Why should we practice Ceiling on Desires?

Sri Sathya Sai Speaks

We should lead this life in a sacred way. We should not pollute nature. Today, people are suffering from dangerous diseases. God gave us the five sacred elements. But today, the air that we breathe is polluted, there is water pollution, noise pollution and the food that we eat is also polluted. In this way all sacred things are rendered unsacred by man. Man can be considered a living creature only when he makes use of nature in a sacred way. 

One day, a student, in the interview room, told Swami, “Swami Your eye is a little bit red”. Swami replied, “I don’t waste water like you. People wash their face while keeping the tap open. Until the soap is completely wiped out the water keeps running. But Swami doesn’t do that. He opens the tap when needed and closes it immediately. So while washing His face with the soap, Swami opened his eye to open the tap. At that moment the lather went into Swami’s eye. That is why Swami’s eye is red.” Swami doesn’t waste even a drop of water. Water is Ganga, water is God. For that matter you should not waste anything. You keep the fan ‘on’ even when you are not in the room. But Swami switches the fan off whenever not required. It is not miserliness. Make appropriate use of things whenever required. But do not waste. 

Today students should know one more thing. These days students are spending a lot of money. You must understand the suffering your parents undergo to earn this money. They struggle hard and send you the money. It may be easy for the rich, but the lower middle-class families work hard and send you the money. Consider, therefore, every paisa as a drop of blood. Never waste blood and money. Understand that the money that you have is the blood of your parents. Wasting money is tantamount to wasting your parents’ blood. Use it according to your requirements, but don’t waste it. 

These days students waste a lot of money. It may not be the case with our students, but students outside spend a lot of money on electing the president of the student union. The union leader would be in that position for only three years. Why then should you spend so much? Students arrange for picnics and spend a lot of money. They arrange for dinner at large hotels. Students! Wastage of money is not good. You should think of your future too. You should look after your parents. You should use money carefully. This is what Swami means by ceiling on desires. Don’t waste time. Time waste is life waste. Don’t waste food. Food is God. Don’t waste money. Misuse of money is evil. Don’t waste energy. Energy is God. Wastage of energy turns into an allergy. Our sight, hearing, speech, smell and work are all God. Wasting these is akin to wasting energy. So don’t waste energy. The less you waste the more closer you are to God. 

Students! Don’t waste time. Study in an appropriate way. Some people keep their textbooks open, but inside these books they hide novels. From the outside it looks as if students are reading textbooks, whereas in reality they are reading novels. Students, never be like that. As is the book, so is our head. Books today are written only for earning money. Because we buy such books, people keep writing more. If we don’t buy such nasty books people won’t write them. So never read bad books. Never be in bad company. Don’t wear bad attire. Swami has seen some people in Madras wearing black and red dress. Even animals will get scared seeing them! How nice is the pure white that you wear! How pleasing! Students, always be neatly dressed. Dress, body and the mind should be pure. Develop such purity. 

Source: The Transient Human Life, Discourse 12, My Dear Students Volume 4