Why should we be careful about every thought, word and deed?

 Know that whatever you feel or do is an offering to God, that flows towards God. So, be cautious. Do not offer bad thoughts, words and deeds which He does not accept. Offer instead the holy and the pure. That’s your duty. That will ensure Self-satisfaction. Self-satisfaction paves the way to Self-sacrifice and Self-sacrifice brings about Self-Realisation. The entire process rests upon faith; Self-satisfaction, Self-sacrifice and Self-realisation - all these depend on faith. Faith decides the yearning; the yearning decides the fruit; and the act decides the stage that is reachable. For, the sincerity of the act promotes the purity of the path; the purity of the path determines the validity of the wisdom and true wisdom is Divinity itself. The act, the conduct, way of life - all these must be disciplined and elevated. How can a mind encumbered with desires ever rest content? How can it welcome sacrifice? Hence, one must involve themselves only in acts that encourage detachment and renunciation!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

The sense of ego separates the individual from the Divine. When the individual offers everything to God, this ego barrier is removed.

 A person stands knee-deep in the river Ganges or Godavari, and utters hymns in praise of the river. He lifts up in his palm sacred water of the river and pours it back as his offering to the deity the river represents. Its water into itself - God's gift to God again! That’s all one is capable of; that is all one needs to do. He endowed you with this wonderful body, this sweet tongue, this amazing instrument called mind! He granted you intelligence, powers of analysis and synthesis, the capacity to receive and give up, to remember and forget. Acknowledge these gratefully and use them to the best advantage. Use them to see Him everywhere in all beings, to seek Him through all the ups and downs, joys and griefs, doubt and decisions of life. These dual impacts are a result of wavering of the mind. The mind revels in diversity of name and form; it must be drilled into the recognition and enjoyment of unity!

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

When you are immersed in worldly affairs, He brings tears to your eyes. When you are immersed in spirituality, He wipes away your grief.

 Let us consider chamatkara, acts that attract and cause wonder. You see a flower. You long to hold it in your hand only when its colour or fragrance is attractive. You enter the market and see heaps of fruits. If the fruits are not attractive, you have no urge to eat them and benefit from them. Attraction is the very nature of the Divine. Once the person is drawn near, the process of samskara (transformation) starts. Without this, man remains fallow and feeble. He has no dignity or personality. A worthless steel lump is transformed by skilful manipulation and reconstruction into a watch that is worth several hundred rupees; this is the result of samskara, which turned it into a useful tool for indicating time. Thus man can also be transformed into a noble, efficient, happy and disciplined member of society by the implanting of good thoughts, good feelings, good deeds and good emotions. Such transformed persons will spontaneously engage themselves in the task of promoting human welfare. They will be promoters of the ideals of brotherhood of man and fatherhood of God.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Command the mind, regulate your conduct, keep your heart straight and clear, and then you will get the grace of God.

 The signs and wonders that I manifest are given names that do not connote the purpose or effect. They can be called chamatkara (miracles), that lead on to samskara (purification), which in turn urge one on towards paropakara (helping others) and finally result in sakshatkara (divine vision). Chamatkara is any act which attracts on account of its inexplicability. This aspect of attraction is inherent in the Avatar. The very name Rama means, 'He who pleases or causes delight’. Krishna means, 'He who attracts, draws towards Himself’. This attribute of attraction is a characteristic of Divinity. Why does the Divine attract? Is it to deceive or mislead? No. It is to transform, reconstruct, and reform - a process called samskara. What is the purpose of the reconstruction? To make the person useful for society, to efface his ego, and to affirm in him the unity of all beings in God. The person who has undergone samskara becomes a humble servant of those who need help. This is the stage of paropakara. Service of this kind done with reverence and selflessness prepares man to realise the One that pervades the many. The last stage is Sakshatkara.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

So long as one is dominated by sense pleasure, it cannot be said that their spiritual life has even started.

 The shadows are many and varied, though the light is One. When the One is reflected in the many, in the multitude of jivis, it appears as the Self in each, which watches unaffected as the witness. The Atma (Divine Self) is Eternal. The Self is Truth. However, since it is enclosed in flesh, bone and skin, man deludes himself into believing that the outer covering and not the inner core is the source of bliss. The foremost duty of man to himself is therefore to penetrate through these sheaths and imbibe the higher bliss which his Atmic core alone can confer. Everyone must, in their own best interests, strive to attain that unifying principle that is their inner treasure. Of all Sadhanas (spiritual exercises) this is the most pertinent - the process of achieving this closeness. For, Sadhana means the endeavour and the effort to gain the desired object. Activities that are devoid of Truth do not deserve to be known as Sadhana. The Atma is the Universal Eternal Truth and therefore, it cannot be gained by search in the particularised and the temporary world. The Divine shines in your heart and can be won only therein.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

What is the holistic approach we must employ to be successful in this spiritual quest?

 All the myriad differences that one sees in the world are only variations in form of the one basic entity - the Brahman. A man who seeks to enjoy the fruit of a tree cannot be content with nourishing only the flowers. He has to nourish the roots, the trunk, the branches, the leaves and the flowers. Likewise, the man who seeks the highest Jnana (wisdom) has to nourish the body, the senses, and the feelings appropriately. For this purpose, the nine forms of devotion have been prescribed for seekers. The mind, it has been said, is the cause of bondage or liberation. The mind is like a lock and the heart is the key. When the key is turned towards God, there is detachment. When it is turned towards the world there is attachment. Thus the mind is the cause of either liberation or bondage. Therefore the mind has to be directed towards what is holy and pure. Then you will lead a free, joyous, blissful life. The man who has developed such an attitude will be in a permanent state of bliss. He will be the embodiment of bliss.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

To control the mind, we should control the five senses. Only then will we be able to realise God.

 The body is a chariot. The charioteer is the principle of Buddhi (intelligence). The senses are the horses. The reins that regulate and restrain the horses are the manas (mind). When the mind wavers and wanders, not having stability of purpose, the horses run helter-skelter, endangering even the charioteer, Buddhi (Intellect). Speech is an important function of the senses and serves the whims of the mind. So, one must control the mind and not pollute it with greed for sense pleasures. Nor should the mind be tossed about on waves of 'Yes' and 'No', of acceptance and rejection, of resolutions and hesitations. The mind must act as an associate of the Buddhi. Speech subserving the mind and mind subserving intellect - this is the way to bring about Prashanti, Supreme Peace! And note this: Slowly and steadily, instruct the intellect to turn towards Atma. Speech with mind, mind with intellect and intellect illumined by the Atma — this ensures you attain your genuine goal!.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Just as a pot becomes strong when it is processed in fire, man becomes God when he undergoes refinement in the fire of wisdom.

Man does not become fully human merely by making himself a prosperous moral person. Spiritual progress has also to be achieved. Body, mind and spirit - these three together make up the man. The animal is concerned primarily with the body. Man has risen since he has been equipped with a mind. Cultivation of the spirit will elevate him to Divinity. The three are intertwined and interdependent. Each promotes the other. Without the mind, the body cannot decide on any step. Mind and body have to subserve the spirit and become aware of the Divine Atma. Health is very important for a fully disciplined life. Health means wholeness, fullness. The senses and the mind have to be controlled and regulated, so that man can win the battle of life. Self-control is sense control, mind control. This is, otherwise called samskruti (culture). Culture must be evident in every aspect of life - studying, eating, sleeping, playing games, etc. Culture expresses itself as discipline.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Discipline has to be a natural component of one's daily life in the discharge of one's duties.

You must ensure that living is a purposeful process. Without such a faith, life is rendered wild and wasteful. With it, you can attain Divinity. Faith will induce a regulated and disciplined life. A farmer was once charged before a court in Greece for adulterating the milk he was selling. The judge found that the milk was indeed not pure and was about to deliver the sentence when the farmer's earnest plea of innocence induced him to probe further into his habits. He found that the farmer milked his cows on some days at 4 a.m, some days at 6 a.m. and on some other days, when he could not sleep long, even at 3 a.m. The quality of the milk was affected by this irregularity and waywardness in milking. The farmer was admonished and advised to adhere to a regular time. Duty is best discharged through discipline.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

What is the special gift of being born human?

Man suffers because he has developed hunger as vast as the sky, with a throat as narrow as a needle. His throat must become as vast as the earth; his heart must blossom wide through shanti and sahana; that is, through equanimity, and fortitude. Then the desire of man for full lasting undiluted ananda (bliss) can be attained. Once a being has evolved into man, there is no relapse for him into lower forms of life; for man alone is capable of viveka and vichakshana (discrimination and wisdom); when he suffers, he worries why suffering has become his lot; he concludes that the cause must be sought, not in the vagaries of God or the whims of others, but in himself; if not in the present life, then in previous lives. Man alone can analyse his mental reactions and feelings and draw conclusions therefrom.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Why is it important to establish the right relationship with God?

You have no need to run about in search of God, for you are yourself God. God resides in your heart. All this is enveloped by God. All this is God. All beings are God. He is the All-pervasive motive force. Have firm faith in this fact. Like fire in the matchstick, Divinity is latent in man. The fire in the stick becomes manifest when it is struck against the side of the box. So too, when the Jivi (individual) contacts Deva (God), the flame of Jnana sheds the Light of Wisdom. How can one taste the experience of Wisdom? In what form does it emanate? The wise person does not hate anyone: he does not belittle or blame or hurt anyone. What is it that prompts you to love another? The urge to love and be loved is inherent in everyone. So, when you deny love or when you hate, you are hurting not only the person but the Universal Principle, the Divine Nature itself.

Bagavan Sri Sri Sri Sathya Sai Baba