Divine Inspirations Volume 1

Publisher’s Note

Our Divine Mother Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba in His own inimitable way narrates stories in His Divine Discourses to make the devotees easily understand His teachings and practise them, like any other human mother trying to make her infant eat food by diverting its attention to the moon, bird, etc. Bhagawan’s moral stories are a nectar of love and intended to ease the learning of His messages and enhance their understanding to enable them to practise and get spiritually elevated.

This collection of moral stories told by Bhagawan with Learning Points titled Divine Inspirations Vol-1 by Sri S. Sasidhar is simple to read and is a needful guide to all, children, youth and old people. The chapter titles in this book are quotes or messages of Baba with appropriate moral stories and their explanation. It is interesting and absorbing to read these stories which will specially be useful to Bal Vikas children, teachers and parents.

The Publications Division of Sri Sathya Sai Sadhana Trust gladly presents this valuable and practical guide book to the devotees and general public and hopes that it will be well received by them.

Convener

Publications Division,

Prasanthi Nilayam,

Date: 14 Sept. 2013

I ask only that you turn to Me when your mind drags you into grief or pride or envy. Bring Me the depths of your mind, no matter how grotesque, how cruelly ravaged doubts or disappointments. I know how to treat them. I will not reject you, I am your mother.

- Baba

Preface

Our beloved Baba has bestowed Divine nectar of love in the form of His sacred teachings for uplifting mankind. To ease our learning, Baba frequently narrated stories in His Divine discourses. Therefore, stories are an excellent inspirational tool to imbibe and practise Baba’s teachings in our day-to-day lives.

Divine Inspirations is intended to ease our learning of Baba’s teachings and enhance our understanding through moral stories collected from His discourses. Handbook for Ideal Sai Human Life - the comprehensive compilation of Swami’s teachings has cast the seeds for the present volume of this book.

Each chapter title in this book is a quote/message which is supported by a moral story/stories narrated by Baba and followed by a brief explanation on the learning points. Each story exemplifies the ideals of Sai and explains how important it is to practise these ideals in day-to-day life through examples.

The contents of the book are primarily designed to fulfil the needs of individual aspirants and for the activities like study circles, to discuss and gain insights through stories and quotes. Moreover, some of the stories can be a great resource for Bal Vikas/SSE teachers and parents. For the ease of readers, all the quotes used as chapter titles form the table of contents of this e-book.

My heartfelt thanks to my wife Hetal for all her patience and support. My sincere gratitude and respect to my parents, other family members, and friends for their love and support.

Let’s all pray to Bhagawan to help all of us in practising His teachings more rigorously each day and ultimately attain everlasting merger in Him.

- S. Sasidhar

Contents

Publisher’s Note

Preface

1. Faith is the first step to the grace of God.

2. You must welcome tests because they give you confidence and ensure promotion.

3. Faith in God is the bedrock that can save man from downfall.

4. A heart full of compassion is the temple of God.

5. Mother and Motherland are greater than the highest heavens.

6. To give yourself entirely, unconditionally and absolutely to God is Surrender.

7. Prayer must emanate from heart, where God resides, and not from the head where doctrines and doubts clash.

8. You must surrender your judgment to the Lord, and then Lord will assume full responsibility.

9. If there is no transformation of the heart, of what avail are spiritual sadhanas?

10. Righteous action and control of the senses are essential for the cultivation of universal love and goodness.

11. Knowledge without action is useless; action without knowledge is foolish.

12. Devotion is not a uniform to be worn on certain days and then to be put aside.

13. The path of devotion and dedication is the royal road, the smoothest path to spiritual success.

14. God can be known only by experience and not by experiments. And for this Spiritual practice is necessary.

15. The whole world is like a book, read it well. Nature is the best teacher.

16. Thoughts shape one’s future as well as fortune.

17. Thoughts come from food & environment. If you have satwic food & desire only good, only good thoughts will come.

18. There is nothing wrong with Srishti (creation). All faults are due to the defective Drishti (vision).

19. Spiritual progress is directly proportionate to the reduction of desires.

20. Man wants the gift, not the Giver; the created, not the Creator; things from the Hand, not the Hand!

21. If you take one step towards Me, I will take ten steps towards you.

22. Human effort and God's grace are both equally important. These are like the positive and negative wires through which the current flows.

23. One has to face the consequences of their own actions, good for good and bad for bad.

24. If you win the Grace of the Lord, even the decree of destiny can be overcome.

25. Soft and sweet speech is the expression of genuine love.

26. Silence is the speech of the spiritual seeker.

27. Parents should shape children in such a way as to win the appreciation of everyone.

28. If you honour your Mother, the Mother of the Universe will guard you against harm.

29. Devotion to one's motherland is as important as devotion to God.

30. When devotion to God is coupled with good resolutions, anything can be accomplished.

31. Qualities like forbearance, Compassion, Truth, and Love are the spiritual qualities that are essential for man no matter in which place or time he lives.

32. Knowledge is power, it is said. But, Virtue is Peace.

33. Remove the roots of egoism from the field of your heart. That alone is sufficient to reach me.

34. Whatever may happen, consider it as an act of Divine Love and welcome it wholeheartedly.

35. Service is the best cure for egoism; so, engage in it to relieve pain and grief to the extent that you can.

36. Service will become meaningful when it manifests love that issues from sacrifice.

37. More than listening or delivering many lectures, one act of genuine service attracts the Grace of God.

38. All help you render to others is service to the Self alone.

39. The body has been gifted in order to serve others.

40. God cares for your inner most feelings (bhava), not your outward expressions (bahya).

41. True spirituality consists in the unity of thought, word and deed in all their purity and sacredness.

42. Bliss is your innate nature. Make it the most precious treasure you possess.

43. In any circumstance one should adhere to Truth. Truth is God incarnate.

44. Falsehood looks easy and profitable. But it binds you and pushes you into deep trouble.

45. God's Grace is just like the shower of the rain. It flows indiscriminately to everyone & everywhere. You have to perform the spiritual practice of keeping the pot upright to receive the rain.

46. One without gratitude is worse than a wild beast.

47. You are shaped by the company you keep; a piece of iron turns to rust if it joins with air and water. Iron glows and takes on useful shapes it if enjoys the company of fire.

48. Fortitude endows man with self-confidence. Self-confidence generates an immense internal power.

49. God loves those who have the self-confidence and the courage of conviction and who seize every opportunity to improve their spiritual status.

50. One has to imbibe humility and obedience, along with education. Only such a student is the real student.

51. You must make proper use of the body while there is life in it.

52. Practice to see the Hand of God in everything that happens. Then, you will never grieve over anything.

53. If you have anger, greed or envy in you, grief is inevitable.

54. One attack of anger exhausts three months of health and efficiency.

55. Anger begets anger and jealousy begets jealousy. The only way to conquer this is the sense of unity and love.

56. He who is ever ready to sacrifice his comfort for helping another, is a genuine devotee.

57. The Vow of Truth should never be broken.

58. Water flows from a higher level to the lower levels. God’s grace too is like that. It flows down to those who are bent with humility.

59. The man with contentment is the richest man… He who has many desires is the poorest man.

60. Contentment is the most precious wealth. Greed brings misery in return.

61. Death is certain. Hence man must learn to give up attachment to possessions.

62. Attachment causes pain; Detachment results in joy.

63. To get the Name of the Lord on one's tongue at the last moment needs the practice of many years, based on a deep-seated Faith.

64. The Lord sees your bhakti (devotion) and not shakti (power). He cares for your gunas (qualities) and not kula (caste). He looks at your chittam (heart) and not at vittam (wealth).

65. In the spiritual field, you must be sincere. Do not pretend, and deceive yourself and others.

66. Any act that is done with purity in thought, word and deed is Dharma (righteousness or right action).

67. God is your real friend and the only relation.

68. Whatever your mind may forget, it should not forget the Name of God.

69. Mere repetition of the names of the Lord is not enough; you should engage yourself in His work.

70. It is enough if you search and discover one fault of yours. That is better than discovering hundreds of faults in others.

71. The idea that all forms and all names belong to God is verily Constant Integrated Awareness.

72. The same Lord is worshipped everywhere. Train yourself to see all Forms and all Names as one God.

73. Man should live up to the role conferred on him.

74. Reason out, discriminate; do not rush to conclusions or be led away by mere hearsay.

75. When people forget the One and run after the Many, Dharma declines… The Lord takes human form and comes among men to restore his sense of values.

76. Yearn for God, all lesser yearnings will disappear.

77. Without awareness of the Self, all other knowledge is useless.

78. Your spiritual progress must be authenticated by your character and behaviour.

79. To attain J-O-Y, you must put Jesus first, Others Next, You Last. This is the secret to live joyfully!

80. Chant God's Name and make your heart sacred.

81. Spiritual effort should not become mechanical repetition of set formulae or execution of dry formalities.

82. Develop love and cherish concern for the welfare of the people.

83. Husband and wife are both equally responsible for establishing harmony at home.

84. Faith and spirituality are beyond reason. It is foolish to search for the grounds of faith.

85. If you want to pray to God, be like an innocent child.

86. In dealing with devotees, the Lord has to maintain a balance.

87. There is no need to install a picture of the Lord in your small shrine to worship Him. Install Him in your heart and adore Him.

88. When anyone accuses you and if you do not respond to it in a like manner, but ignore it, the accusation returns to the accuser.

89. I am low, mean, small, useless, poor, sinful, and inferior - such feelings also are egoistic.

90. True adherence to your conscience is righteousness proper.

91. Why fear when I am here.

92. Love for the Divine should be inextricable bond. All other worldly attachments are impermanent.

93. No one in the world is anatha (without a master). God alone is anatha, as there is no natha (master) above Him.

94. Faith in God will ensure you what no one else can give.

95. Be reasonable, considerate, sympathetic, and full of toleration of the other points of view.

96. Living becomes a glorious experience only when it is sweetened by tolerance and Love.

97. No one can judge another, for, when another is judged you are yourself condemned.

98. The Dharma-karmas (virtuous actions) have to be done; there is no escape.

99. Good character and right thinking are more valuable than scholastic achievements or intellectual abilities.

100. All may attain merger with the Divine. But the devotee who surrenders himself to the Lord attains everlasting merger.

1. Faith is the first step to the grace of God.

Story 1: There was a lady from Pahalgaon, a simple illiterate devotee. She stored water in her kitchen in three clean, brightly polished brass pots from three separate wells and she had named the pots - Ganga, Yamuna and Saraswati (3 holy rivers in India). She always referred to them by those names. Whenever any thirsty wayfarer called at her door, she mixed water from all three and offered it to the person as Triveni Teertha (water from three rivers). Neighbours used to laugh at her faith, but her belief that the three wells were connected underground with the three rivers that joined at Prayag, was unshakable.

Her husband started on a pilgrimage to Kashi. His mother, while blessing him on his departure, put on his finger her own gold ring and directed him to take good care of it, for it would be a talisman for him. When he was taking the ceremonial bath at the Manikarnika Ghat, the ring slipped into the Ganga waters and could not be retrieved. When he returned and related this story, he said, Ganga waned it; she took it, just to console his mother. When the wife heard this, she said: No, no! Mother Ganga will not hanker after the property of a poor old lady. She will accept only what is offered out of love. She will give us back the ring, I am sure. I shall ask Ganga; she is in our kitchen. So saying, she went in and with folded hands, she prayed before the particular pot named by her as Ganga. Putting her hand in, she searched the bottom and sure enough, she got the ring back!¹

Story 2: In South India, in Tamil Nadu, there was a certain Adigal or Dasa (servant of God), in a village named Thangalur. He heard of the spiritual grandeur of Saint Appar and developed great admiration for him. He built rest houses in his name; named his children after him so that they might grow up in the halo of his glory. He donated lands and houses all in the name of the Saint he had not seen...

One day by chance Appar himself walked into Thangalur, for he had missed his way and had to deviate. He noticed everywhere in the town Appar Rest-houses and Appar Charities and wondered how his name had preceded him. Then Adigal ran forward to his Guru and took him home and prepared a grand feast for him. When his eldest son went to his garden to cut a few plantain leaves for the dinner, a snake bit him and he died on the spot. Adigal, however, was not affected in the least; he covered up the corpse, heaping dry leaves upon it, and proceeded with the formalities of hospitality for the long-sought Guru. The Guru, however insisted on all the children of Adigal sitting around him during the meal, and he ordered the father, Go call everyone here. Adigal did as he was commanded. He called and the dead son rose. He too came and sat for dinner with the rest. When he knew what had happened, Appar said, Your faith is greater than my Shakti.²

Learning Points: It is faith that matters; the form and the name on which it is fixed do not matter. For all names are His; all forms are His.¹ Where there is Faith, there is Love. Where there is Love, there is Peace. Where there is Peace, there is Truth. Where there is Truth, there is God. Where there is God, there is Bliss. It starts with Faith and ends in Bliss.³ If you have no steadfastness and depth of faith, you can have no grace.⁴

References:

1. Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 2, Ch. 48

2. Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. 2, Ch. 20

3. H2H, Conversations with Sai, Vol. 8, Issue 8

4. Sai Inspires, 25th July 2007

2. You must welcome tests because they give you confidence and ensure promotion.

Story 1: Though endowed with power and authority, prosperity and wealth, Sibi was a genuine Sadhak (seeker of spiritual path), having attained a high stage in detachment and the spirit of renunciation. God decided to discover whether his achievements were deep-rooted and unshakeable. Agni (the God of Fire) and Indra (God of the Heavenly Regions) took on the forms of a dove and a hawk. The hawk pursued the dove across the sky, until the frightened bird fell into the lap of Sibi sitting on his throne, pleading for protection from the hawk. As befitted his Dharma, Sibi gave word that he would save the dove from its enemy and assured full protection for it. At that moment, the hawk presented itself before the Emperor and demanded its meal, its legitimate prey. I am hungry, I had secured my food, you have deprived me of my meal, it complained. Of what use is all your vaunted spirituality, if you rob me of my meal? it lamented. At this, Sibi said, Yes, I shall slice off flesh from my body weighing as much as this dove weighs; you can appease your hunger with that.

The hawk agreed; a balance was brought; the dove was placed on one pan, pieces of flesh cut from the body of Sibi were placed in the other pan. But, ten and behold, however many pieces or flesh were laid thereon, the pan on which the dove sat did not rise at all! It was indeed a mystery how a bird could weigh so much. At last, Sibi said, Well. You can take all of me. Eat me whole. Here am I at your disposal. No sooner did he utter these words than the hawk became Indra and the dove was transformed