Thursday, December 30, 1982
Sri Sathya Sai addressed the students of Brindavan campus on this day. He said:
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| Sri Sathya Sai at the Brindavan Campus Hostel |
“The Love of God, evident as Grace, is the greatest achievement of man. This is referred to as Bhakti. The practice of Bhakti needs, as every other laudable adventure, a mind free from lust, anger, envy, greed, pride and false attachment. A room that is dark becomes the resort of scorpions, snakes and other pests. A heart that has no illumination derived from the Atmic reality will be infested by the vices mentioned above. Not being aware of the Atma is the source of darkness, the thickest of ignorances. The thought of God, the contemplation of God, the grace of God - these alone can confer the purity we need. Someone praised a young man profusely but added that he had only two tiny defects. So, he was chosen as the groom for the wedding and after the ceremony was duly accomplished, it was discovered that the two defects were:
(1) he does not know anything;
(2) he does not heed any one's advice.
Most people suffer from this predicament. There is no independent thinking; there is no desire to learn. For, they are reluctant to put into practice what they learn as good and honourable.
Creation is another name for the projection of the Divine Will. Man's main purpose in life is to exemplify and stand witness to this Will. What the Divine Will has endowed us with has to be devoted and dedicated to the same Will. Whatever you do, do as an offering to Him; then, it will reach Him for certain.
At the present time, people hanker after quick material profits and not after Divine Grace and simple sincere lives. If God resides at one place or can be discovered at one spot, He can be realised and reached. But, He is everywhere at the same time. So, instead of man seeking God, what is happening is God is seeking men, who are ready to reach Him and renounce their egoistic impulses in order to do His will.
The Importance of Self-sacrifice
Knowledge progresses from doubt and discovery. Yesterday's doubt is today's knowledge. And today's knowledge becomes tomorrow's wisdom. Discover unity in multiplicity and know that it is Divinity. At the base of things, in the lowest level, is Matter. Humanity is the higher, the upper, and Divinity is the highest, the uppermost level. Humans must dread the descent into the material level.
Life must be heightened and lightened by self-sacrifice. How can a cup full of water take on milk? The water has to be poured out. When the cup of the heart is full of evil, no virtue can be stored therein. You need not renounce action; you can renounce the idea of aggrandizement or ownership when the action results in victory or defeat. Limit you greed, your superfluous desires and try to be simple in dress, speech and behaviour with others. When a man was offered free all the land he could walk around from sunrise to sunset, the poor fellow walked so fast and so long that he died before he could reach the starting point. That is the fate of the greedy.
Students are haunted today by a host of desires. Confine your desires to those that promote your studies and make you more helpful and self-reliant. Be enthusiastic to do good., to be godly. Ignore the evil that others do to you and forget the good that you do to them. Be good, do good, see good.”
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