QUOTATIONS ARE HERE.

[V2K]

“I shall not change my course even by a hair’s breadth, as a result of what people may say about Me. I am not afraid of any one or thing. Truth has no fear; untruth shivers at every shadow. This body of Mine is named Truth (Sathya); the principle that is in this body is also Truth. Truth enclosed in Truth has been rendered the Truth of Truths (Sathyasaya Sathyam). This form has been assumed, in order to lead mankind from untruth to truth.

I eat as you do, move about as you do, talk in your language, and behave as you can recognise and understand, for YOUR sake - not for My sake:. I turn you towards Divine, winning your confidence, your love, your submission, by being among you, as one of yourselves, one whom you can see, listen to, speak to, touch and treat with reverence and devotion. My plan is to transmute you into seekers of Truth (Sathya-anveshakas). I am present everywhere at all times; My will must prevail over every obstacle; I am aware of the past, present and future, of your innermost thoughts and carefully guarded secrets. I am Sarvaantharyami, Sarva Saktha and Sarvajna. Nevertheless I do not manifest these powers in any capricious manner or merely for display. For, I am an example and as inspiration, whatever I do or omit to do. My life is a commentary on my message.

For example, you must have noticed that I never call a woman alone for interview. I call women only into group of ten or fifteen. I want that you should note this and infer that one has to be extremely cautious in dealing with the other sex, for, though I am above and beyond, the Gunas, since this body is obviously masculine, I want to teach both men and women how they have to regulate their social behavior and be above the slightest tinge of suspicion, or of small talk.

Again, I am active and busy all the twenty-four hours of the day. Everyday, the mail brings the thousands of letters, and you hand over to Me personally hundreds more. Yet, I do not take the help of anyone else, even to open the envelopes. For, you write to me intimate details of your personal problems, believing that I alone will read them and having implicit confidence in Me. You write, each one only a single letter, that makes for Me a huge bundle a day; and I have to go through all of them. You may ask how I manage it? Well I do not waste a single moment.

And, all this I do, not for personal gain, but only because I have come for your sake. I never seek another’s help, never receive it. My hand always gives; it never takes. Conclude from this that this must be Divine, not human power.

Some of you may be wondering, ‘How does Swami arrange these elaborate festivals and functions? Who does He charge with the various items of work?’ I do not allot work to this person or that, or consult anyone for ideas and suggestions. The Divine Will, operating through the force of love, does all this. For example, though there are thousands gathered here, absolute silence prevails. Under what compulsion? Only the compulsion of love. In other places, where a hundred people collect, a hundred and fifty constables are present to keep them quiet: Here there is no need for any one to see that silence is maintained. For, here God is the Master, and Creation dances in joy. There is no third entity here. Only Purusha and Prakriti are here. A glance from the corner of the eye is enough to get things done towards successful conclusion. Love activates, love fulfils.

When the Giver of Grace is here, you run after persons who claim that they got this or the other article from Me or were blessed with this gift from Me: When you have Kamadhenu here, why seek to know and secure a cow? Kamadhenu can give you all that you need. When you have Kalpataru here, why bother about fruits on a tree? Kalpataru can give you all that you ask. When you have the mountain of gold and silver, Meru, why cringe for silver and gold from persons who are themselves beggars? When you have God come amongst you to support and sustain you, why grovel through crude vulgar entities? Avoid places where they bargain in terms of gifts, donations, for Spiritual guidance and Transmission”.

(Dasara, Prashanthi Nilayam, 11/10/1970).

[V2K]

“Once Hislop asked me a question whether inanimate things too had emotions and feelings of disappointment and despair? The occasion was at Dharmakshetra: I asked that about a hundred sarees he bought, so that I could select some, for distribution to the women workers at Anantapur who are helping to build a Sathya Sai College there: I selected 96 and asked them to return 4 to the shop. I kept the 4 aside and the 96 were placed in my room. Later, when I passed the table on which the four discarded sarees were kept (Hislop was standing by the side of the table), it was noticed that the card board box which contained the four was dripping tears: The sarees were weeping; that they could not get appreciation from Me and were declared unfit. Yes: They had shed tears. You may ask whether this is ever possible. I answer, there is nothing in this world which has no heart, which is incapable of feeling joy or grief: Only you must have the eye to see, the ear to listen, the heart to respond”.

(Prashanthi Nilayam, 14/01/1971).

[V2K]

“But those who profess to have understood me, the Scholars, the Yogis, the Pundits, the Jnanis, all of them are aware only of the least important the casual external manifestation part of that power, namely the “Miracles” : they have not desired to contact the source of all Power and all Wisdom, that is available here at Brindavan. They are satisfied when they secure a chance to exhibit their book learning and parade their scholarship in Vedic lore, not realising that the person from whom the Vedas emanated is in the midst, for their sake. They even ask, in their pride, for a few more chances.

This has been the case, in all ages. People may be very near (physically) to the Avatar, but, they live out their lives unaware of their fortune: they exaggerate the role of miracles, which are trivial, when compared to My Glory and Majesty, as a mosquito is in size and strength to the elephant upon whom it squats. Therefore, when you speak about these miracles, I laugh within Myself out of pity, that you allow yourself so easily to loose the precious awareness of My Reality.

My power is immeasurable; My Truth is inexplicable, unfathomable. I am announcing this about Me, for, the need has arisen. But, what I am doing now is only a gift of a visiting card: Let Me tell you that emphatic declarations of the truth by Avatars were made so clearly and so unmistakably only by Krishna. In spite of the declarations, you will notice in the career of the same Krishna that He underwent defeat in His efforts or endeavors, on a few occasions you must have also noted that those defeats too, were part of the drama, which He had planned, and He Himself directed. For example, when many kings pleaded with Him to avert the war with the Kauravas, He confessed that His mission to the Kauravas court for ensuring peace had failed: But He had willed that it should not succeed: He had decided that the war would be waged: His mission was intended to publicise the greed and envy of the Kauravas and to condemn them before the whole world.

Now, I must tell you that during this Sai Avatar, there is no place for even such ‘drama’ with scenes of failure and defeats: What I Will must take place; what I plan must succeed. I am Truth; and Truth has no need to hesitate, or fear or bend.

‘Willing’ is superfluous for Me. For grace is ever available to devotees who have steady love and faith. Since I move freely with them, talking and singing, even intellectuals are unable to grasp My Truth, My power, My glory or My real task as Avatar. I can solve any problem however knotty; I am beyond the reach of the most intensive enquiry and the most meticulous measurement. Only those who have recognised My love and experienced My love can assert that they have glimpsed My reality. For, the path of love is the royal road that leads mankind to Me.

Do not attempt to know Me through the external eyes. When you go to a temple and stand before the image of the God, you pray with closed eyes, don’t you? Why? Because you feel that the inner eye of wisdom can alone reveal Him to you. Therefore, do not crave for from Me trivial material objects; but, crave for Me. And you will be rewarded. Not that you should not receive whatever object I give as sign of grace out of fulness of love.

I shall tell you why I give these things, talismans, rosaries etc., it is to signalise the bond between Me and to those whom they are given. When calamity befalls them, that articles come to Me in a flash and return in flash taking from Me the remedial Grace of protection. The Grace is available to all who call on Me in any name or form, not merely to those who wear these gifts. Love is the bond that wins that Grace.

Consider the meaning of my name, Sai Baba. Sa means ‘Divine’; aye means ‘mother’ and Baba means ‘father’, just as Saambasiva, which also means the divine mother and father. Your physical parents exhibit love with a dose of selfishness; but this Sai ‘ Mother and Father’ showers affection or reprimands only for leading you towards victory in the struggle for self-realisation.

For, this Sai has come in order to achieve the supreme task of uniting the entire mankind as one family, through the bond of brotherhood, of affirming and illumining the Atmic Reality of each being in order to reveal the Divine, which is the basis on which the entire cosmos rests, and of instructing all to recognise the common Divine Heritage that binds man to man, so that man can rid himself of the animal, and rise into the Divine which is his goal.

I am the embodiment of Love; Love is my instrument. There is no creature without Love; the lowest loves itself, at least. And its self is God. So, there are no atheists, though some might dislike Him or refuse Him, as malaria patients dislike sweets or diabetic patients refuse to have anything to do with sweets: those who present themselves as atheists will one day, when their illness is gone, relish God and revere Him.

I had to tell you so much about my truth, for, I desire that you should contemplate on this and derive joy and reform so that you may be inspired to observe the disciplines laid down by Me and progress towards the Goal of Self-realisation, the Realisation of the Sai that shines in your heart”.

(Brindavan, 19/06/1974).

[V2K]

Swami declared, “Why is it that so many lakhs of people have gathered here today? There must be some compelling reason for it. You must be seeking something, which you have not found in your native place. Here there is Divine Love; It is this powerful magnet of Divine Love that has been attracting all the iron filings in the form of human beings. Not a single invitation was sent to anyone. No one was asked to come. What has drawn all the people here is power of Divine Love, the bond uniting hearts. At the root of all this is purity. Where there is purity there love grows. When purity and love come together, there is bliss (Ananda). Whatever work we do, whatever sacrifices we perform, they are not of much use in the absence of love.

NEW HOSPITAL PROJECT: With this object in view (Providing free medical facilities), we decided to establish a big hospital here. Many persons appealed to Me to set up the hospital in an urban centre. There are many medical institutions run as business in several cities. When any educational or medical institution is established, the sole aim is to make a business out of it. There are only a few who are ready to set up such institutions to provide free facilities for the poor. Therefore from the start we decided to set up a hundred crore hospital near Prashanthi Nilayam itself. Even as higher education is free here ‘higher medicine’ also is free. People spend some lakhs to get heart surgery done in the U.S. What is the plight of the poor? Who looks after them? If they go to the cities, they will not get even coloured water (Mixture). Recognising this fact, we have launched this big hospital project, whether it is heart by-pass operation, or a kidney transplant, or a lung operation or brain surgery, everything will be free here. THE HOSPITAL WILL BE OPENED ON NOVEMBER 22,1991. No one can understand Sai Sankalpa (working of the mind) Thought and action are simultaneous, like the light and sound that come out when a gun is fired. Hence it is not easy for every one to understand Sai’s resolve.

In the case of earlier Avatars their fame grew only after their passing. In the case of the present Avatar, in His own life time a UNIVERSITY, BIG HOSPITAL, AN AERODROME, AND MANY OTHER THINGS, have been established, for the benefit of the villagers, and many more will follow in the years ahead. Many persons have doubts as to how all these things are being accomplished. The ADVENT (OF THIS AVATAR) took place 64 years ago. All these years this hand has not been stretched, at any time, to seek anything from anyone. I will never ask anyone and there will never be an occasion for it. How then are these things happening? For any good work, there is not any impediment in Bharat. When you want to do any good work whole-heartedly, money flows in torrents.

The narrow-minded who undertake any work will never be satisfied. They cannot understand the actions of those who are large hearted and broad-minded.”

(65th Birthday Celebrations, Hill View Stadium, 23/11/1990)

[V2K]

“Today I have just made a beginning with the exposition of Vedanta. Every Mantra in the Vedanta is pregnant with meaning. I shall take up every day one Mantra and explain its meaning in simple and easily intelligible terms. The essence of the Vedanta can be compressed in a small message, but that small message is composed of 15000 Mantras. I shall reveal to you the meaning of these Mantras. This cannot be done by anyone except the Divine.

You have not known even a fragment of My reality. The full nature of this reality can never be understood by anyone. I am a man amongst men, when they see Me, I appear as a man. Amongst woman, I am a woman. Amongst children I am a child. When alone, I am God. This is the truth about Me. The reason is I have to act towards each section at their level.

You must realise that all this is coming to you because of your extreme good fortune. Any previous Avatar has not given this kind of blessing to anyone.

Your good fortune will fructify immensely if you make good use of this opportunity to learn and benefit from Swami’s teachings.

You will see in the due course that even the blind declare, “Swami is God”.

In the human condition, occasionally Maya enters and subjects people to various tests. Do not submit to Maya in any way.

Succeed in all tests. Then you will become tasty for Bhagawan. Immerse yourself in the love principle. Its true nature is beyond description.

Give up all bad qualities in you, banish the ego and develop the spirit of surrender. You will then experience Bliss.

(Sai Kulwant Hall, 31/07/1996)

[V2K]

Death

A human body is associated with six stages of transformation: birth, growth, change, evolution, death and destruction.

Death accepts no excuse.

Tears do not move its heart.

Death gives advance notice of his arrival to take you — notice in the form of grey hair, falling teeth, failing vision, folding of the skin etc.

Death may call any moment.

Every moment, everyone is nearing death.

Death is not a deplorable event.

It is the journey’s end.

— From the discourses of Sathya Sai Baba