Cultivate the atmoshphere of love and co-operation and you can ensure joy forever more

1.Cultivate the atmosphere of love and cooperation, and you can ensure joy forever more. Seek ways of working together for the common good. Ahamkaram and Mamakaram - the sense of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ - these prevent love and cooperation. Reduce them to the minimum and then start serving the needy and the distressed. Service is best built on the strong foundation of Tat Tvam Asi (That thou art). There is no other, there is only One. Many kites fly high, but the same air keeps all of them aloft. The pots of water in which the Sun is reflected may be many, but the Sun remains unaffected even when the pots break or the water is dried up. Understand that all help you render is therefore help given to yourself; all service is to the Self alone.

2.Revere your mother and Motherland. This is the teaching that our scriptures have been propagating since ages. The Vedas declare: “Maathru devo bhava” - revere your mother as God. This applies even to your country of birth, your motherland. Revere your country and follow its culture. Revere your mother, who has brought you up with love, care and sacrifice. However famous one may be, if one does not revere one’s mother, one does not deserve any respect. A person whose heart is so hard that it does not melt at the pleadings of the mother deserves nothing but ridicule.

3.Dharma is universal. There is a test that may be applied to any action to determine if it is according to Dharma. Let not your deeds harm or injure another. This flows from the recognition that the divine spark is the same in every form, and if you injure another you are injuring the same divinity that is in yourself. Dharma enables you to realise that anything that is bad for another is also bad for you. The test of Dharmic action is stated very clearly in the saying: "Do unto others as you would have them do unto you".

4.Godhead expressed itself initially as the five elements: ether, air, fire, water and earth. All creation is but a combination of two or more of these in varying proportions. The characteristic natures of these five elements are: sound, touch, form, taste and smell, cognized by the ears, the skin, the eyes, the tongue and the nose. Now, since these are saturated with the divine, one has to use them reverentially, with humility and gratitude. Use them intelligently to promote the welfare of others and yourself; use them with moderation and in loving service of society.

5.The recognition of one's innate Divinity and the regulation of one's daily life in accordance with that Truth are the guiding stars for those caught in the currents and cross currents of strife and struggle. Without that Atma Jnana (spiritual awareness), life becomes a meaningless farce, a mockery. It is the acquisition of that awareness that makes life earnest, sweet and fruitful.

6.It is pure love that bestows liberation. You should endeavour to attain this holistic love. To attain liberation, people undertake all sorts of spiritual practices, but love is the undercurrent of all spiritual endeavours. Bhakthi (devotion) is a spiritual practice based on love. Devotion is not merely singing bhajans or performing sacred rituals. True devotion is the direct flow of selfless and unconditional love from your heart to God. In the spiritual practices that people undertake, there is some amount of selfishness. Offer your love to God devoid of the least trace of selfishness or desire. The annihilation of desire is verily liberation.

7.Dwell always on noble thoughts. When air fills a balloon, it takes the form of the balloon. The mind assumes the form of the objects with which it is attached. If it gets fixed on petty things, it becomes petty; similarly, thinking about grand things, it becomes grand. The camera takes a picture of whatever it is pointed at; so take care before you click. Discriminate before you develop attachment. When you develop attachment towards family, wealth, properties, etc., you will come to grief when these decline. But if you develop attachment towards God, you will grow in love and splendour.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba