1.Some are born healthy and some others, unhealthy. Some lead prosperous and carefree lives, while others toil throughout their lives in dire poverty. Certainly, it can be argued that there are signs enough of the partiality that the Creation or Creator reveals. Such inference may even appear justified from the ordinary man’s point of view. The pure stream of spiritual culture declares that this is not true at all! God is not the cause of either misery or joy, of good fortune or bad! Then, who brings about the evil and the good? The answer is—we ourselves! Rain falls equally on ploughed land as well as that which is not ploughed. But only the ploughed land derives benefit therefrom! The clouds are not to blame. The fault lies in the ignorant idler who lets his land lie fallow. The grace of God is ever at hand. It has no more or less, no ups or downs. We draw upon it, to a greater or lesser degree, or let it go by, or use it for our good.
2.Each actor must be conscious of God's presence behind the screen of maya (illusion); each must be anxious to catch the faintest suggestion He might give, keeping a corner of the eye always on Him and having the ear pitched to catch His voice. Instead of this, if a person forgets the plot and the story (that is to say, the work for which one has come and the duties that appertain thereto), neglects to watch the Presence behind the screen, and simply stands dumb on the stage, the audience will laugh at his folly and charge the person with spoiling the show. For these reasons, every actor who has to play the role of a person on the world stage must first learn the lines well and then, remembering the Lord behind the screen, await His orders. The attention must be on both: the lines one learned for the role and the stage manager’s directions. Meditation alone gives one this concentration and awareness.
3.There is milk in the body of the cow; the milk has ghee (clarified butter) latent in it. But the cow cannot derive any strength through that latent ghee. The milk has to be taken out of the animal, boiled, and a little sour curd poured into it in order to curdle it. Then, when the milk is transformed into curds, it has to be churned and the butter separated and rolled. After this, the butter has to be melted and clarified, only then can ghee be obtained. The ghee thus prepared can be fed to the cow which would make it stronger. So too, God is omnipresent. Yet, He is not easily available or perceivable to individuals unless they undertake the required sadhana (spiritual practices).
4.There is oil in the sesame seed. There is butter in milk. There is water underground. There is fire latent in wood. Similarly, the Omnipresent God is in the human body and in the human mind. When one seeks to separate Him and identify Him, one has to make efforts and perform sadhana (spiritual practices). Then, as a consequence of the effort and the sadhana one will realise that God is Oneself and there is no difference between the two.
Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba
2.Each actor must be conscious of God's presence behind the screen of maya (illusion); each must be anxious to catch the faintest suggestion He might give, keeping a corner of the eye always on Him and having the ear pitched to catch His voice. Instead of this, if a person forgets the plot and the story (that is to say, the work for which one has come and the duties that appertain thereto), neglects to watch the Presence behind the screen, and simply stands dumb on the stage, the audience will laugh at his folly and charge the person with spoiling the show. For these reasons, every actor who has to play the role of a person on the world stage must first learn the lines well and then, remembering the Lord behind the screen, await His orders. The attention must be on both: the lines one learned for the role and the stage manager’s directions. Meditation alone gives one this concentration and awareness.
3.There is milk in the body of the cow; the milk has ghee (clarified butter) latent in it. But the cow cannot derive any strength through that latent ghee. The milk has to be taken out of the animal, boiled, and a little sour curd poured into it in order to curdle it. Then, when the milk is transformed into curds, it has to be churned and the butter separated and rolled. After this, the butter has to be melted and clarified, only then can ghee be obtained. The ghee thus prepared can be fed to the cow which would make it stronger. So too, God is omnipresent. Yet, He is not easily available or perceivable to individuals unless they undertake the required sadhana (spiritual practices).
4.There is oil in the sesame seed. There is butter in milk. There is water underground. There is fire latent in wood. Similarly, the Omnipresent God is in the human body and in the human mind. When one seeks to separate Him and identify Him, one has to make efforts and perform sadhana (spiritual practices). Then, as a consequence of the effort and the sadhana one will realise that God is Oneself and there is no difference between the two.
Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba
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