not have so much faith as a tiny bird. Even with the slightest problems on the tree of life, people get very worried. Why? It is because they have lost their self-confidence. Even at the slightest suffering, people are frustrated, depressed and unable to bear. Instead of depending on your intelligence, physical strength or wealth, trust your self-confidence. Do good deeds; let every step and all your efforts be directed to win His Grace and proximity. Then, you will surely triumph!

The Sai Teachings

                  Your happiness depends upon the company you keep

Bear in mind the company you keep. The great saint-poet Kabir once said, “I salute the bad and also the good”. Kabir was asked, “We understand you offering salutations to the good, but why do you salute the bad?” He responded, “When I salute the bad, I am doing this with a prayer to remove themselves from my presence; I am saluting the good, requesting their presence before me.” This is a profound statement.

You must avoid bad company and cultivate the company of good. When you join with good people, you will be happy and you will confer happiness upon others. Strive to get rid of all your bad thoughts. Give up all your negative traits. Discharge your obligations to your parents. Render selfless service to the community and redeem your lives by earning the Grace of the Lord.

The Sai Teachings

Transformation…

No object can be enjoyed without undergoing the process of transformation and refinement. Take the example of paddy. The paddy that is grown and harvested in the field cannot be consumed as such. It has to be converted into rice through the process of winnowing and thrashing. Once the process is complete, the value of the original paddy increases significantly. The process of transformation makes the object more useful and valuable. The utility value of cotton when spun and transformed into cloth is significantly higher, thanks to the transformation process. Take the example of gold. Again, there is a significant increase in its value when it is transformed to the shiny yellow metal, from its original form in the gold mine. Such being the case, how much more necessary it is for the human being to be transformed?

The Sai Teachings

Examination success

Some students aim to just pass the examination or get perhaps 60%. Low aim is a crime. Who will tolerate or accept any work that is done 40% or 50%? Low marks tend to speak poorly of yourself – so never aim low, you must aim high. You should target a high 98%, you will definitely achieve at least 75%.
“Success begets Success”, so in any examination, begin answering easy questions first, properly numbering and tracking them. Then, you will feel encouragement from within to continue to write, and slowly be able to handle even the difficult questions as well. On the other hand, if you begin with tough questions, then you may get depressed quickly in the limited time. Depression leads to confusion, which in turn leads to loss of memory. Then, even if you know the answer, you will not be able to answer correctly. So to have the right kind of enthusiasm you must answer easy questions first.

The Sai Teachings

Examination preparation

At times, you may feel dissatisfied with the answers you wrote, even though you have spent a lot of time reading. Why? Because when you are preparing for examinations, mere reading is not sufficient. You may read at home and feel confident of writing well in the exam hall, but that doesn’t work.

You must practise at home what you do in the examination hall. That is why you should often practise writing the answers. Many things which you do not understand clearly while reading, becomes easier to comprehend when you write it down. The more you write and practise at home, the better you will do in the examination hall.  In the examination hall, before receiving the question paper, you should first pray for guidance. Receive the question paper after your prayer. Then slowly read the question paper and start answering the easy questions first and the difficult ones towards the end.

 

The Sai Teachings

The first stage to Realisation is when you accept, "I am in the Light." Next you perceive and declare, "The Light is in me" and finally you realize, "I am the Light”.

“I” represents Love and “light” represent Supreme Wisdom. When love and light become one, there is Realisation. Love should come from within and not be enforced from outside.

The Sai Teachings

                                                    Sat Chit Ananda

God is the Eternal Absolute (Sat) and the individual is Consciousness (Chit). When these two (Sat and Chit) merge, you have Bliss (Ananda). Your spiritual practices must help you to realise this Bliss (Sat-chit-ananda).

Where is God (Sat)? God is present in everyone. So always be prepared to serve everyone, regarding them as Divine. Your spiritual practices (Sadhana) must help you cultivate the feeling of Universal Love and adoration for the Divine who embraces everyone. There is no higher spiritual practice than the cultivation of Love. Hence, intensify your spiritual practices in the spirit that the one God pervades the many forms in the Universe.

 

The Sai Teachings

                                                       God does all…

The path to God is difficult, but you can win. Let God do whatever He wants. Surrender to Him and say, “I brought nothing with me! Whatever You have given me, I offer it back to You.”

You may think your parents gave you the body. Who put life into your body? Who makes your heart tick incessantly? You may feed the body with tasty food but who digests all the food you eat? Who is the driving force behind the circulation of blood? God Himself regulates every single act within every living being. The eye that is not even an inch long can clearly perceive the stars, far away in the sky. Who gave this little eye, this big strength and power? God alone has conferred and is conferring everything upon you. With your little ego, you are confused that you are the doer. This is the greatest ignorance. Whatever He gives, accept it, it is for your highest good.

The Sai Teachings

                                      The Chariot and the Horse

Consider your physical body a chariot. Just as the horse is important for the chariot, your mind is the most important thing for your body. What is the point if the chariot is very tastefully decorated and the horse is starved?

Today, many of you are caring so much for the body and entirely neglecting the mind. Many have a very good, soft bed and stay in air-conditioned rooms, yet their body feels the heat and the mind is suffering from restlessness, with no peace of mind. Why? You are caring so much for the body and neglecting the mind. Take good care of the mind. The most appropriate foods for your mind are virtues, good feelings, good conduct and good thought.

Feed the horse well, the chariot will run! So too, take good care of your mind, you will be happy and peaceful.

The Sai Teachings

                                        Become an ideal person…

God dwells in each and every one of us. Do not criticise anybody, you will accumulate sin. Do not hate anyone. Never deride anyone’s action or ridicule them on the grounds of caste, race, gender, religion or community.

There is only one caste, the caste of humanity. There is only one religion, the religion of love. There is only one language, the language of the heart. All of you must understand and internalize this. Become an ideal person from today. Develop faith in the ‘Brotherhood of Man and the Fatherhood of God’. Do not worry about the past, forget it. This will lead you to real bliss.

 

The Sai Teachings

                                                     Helping others…

Always help the poor and those suffering and in distress.
Once upon a time, in Tamil Nadu, lived a poet saint who squatted on the small veranda of his hut and chanted beautiful songs to the Lord. One day, it was raining heavily. Another man came and asked him if he could also take shelter there. The devotee said, “There was place just enough for me to stretch out, but now that you are here we will both sit erect.” Later, another man stopped by and asked for shelter. The devotee again agreed saying, “There was place for the two of us to sit. Now that you also have joined, let us all stand.”
He thus taught the principle of helping everyone and not sending anyone away who needed help, even when the means are limited. Cultivate this attitude of sharing with others any good thing you have. Thus you can practice daily, the great principle of finding God in every being.

The Sai Teachings

                                        Do not over-indulge…

If the number of passengers in a bus is within the permissible limits, travel is safe. On the other hand if it is overloaded with people or luggage, its owner has to pay the fine imposed by the Road Transport Officer (RTO).

Similarly, if you overload yourself with food or desires, the Officer of Virtues, will impose the fine of grief and ill-health on you. Hence moderation is very essential for happy living – be it in food or desires. If you want to progress and maintain good health consistently, it is imperative that you must not over indulge yourself. You will not be able to attain the elevated stage of bliss if you eat more than what your body needs.

The Sai Teachings

                                Short term Pain = Long term Gain

If you work for 24 hours in an air-conditioned place, you will take this for granted and not realize its value. But if you work for four hours in the Sun, and then sit in an air-conditioned room, you will recognize its value. Without heat, there is no value for the air-conditioner.

So too, without troubles, we will not realize the value of comforts. Only when we suffer, we realize what joy is! At times, to relieve the pain and suffering in one part of your body, the doctor may perform an operation. The surgery is a painful procedure. However, without undergoing that short term pain, you cannot remove the long term suffering. That is why the scriptures clearly call out that happiness cannot be derived from happiness. Without goodness, life has no meaning. Without sorrow, there is no value for happiness.

The Sai Teachings

  
                                                On being Positive…

When you face troubles develop courage in yourself. Do not think, “Why should I be troubled like this?” Develop broadmindedness. Firmly believe that whatever happens is only for your good. Never forget that trouble, loss, illness, etc. come only for your good. Do not see bad in good. Always see good in bad. Light has much more value when there is darkness around.

The value of joy is realized only when there are troubles. During the rainy and winter season, we want heat. In summer times, we look for coolness. You need both heat and cold, depending upon the circumstance. No matter in which situation you are, you must develop good feelings. You must start this habit of always having noble feelings from a very young age. Whatever thoughts and feelings you develop then, will last forever. Develop good thoughts and give up bad company.

 

                                                 

The Sai Teachings

                                                       As is the Food…

Food is considered God, as it is the source of a person’s life, body, mind, and character. Eat only what you need. Do not be greedy and take more than you can eat and waste the rest. Wasting food is a great sin; your surplus can feed another stomach.

Even a major part of the food you consume, the gross part, is thrown out as waste matter. A minute amount of the food, which is the subtle part, is assimilated by the body and flows as blood. And a minuscule amount, which is the subtlest part of the food, makes up your mind. Therefore mind is the reflection of the food consumed. When demonic tendencies arise in our minds, know that it is from the food we consume. To receive real nourishment, pay attention to the quality of food that you eat and let it be very pure, clean, and sanctified.

The Sai Teachings

                                                             Jealousy

Jealousy will make a person see bad, even in the good! It will bring about your destruction in many ways. Root it out of you at the earliest. If not, the next one to come is ego. Ego destroys discrimination, drives out human qualities, and turns you into a demon. Doubt, jealousy, ego and lack of faith are four very strong evil qualities. Even if any one of those four are present in anyone, without doubt, they will be ruined over time.

Develop good conduct and earnestly practice good behaviour as much as possible, then you will attain the status of a noble person over time. Never do any work with the desire for money or any other benefit. Expecting the result of work is greediness. The fruit of the action depends upon the action itself. Can you expect 100/100 even before you start studying? Instead of studying keeping marks in view, you must study because it is your duty, and do it with total dedication.

 

The Sai Teachings

                                                           Wisdom is …

Since ancient times, emphasis has been laid on three aspects of our lives: work, worship, and wisdom. What is wisdom? All that is related to our senses - the fleeting objects of the material world and our actions, speak of our ignorance. Wisdom dawns the moment the mind is withdrawn. The thoughtless state between two consecutive thoughts is Spiritual Wisdom. People are not able to experience this thoughtless state and are carried away by fleeting, ephemeral, and momentary things.

All the knowledge that one acquires is not true knowledge. Knowledge of the Spirit or Soul (Atma) is true knowledge. True wisdom dawns when all thoughts are decimated. However all three of these - work, worship, and wisdom, begin with service. No matter what service it is, if it is done with love and divine feelings, it becomes worship.

 

The Sai Teachings

                                                  What is Culture?

The observance of morality in daily life, the divinization of all actions and thoughts related to life, and adherence to ideals - all of these together constitute culture. Culture means that which sanctifies the world, which enhances the greatness and glory of a country, and which helps to raise the individual and society to a higher level of existence.
The process of refinement or transformation is essential for improving the utility of any object or life. For instance, paddy has to be milled and its husk removed before the rice is fit for cooking. This is called transformation. This means, doing away with unwanted elements and securing the desirable ones. With regard to people, culture means getting rid of bad qualities and cultivating virtues. The cultured person is one who has developed good thoughts and good conduct.

 

The Sai Teachings

                                            We are all connected

In a beautiful flower garland, the quickest to strike the eyes are the flowers, while the thread upon which they are strung has to be inferred as it is not so patent. But without the connecting thread, they all fall off. So too, without that bond in Divine, you will fall off as entities unrelated to the rest of your fellow beings. Never forget that every one is a being with a Divine spark within. The Divine Current flows through and activates each of you. Learn to direct your mind, so that it helps you to recognize the Divinity in and around you. Be sure to wield this instrument of the mind, rather than yield to it. Understand the technique of its working as well as its potentialities.

 

The Sai Teachings

                                                    The Tongue
The tongue is the armour of the heart, it even guards your life. Loud talks, long talk, wild talk, talk full of anger and hate – all these affect your health. They breed anger and hatred in others; they wound, they excite, they enrage, and they estrange.
Why is silence said to be golden? The silent person has no enemies, though he or she may not have friends. They have the leisure and the chance to dive within them and examine their own faults and failings. They no more have inclination to seek them in oth­ers.
If your foot slips, you suffer a fracture; if your tongue slips, you fracture someone’s faith or joy. That fracture can never be set right; that wound will fester forever. Therefore use the tongue with great care. The softer you talk, the less you talk, the more sweetly you talk, the better for you and the world.

 

The Sai Teachings

                                                          The 4 Goals

The 4 goals presented to man are: Righteousness, Wealth, Desire and Liberation. But they have to be pursued in pairs, Righteousness and Wealth together and Desire and Liberation combined. That is to say, Wealth has to be earned through Righteousness, and our Desire should be for Liberation.
But man takes these four separately and ends up losing everything. He puts them into separate compartments and adopts distinct plans to achieve them. He gives up Righteousness and Liberation as beyond him and wastes his life pursuing only Wealth and Desire. This leads him to ruin.

The Sai Teachings

                                                Sport teaches us…

Although there may be differences among nations in their food and habits, the spirit of harmony and unity displayed in sports is a gratifying example to all. It is a distinctive quality of sports that differences are forgotten and persons engage themselves in games in a divine spirit of camaraderie. Sports help the players not only to improve their health but also to experience joy.

However, you should not be content with realising these benefits alone. You have another body besides the physical; it is the subtle body, otherwise known as the mind. It is equally essential to promote purity of the mind and develop large heartedness. True humanness blossoms only when the body, the mind and the spirit are developed harmoniously. The enthusiasm and effort you display in sports should also manifest in the spheres of morality and spirituality.

 

The Sai Teachings

                                              Source of Creation

The entire creation is based on truth. Where there is truth, there you find abundance and prosperity. Human life is not meant to enjoy physical comforts and worldly pleasures, which are momentary. It is meant to set an ideal to the rest of the world.

Ask yourself, “Having lived all these years, what is the ideal I have set and achieved?” You might have done a few good deeds in life, but they may be outdone by the number of bad deeds you may have performed. That is not the quality of a human being. Cultivate good thoughts, speak good words and perform good deeds. That is true humanness.

We remember the ancient sages and seers even today because of the good deeds they have performed. “Do unto others what you would like others do unto you”. Do not indiscriminately follow the mind, for the mind is like a mad monkey. Follow your conscience. Love is the under-current of all this. So lead a life suffused with love.

 

The Sai Teachings

                                            Sanctify your Time

People worship God with devotion and sincerity, but God is not satisfied with external worship. You should serve society. Only service can confer bliss on you. By rendering service to society, you can alleviate the sufferings of the people, and also bring about transformation in their lives.

When you serve with sacred feelings, it is bound to yield sacred results. Serve society to your utmost capacity. Service to others confers permanent satisfaction. Time is the most precious gift of God, but you are wasting it in vain pursuits.

Sanctify the time given to you by serving society. Through service alone you can get rid of worries, ego, pomp and show, and other evil qualities.

The Sai Teachings

                                              Sanctify your efforts

Human life is highly sacred, most precious and Divine. Do not fritter it away by indulging in unsacred activities. All that you find outside is nothing but the reflection, reaction, and resound of your inner feelings. Life must be lived in the proper way by exercising control over the senses.

Speak sweetly and softly. You cannot always oblige, but you can always speak obligingly. Pray for the well-being of all. Sanctify your senses by serving all. By exercising control over your senses, you can achieve anything in life. You may think that you have given away ten bags of rice in charity and distributed clothes to 500 people. Such accounts are to be submitted to the income tax department and not to God. God is not interested in quantity; He sees the feeling behind your acts. So, whatever acts of charity you undertake, do it with the spirit of love and sacri­fice.

 

The Sai Teachings

                                                   Peace is Wealth

Everyone seeks and strives to be at peace with himself and with the community around. People have tried to get this peace by accumulating wealth, which gives power over others and the ability to command conveniences and comforts. Some have sought positions of authority and influence, so they can shape events suited to one’s aims and fancies. Unfortunately, these paths are beset with fear, and the peace that is secured thereby is liable to quick and sometimes violent extinction.

Real Peace can be achieved only through Love! It is the fruit of the tree of life. This fruit with the sweet essence is encased in a bitter skin. The bitter skin is symbolic of the six evil passions that encase the loving heart of man: lust, anger, greed, attachment, pride and hate. Those who remove the exterior through hard and consistent discipline attain the sweetness inside - that much desired peace, everlasting, unchanging and overwhelming.

The Sai Teachings

                                   Patience and Forbearance 1

Divinity is the manifestation of Love and Forbearance.The virtue of forbearance, unlimited patience and ability to forgive and forget is not achieved by reading books or learnt from an instructor. Nor can it be received as a gift from someone.

This prime virtue can be acquired solely by self effort, by facing squarely diverse problems, difficulties of various sorts, anxieties, suffering as well as sorrow. In its absence , you will become susceptible to all kinds of evil tendencies. Hatred and jealousy easily take root in a person lacking this virtue. It gives complete protection to the one who possesses it. Hence, forbearance being a priceless possession, is the greatest, grandest and the noblest amongst all virtues and is all encompassing.

The Sai Teachings

                                     Patience and Forbearance

Difficulties and pain help one to nurse and build the capacity for patience and forbearance. However, due to mental weakness and ignorance, people invariably shun painful experiences and distress. Do not be weak; be brave and welcome troubles. Let them come, the more the merrier. Only with such a courageous attitude can you bring out the forbearance hidden within you.

Can you get promoted to a higher class without passing an examination? It is only when you secure the prescribed marks and pass the examination, you are declared eligible to advance to the higher class. While preparing for the examination you have to face stress and many difficulties but how sweet the promotion is! So welcome troubles as tests that prepare you for higher things and be happy when troubles descend on you, because that is when forbearance truly blossoms.

The Sai Teachings

                                      Our Thoughts and our Fortunes

The absence of good thoughts weakens the will power. With a weak will, one cannot accomplish even simple things. To achieve anything worthwhile in life you must strengthen your willpower. Your bad or good fortune is related directly to your thoughts.

Sowing the seed of thoughts you reap the fruit known as Karma (deeds). Sowing the seed of Karma, you then reap the fruit called Practice. From practice, you reap the fruit of Character. From character you reap the fruit of Good Fortune.

Thus fortune is based on character, which is based on good practices arising out of good deeds based on good thoughts. Thus with the development of good thoughts, one's good fortune will also grow.

 

The Sai Teachings

                                                         Our Reality
Unless a belief is held unshaken throughout night and day, it cannot be used to achieve victory. When a person asserts that he/she is low in knowledge or talent, and knows but little, he/she becomes so; his knowledge eventually decreases.

                             We become what we believe we are.

We are the children of Almighty God, endowed with supreme power, glory and wisdom. We are children of immortality. We must understand this fundamental truth and hold fast to it always. When we dwell on this thought, how can we ever be low and ignorant?  Culture teaches us to believe that the real nature of man is divine and that one should ever be conscious of this truth.

The Sai Teachings

                                               Maintain Nature’s balance

Just as a child is entitled to enjoy the milk from its mother, there can be no objection to man enjoying the resources of nature. But as a result of uncontrolled desires and reckless exploitation of natural resources, Nature is exhibiting frightening disorders. Natural calamities like earthquakes, volcanic eruptions, droughts and floods are the result of disturbances in the balance of Nature caused by this reckless exploitation.

Mankind today appears like a foolish man who is wielding the axe at the branch of a tree on which he is sitting. You have to develop a sense of spiritual oneness. Out of that sense of oneness, love will grow. Man today does not recognise this sense of oneness. ‘Man’ is not the body alone. One has the mind, intellect and the Spirit (Atma) too. When the balance among these constituents is upset, people are plunged into troubles. On the other hand, when there is a balance, true humanness blossoms.

The Sai Teachings

                                                        Life’s Game

In a game of football, the players on either side continue to kick the ball till it is sent to the goal. They must see to it that the ball does not go beyond the two posts that define the goal. The goal of life too consists of two posts: secular and spiritual. You are born as a human with the goal of not being born again.

You must live within the frames of secular and spiritual pursuits. The six bad qualities; lust, anger, greed, desire, pride and jealousy are on one side, and the good qualities; truth, right conduct, peace, love, compassion and sacrifice are on the other side. The game is between these two teams. If you tread along the divine path you can experience peace, and also share it with others. Then you will be liberated.

 

The Sai Teachings

                                    Lessons from the Scriptures

You know only the present that is happening before your eyes; you do not realise that the present is related to the past and is preparing the course of the future. Each birth wipes out the memory of the one already experienced.

The tree came from the seed and the seed from the tree and so on. You may not know which came first, tree or seed, but you can easily put an end to the cycle by frying the seed. You do not realise that the end of this cycle of birth and death lies in your own hands.

The scriptures and holy books serve this very purpose. These are not meant to mislead you. That is not the desire of the sages who wrote down these annals and their own experiences. It is to tell mankind the truth about oneself.

The Sai Teachings

Lesson of Love

The lotus leaf is born under water and it floats on water, but it does not get wet. You too must be in the world likewise—in it, by it, for it, but not of it. The special feature of Wisdom (higher education) is to prepare you for this role.

That is to say, with the heart immersed in the Divine and the hands busy in work, you must live thus on Earth. Love should not degenerate into an article of commerce. Love fulfils itself in Love.

 

The Sai Teachings

                                              Lessen your Desires

Your life is a long journey. You should have less baggage (desires) in this journey of life. There­fore it is said, “Less luggage, more comfort, makes travel a pleasure.” So ceiling on desires is what you have to adopt today. You have to cut short your de­sires day by day.

You are under the mistaken notion that happiness lies in the fulfilment of desires. But in fact, happiness begins to dawn when desires are totally eradicated. When you reduce your desires, you advance towards the state of renunciation. You have many desires; what do you get out of them? You are bound to face the consequences when you claim something as yours. You will be blissful the moment you give up ego and attachment.

The Sai Teachings

                                                          Karma

The word karma (action) is short and crisp. But the idea and ideals it conveys are of great significance to mankind. It is of two kinds: material and spiritual, that is, connected with this World and drawn from the Vedas or scriptural injunctions.

Karma that merely sustains life is material. The spiritual actions elevate the human to the Divine and are based on the scriptures. Karma is not simply physical, it is also mental and verbal; it subsumes every activity of man—worldly, scriptural and spiritual.

All the three strands are truly intertwined. Worldly actions entail merit or demerit. Scripturally based actions are saturated with the experience of generations of seekers of goodness. The spiritually-focused will devote themselves to cleansing their hearts so that the indwelling God may be reflected therein.

 

The Sai Teachings

                                                Islamic Teachings

The Quran teaches that everyone must cultivate the sense of unity, of inter-dependence, of selfless love and of the immanence of Divinity.  Prayer in Islam is a congregational activity. Group prayer produces beneficial vibrations and Islam assures great ecstasy when God is adored by a huge concourse of yearning hearts. All aspirants bend down on their knees in rows, and lean forward until their palms and foreheads touch the ground; this is done as a mark of humble submission to God’s Will.

God is One and the teachings of all faiths exalt His love, compassion, tolerance and sympathy. Islam teaches that God's grace can be won through justice and righteous living and never through wealth, scholarship or authority; only Sacred Love can please the Lord. This is the message of every religion.

 

The Sai Teachings

                                                  Intellect is superior

A lame man and a blind man became friends and they moved from one place to another, with the lame man riding on the shoulder of the blind. One day, the lame man saw a field of yellow cucumber and suggested to the blind man that they pick a few and eat their fill. The blind man asked, “Brother, have they fenced the crop?” The lame man said, “No!” The blind man said, “Then let us move on, you know there are sweet and bitter varieties – if these vegetables are left unguarded – they must be bitter!”

The blind man, by his intellect, was able to discover that they were bitter even without tasting them. He used the intelligence to perceive the truth faster and clearer. Make the intellect the Master of your mind and you will not fail; you will fail only when the senses establish mastery over the mind. Clarify your intelligence through spiritual discipline.