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     From 101 to 200
      101 THE Gita was Arjuna and Krishna, 
    though Krishna supplemented it with Captious explanations of why and 
    wherefore. Arjuna admitted that he was a profaner. He had to surrender to 
    His Wait, so that there was no need for Krishna to argue with him. He was 
    convinced of the correctness of His command. Still, in order that Arjuna 
    might fight with a full heart, He gave him the reasons, which supported the 
    course that He laid down for him. I too want you to know why I designed it 
    so you should act in a particular manner, and I do not like you to behave in 
    another manner. 102BISHMA was a Bhakta and by winning 
    the Lord's Grace he was clothed with more Majesty and splendour than any 
    early emperor. What majesty has these scepter-holders? They cannot claim to 
    have inner peace, inner joy, they know not the joy of sharing love with all. 
    Bhishma surrendered to the Lord when He challenged him with the su-darsana (Vishnu), 
    that is to say, when He offers su (good) dharsana (vision) one must be wise 
    enough to surrender, give up all, that is what Bhishma did. 103 ARJUNA exclaimed Krishna as the 
    Omnipresent, Omnipotent and Omniscient God, when the foe was defeated day 
    after day. But when his son Abhimanyu was killed in the conflict he raved in 
    the grief that Krishna had not guided him properly and guarded him 
    efficiently. His mind wavered with every wind of fortune. To many the mind 
    is the master of the intellect also. One must be vigilant and preserve the 
    impartiality of instrument called Reason of Intellect. Clarify reason, then 
    it will reveal God everywhere, even in you once you accept God as the core 
    of the universe, and you have that strong and steady faith. 104 FILL every moment with energy 
    enthusiasm and effort. The Epics teach you how to succeed in this. The 
    Mahabharatha describes how and when every other of the hundred Kauravas died. 
    The eldest Duryodhana was challenged by Bhima to meet him in a duel, when at 
    last he fell on the ground; Bhima struck his head with his foot in order to 
    add insult to injury. Duryodhana's pride was hurt, a Kshatriya, such as he, 
    could not pass that insult by. He retorted even when he was dying. Do not 
    exult that you have done some big heroic act by tramping on my head! In a 
    few seconds dogs and vultures will be doing that act. It does not require a 
    hero to plant his foot on a dying man. You dared not do this when I was 
    capable of hitting back, you coward! That kind of awareness of one's 
    potentialities and quick response to all happenings must be present in you 
    too. Heroism gushed out even when he was passing away! 105 KRISHNA, whose advent you should 
    celebrate, is not the cowherd boy who charmed the village folk with His 
    flute, but Krishna the indefinable inscrutable Divine Principle that is born 
    in the navel of the body (Mathura) as the product of Divine Energy (Devaki) 
    that is then transported to the Mouth (Gokulam) and fostered by the Tongue (Yashoda) 
    as its source of sweetness. Krishna is Yashoda gained the Visualization of 
    the Atma that the repetition of the Name grants, the vision; you must foster 
    that Krishna on your tongue. When He dances on it, the poison of tongue will 
    be ejected completely, without harming anyone as happened when as a child He 
    danced on the hoods of the serpent Kalinga. 106 PURITY of motive is the best 
    guarantee that you will have Peace. An uneasy conscience is a tormenting 
    compassion. Righteous action will have no bad effects, to disturb your sleep 
    or health.               If there is 
    righteousness in the heart, there will be beauty in character;If there is beauty in 
    character, there will be harmony in the home;
 When there is harmony in the house, there will be order in the 
    nation;
 When there is order in the nation, there will be peace in the 
    World.
 So, be righteous; avoid all 
    prejudices against others on the basis of caste, creed, colour, mode of 
    worship, status, or degree of affluence. Do not look down upon any one; look 
    upon all as Divine as you really are. 107 ALL Faiths are inter-related and 
    mutually indebted to each other for the principles they teach and the 
    disciplines they recommend. The Vedic Religion was the first in time; 
    Buddhism, which appeared about 2500 years ago, was its son; Christianity, 
    which was influenced much by the Orient, was its grandson. And Islam, which 
    has the Prophets of Christianity as its base, was the great grandson. All 
    have Love as the Fundamental Discipline of the Mind in order to chasten it 
    and merge man with the Divine. 108 VINAYAKA is called the child of two 
    mothers, Gowri and Ganga. You are the pet children of four mothers, each of 
    you; Sathya, Dharma, Shanti and Prema. Do not ridicule them by your act. 
    Honour them and be grateful to them. Do not claim "Anyaya" (Injustice), "Akrama" 
    (Indiscipline), and “Asathya” (Falsehood and “Anachara” (Evil behaviour) as 
    your mothers Instead, expand your heart, taking in all humanity into the 
    circle of your kin, even the birds, beasts, worms, and insects, trees and 
    plants. The Vedic Prayer asks that the aspirant's heart may be expanded "Brhathe 
    Koromi" - I make myself Vast! The vastest is "Brahman" which comes from the 
    same root,  "brh", to enlarge. 109 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 the 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-anveshko). 
    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 "Sarvatharyami", "Sarva Shakti" 
    and "Sarvajna". Nevertheless, I do not manifest these powers in any 
    capricious manner or merely for display. For I am an example and an 
    inspiration, whatever I do or omit to do. My Life is a commentary on My 
    Message. 110 LOVE must be manifested as Service 
    or Seva. Seva must take the form of food for the hungry, solace for the 
    forlorn, consolation for the sick and the suffering. Jesus was himself out 
    in such Seva. The heart full of compassion is the temple of God. Jesus 
    pleaded at the sight of the poor. Jesus is worshipped but His teachings are 
    neglected. Sai is being worshipped but His teachings are neglected. 
    Everywhere pomp, pageantry, hollow exhibitionism and Lectures, Lectures and 
    Lectures! No activity, no love, no seva. Heroes while lecturing are Zeros 
    while putting what is said into practice. Develop Compassion. Live in Love. 
    Be Good, Do Good and See Good. This is the way to God. 111  THE nature we have around us and 
    with us is the vesture of God. We have evidence of His Beauty, Goodness, 
    Wisdom and Power all around us; wherever we turn our eyes. But the art of 
    recognising Him is strange to us and so we deny Him and live on in darkness. 
    We have all around us, in the atmosphere, the music emanating from all the 
    Broadcasting Stations of the World, but they do not assail your ear at any 
    time. You are not aware of any Station; but, if you have a receiver and if 
    you tune it to the correct wavelength, you can hear the matter broadcast 
    from any Station; if you fail to tune it correctly, you will get instead of 
    news only nuisance! So too, the Divine is everywhere above, around, below 
    and beside, near as well as far. For cognising it, you require not a "Yantra" 
    (machine) but a "Mantra" (mystical formula potent with a psychological 
    undertone). Concentration of Dhyana is the fixing of the exact location of 
    the Station in the Band; Love is the correct tuning in; realising the 
    Reality and the Bliss it confers is the happy clear listening! 112  THE Divine is a wine that would 
    intoxicate you. The nectar that the Name of the Lord is saturated in 
    produces it. Taste it and you forget everything else; you are transformed. 
    Man is, they say, a monkey that has lost its tail; well, he must lose many 
    more attributes of the monkey before he is entitled to call himself Man. He 
    must dedicate his thought, word and deed to God and surrender to His Will. 
    Then only is this animal entitled to become a Man in whom the Divine is 
    enshrined. 113 THE body is the ball filled with 
    the air of Divinity; it is kicked in play by six players on the side (the 
    six foes: Lust, Anger, Greed, Attachment, Pride and Hate); and six on the 
    other (the six friends: Truth, Right, Peace, Love, Compassion and Fortitude); 
    the goal-posts are on each side, and if the ball is hit so that it passes 
    through them, they achieve "Dharmavidya" (Moral attainment) and victory. Or 
    else, their kick results in an "out"! Learn to speak what you feel, act what 
    you speak; do not allow them to be at cross-purposes. Man, with the feelings 
    of a demon fuming with hate, engages in fighting, holds Peace Conferences 
    and prides himself on his Plans for Peace! Transform the heart into a 
    Tabernacle of Peace, then Conferences to deceive oneself and others become 
    unnecessary. What can mere talk achieve? 114 DISCIPLINE trains you to put up 
    with disappointments; you will know that the path of life has both ups and 
    downs, that every rose has its thorn. Now, people want roses without thorns, 
    life has to be one saga of sensual pleasure picnic all the time. When this 
    does not happen, you turn wild and start blaming others. If each one cares 
    for his own pleasures, how can Society progress? How can the weak survive? 
    Mine, not thine, this sense of greed is the root of all-evil; this 
    distinction is applied even to God! - My God, not yours! Your God, not mine! 115  GOODNESS, compassion, and tolerance: 
    through these three paths, one can see the Divinity in one-self and others. 
    Softness of heart is condemned by people today as weakness, cowardice, and 
    want of intelligence. The heart has to be hardened, they say, against pity 
    and charity. But that way lies war, destruction, and downfall. Love confers 
    lasting happiness and peace. Sharing can reduce grief and multiply joy. Man 
    is born to share, to serve, to give and not to grab. When you have faith in 
    God as a precious truth in the altar of your heart, you will welcome, with 
    equal alacrity, the blows and blossoms of fortune. 116  HAVING come to this place and 
    availed yourselves of this opportunity to treasure in your hearts the things 
    you have seen and heard, resolve to plunge into a practice of them. Your 
    resolution and your practice must happen simultaneously. Have a master plan 
    and start from tomorrow the execution of the program, drawn in consultation 
    with others. This must happen in all countries. Do not think that only the 
    Andhra State is Sai's. All are Sai's. All are one. We must endeavor by all 
    means to realise and establish this Truth in this Kali Yuga. This is the 
    message I am giving you today. I am fulfilling all your desires. So you must 
    fulfill this one desire of Mine. I bless that you have long life, good 
    health, Ananda, Peace and Prosperity; and that you will dedicate your 
    physical, mental, intellectual and spiritual strength and skills for the 
    service of the country and of all mankind. 117  THERE are some ignorant persons who 
    laugh at "Bhajans" and other acts of worship and consider them a waste of 
    valuable time. Those persons might laugh at your pouring bags of paddy seeds 
    on a slushy field and condemn that act too as waste of valuable 
    food-material. But you know that, for every bag of paddy-seed, Mother Earth 
    will give back grain tenfold or even twenty fold, in a few weeks. Time spent 
    in contemplation of God or adoration of the Divine is indeed well spent, for 
    it rewards you with a rich harvest of mental peace and courage. 118  WHEN Jesus was emerging as the 
    Supreme Principle of Divinity, he communicated some news to his followers. 
    The statement of Christ is simple. (He, who sent me among you, will come 
    again) and he pointed to a lamb. The lamb is merely a symbol, a sign. It 
    stands for the voice BA-BA. The announcement was "The Advent of BABA". - "He 
    will wear a robe of red, a blooded robe". He will be short, with a crown (of 
    hair). The lamb is a sign and symbol of Love. Christ did not declare that he 
    would come again, he said, "He, who made me, will come again". That BABA is 
    the Baba; and Sai, the short curly hair crowned, red-robed Baba has come. 119 MANY believe that a pilgrimage to 
    holy places is conductive to spiritual progress. They journey to Tirupathi, 
    Rameswaram, Badrinath or Amarnath and pray for the removal of their mundane 
    troubles. They vow to remove their hair if, through Divine intervention, 
    they win a prize in the State Lotteries, as if God is in need of hair. This 
    trick of bargaining is only cheating oneself in an attempt to cheat God. Do 
    not pray to God for wealth or fame, positions of power or for the fruits of 
    your actions. The genuine seeker will pray for nothing else but God. 120 HUMAN lives are now passing on and 
    on, filth over filth, bent, broken, diseased, distressed and disheartened. 
    To enrich their lives and to make the human heritage worthwhile, I have 
    come, I am evincing all this enthusiasm to teach you the prayer attitude to 
    Seva, for Love expresses itself as Seva, Love grows through Seva, and Love 
    is begun in the womb of Seva. And God is Love. The Avatar is a Child to the 
    children, a Boy to the Boys, a Man among men, a Woman among women, so that 
    the Avatar's message might reach each heart and receive enthusiastic 
    response as "Ananda". It is the compassion of the Avatar that prompts His 
    every action. 121 HAVE no thorn of hate in your mind. 
    Develop Prema towards all. Desire is a storm; Greed is a whirlpool; Pride is 
    a precipice. Attachment is an avalanche; Egoism is a volcano. Keep these 
    things away, so that you can do Japa or Dhyana; they do not disturb the 
    Equanimity. Let Love be enthroned in your heart. Then there will be sunshine 
    and a cool breeze and the gurgling waters of contentment feeding the roots 
    of faith. 122 THE title "Sathyam Sivam Sundaram" 
    is full of meaning. It speaks of HE, imminent in every one of you. Sathyam 
    is the basic reality of you all; that is why you resent being called a liar. 
    The real "you" is innocent, you will not accept an imputation that is false. 
    The real "you" is joy, happiness, and auspiciousness. It is not Savam but 
    Sivam; it is Subham, Nithyam, and Anandam. How then can you bear being 
    called ugly? The Atma has got entangled in the body, which it does not like; 
    it is weighed down by shame, when you identify it with the body and 
    attribute to it the weaknesses and deficiencies of that physical vehicle. 123 I NEVER speak through another; I 
    never possess another or use another as a vehicle of expression. I come 
    direct, I come straight, I come, as I am to confer Peace and Joy. I do not 
    accept from you flowers that fade, fruits that rot, coins that have no value 
    beyond the national boundary. Give Me the Lotus that blooms in your 
    Manasa-Sarovar, the clear, pellucid waters of the lake of your inner 
    consciousness. Give Me the fruits of holiness and steady discipline. I am 
    above all this worldly etiquette, which enjoins you to see elders with some 
    fruit or flower in your hand. My World is the World of the Spirit; there, 
    values are different. If you are happy with faith in God and fear of sin, 
    that is enough "Service", enough "Kainkaryam" for Me. It pleases Me so much. 124 YOU must speak soft and sweet words 
    to everyone. Do you like the voice of the crow? No, you drive the crow away 
    when it starts to caw; its speech is harsh, it is too loud for your ears. 
    You must have heard the Koel, the cuckoo, haven't you? That bird looks very 
    much like the crow; it grows in the nest of the crow with the baby crows; 
    the mother crow, along with her own kids, feeds it. But no one will throw a 
    stone at a "Koel"; every one likes to hear its sweet voice. Speak soft and 
    sweet; then every one will like you. 125 NO service is too low or mean; 
    every emergency is immediately noticed and attended to. They need not be 
    sorry that during those days they had no time to sit for Dhyana or do Japa 
    or even to go out on Nagarsankirtan! Why? You can have the Name on the lips, 
    when you sweep the streets or lift a corpse in the morgue or when you walk 
    towards or away from the area of distress. People may dub you mad! But be 
    elated that you are not affected by the insanity they suffer from! 126 THE mind plays many tricks with you, 
    the chief of which is to foster the ego and hide the Prompter and the Power 
    within. You must have heard of an Accountant in the Court of the King of 
    Death, Chitragupta, by name. He maintains a Register of the good and the bad 
    deeds done by each living being, and on death, he brings the book to the 
    Court and strikes the balance between debit and credit. Yama, the king, then 
    meets out the punishment that can expiate and educate. This Chitragupta has 
    his Office in the mind of man, all the time, awake and alert. The word means 
    the secret picture; what he does is to picture all the secrets from 
    promptings that blossom into activity; he notes the warning signals as well 
    as the occasions when those signals were ignored or wantonly disregarded. 
    You must see that the warning of the Divine against the merely human or even 
    the bestial inclination is heeded. 127 YOU have the chance to see, 
    experience and be sanctified by the incarnation of the Lord; this chance you 
    have received as a result of the accumulation of merit in many previous 
    lives. That merit has brought you here when I came down. For this chance, 
    Rishis and Devas have prayed long in the past. Having won this chance, 
    strive to taste the sweetness and achieve the Bliss of Merging without 
    wasting even a single moment. The rays that emanate from Me are of three 
    grades: the "Sthula", filling this Prashanthi Nilayam; the "Sukshma", 
    pervading the Earth; and the "Karana", covering the entire Universe. The 
    people who have the privilege of living in this Prashanthi Nilayam are 
    indeed lucky, for they are nearest to the "Kiran" (rays). The "Sthulakirana" 
    makes a man a "Sadhaka"; the "Sukshma" makes him a "Mahatma"; and "Karana” 
    converts him into a "Paramahamsa". 128 I NEVER deviate from Truth. Since I 
    recline on Truth, I am called Sathya Sai; Sayi (as Seshasayi) means 
    reclining. The name is very appropriate, let me assure you. It is only those, 
    who fail to follow My instructions and deviate from the path I lay down, 
    that fail to get what I hold out before them. Follow My instructions and 
    become soldiers in MY army; I will lead you on to victory. When someone asks 
    you in great earnestness "where the Lord is to be found", do not try to 
    dodge the question. Give them the answer that rises up to your tongue from 
    your heart. Direct them. He is here in Prashanthi Nilayam. All Avatars teach, 
    as the first step in the long road of "Sadhana", the giving up of attachment. 
    In the Thretha Yuga, the Yoga-Vasistha taught the same rule. In the Dwapara 
    Yuga, Krishna taught Arjuna to give up Vishaya-Vasana, attachment to the 
    objective world. People utter with apparent faith, "Krishna, Krishna, 
    Krishna", but they never give up "Thrishura" (Thirst) for worldly goods or 
    fame. In each Yuga, you have the Avatar of the Lord come to redeem, review 
    and rebuild. At the present time, Maha Shakti, Mayasakthi, and Yogasakthi 
    have come all together in One Human Form. Your endeavor should be to draw 
    near and earn Grace therefrom. 129 WHAT is the immortal part of man? 
    Is it the wealth he has accumulated, the residences he has built, the 
    physique he has developed, the wealth he has acquired and the family he has 
    reared? No, all that he has done, developed or earned are destroyed, he has 
    to leave them all to the ravages of time. He cannot take with him even a 
    handful of earth, the earth he loved so much. If only the dead could take 
    with them a handful each, the earth would have become so scarce that it 
    should have been rationed by now! Discover the Immortal "I” and know that it 
    is the spark of God in you; live in the companionship of that vast 
    measureless Supreme and you will be rendered vast and measureless. Consider 
    all objects that you collect here as given on "Trust" to be used in this 
    caravanserai during your pilgrimage in this Karuna Kshetra. 130 UNLESS you brighten your vision 
    with Love, you cannot see the Truth. Love helps you to see God in everyone 
    and everyone as Divine. The Jagath is not false, it is not a trap; it is the 
    splendour of God, His reflection. He reflected and the Jagath happened! It 
    is His own substance, manifesting as multiplicity, as latent or potent 
    energy-matter. When activity is in accordance with awareness that is 
    befogged or belittled, dried up or deluded, there Dharma is decadent and the 
    Avatar appears among men! 131 EVERY one must learn the secret of 
    happiness, which consists in refusing to shed tears for anything less than 
    God. You have won this human body, this human life, as the reward for many 
    lives spend in acquiring merit. You have won this chance, this unique good 
    fortune of being able to get Darshan of Sai. Plunging deep into the waters 
    of this tumultuous ocean of Samsar, you have heroically emerged from its 
    depths, with this rare Pearl in your hands - the Grace of Sai. Do not allow 
    it to slip from your clasp and fall into the depths again. Hold firmly on to 
    it. Pray that you may have it forever and be filled with the joy that it 
    confers. This is the way by which you can render this life fruitful. 132 UTILISE the World as the means to 
    an end; do not desire to stay in it. It is a caravanserai, where you can 
    rest a while during your pilgrimage to the source. It is a bridge wide and 
    strongly built. Can any pilgrim build a house there on for himself? The 
    Cosmos is changing constantly. The minutes that are past cannot be retrieved, 
    even if tempted by a billion rupees. The past is not ours any more; the 
    present slips from our grasp; and the future is uncertain. You come naked 
    into the world, you go out of it without informing the survivors of the 
    address where you can be contacted. In spite of this, attachment grows and 
    you cultivate bounds. This is the great illusion. 133 THE grace of God cannot be won 
    through the gymnastics of reason, the contortions of Yoga or the denials of 
    Asceticism. Love alone can win it; Love that needs no requital; Love that 
    knows no bargaining; Love that is paid gladly as a tribute to the All Loving; 
    and Love that is unwavering. Love alone can overcome obstacles, however many 
    and mighty. There is no strength more effective than Purity, no bliss more 
    satisfying than Love, no joy more restoring than Bhakti and no triumph more 
    praiseworthy than Surrender. 134 HIN means "Hinsa" (Violence) and "du" 
    means "dura" (distant); so HINDU means a person who is devoid of violence, 
    who loves and sympathizes, who helps and serves - not one who hides and hits, 
    harms and draws blood. The same sky is over everyone's head; the same earth 
    supports everyone's feet; the same air enters everyone's lungs! The same God 
    brought all forth, brings up all and brings about the end of this earthly 
    career. Why then this inhuman role of foe and fanatic; of fight and feud? 135 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 malarial patients dislike sweets or 
    diabetic patients refuse to have anything to do with sweet! Those who preen 
    themselves, as atheists will one day, when their illness is gone, relish God 
    and revere Him. 136 STRUGGLE to realise the Atma, to 
    visualise God; even failure in this struggle is nobler than success in other 
    worldly attempts. The buffalo has horns; the elephant has tusks, but what a 
    difference? To live in the body, with the body, for the body is the life of 
    a worm; to live in the body with God is good, for God is the life of man. 
    The dull, activity-hating Tamasic persons have ego and their love is limited 
    to their kith and kin. The Rajasic, active, passionate persons seek to earn 
    power and prestige and love those who will contribute to these. But the 
    Satwic, the pure, the good and equanimity-filled love all as embodiments of 
    God and engage themselves in humble service. 137 THERE are three types of approaches 
    towards the Lord; the Eagle type, which swoops down on the target with a 
    greedy swiftness and suddenness which, by its very impact, fails to secure 
    the object coveted; the Monkey type, which flits hither and thither, from 
    one to another, unable to decide which is tasty; and the Ant type which 
    moves steadily, though slowly towards the object which it has decided is 
    desirable. The ant does not hit the fruit hard and makes it fall away; it 
    does not pluck all the fruits it seeks; it appropriates just as much as it 
    can assimilate and no more. Do not fritter away the time allotted to you for 
    sojourning on the earth in foolish foppery and fanciful foibles, which 
    always keep you outdoors. When are you to walk indoors into the warmth and 
    quiet of your own interior? Retire into solitude and silence now and then; 
    experience the joy derivable only from them. 138 WHAT is the sanctity of Shivaratri? 
    Your answer, "Linga emerges from Swami's Udara          (abdomen)". "Today 
    is the fourteenth day of the dark of the month, when the moon is all but 
    invisible, just a minute fraction remains visible to man. The mind is the 
    source of all the entangling desires and emotions. The mind is, therefore, 
    almost powerless this day; if only this night is spent in vigil and in the 
    presence of the Divine, it can be fully conquered and man can realise his 
    freedom. Vigilance this night is to be secured by "Sadhana", this is by 
    means of "Bhajan" or the reading of sacred texts. 139 RAMA, Krishna and Sai Baba appear 
    different because of the dress each has donned, but it is the self same 
    Entity, believe Me. Do not be misled into error and loss. The time will soon 
    come when this huge building or even vaster ones will be too small for the 
    gatherings of those who are called to this place. The sky itself will have 
    to be the roof of the Auditorium of the future. I will have to forego the 
    car and even the airplane when I move from place to place, for the crowds 
    pressing around them will be too huge; I will have to move across the sky; 
    yes that too will happen, believe Me. 140 SEE all as Narayana Swarupa and 
    worship all with Prema. You can understand even My nature only when you wear 
    the glasses of Holiness. Holy things can be cognised only by the Holy Seeker. 
    You get what you search for; you see what your eyes crave for. The doctor is 
    found where patients gather; the surgeon stays in the operation ward; so too, 
    the Lord is ever with the suffering and struggling. Whenever people cry out 
    in agony "Oh God", there God will be. 141 YOU very often condemn the mind as 
    a monkey; but take it from Me, it is far worse. The monkey leaps from one 
    branch to another; but the mind leaps from the heights of the Himalayas to 
    the depths of the sea, from today to tens of years ago. Tame it by the 
    process of Naamasmarana. Make it as Ramdas did into a Bhadrachalam, a stable 
    and steady mountain. That is the task I assign to you. Make your heart an 
    Ayodhya by means of Ramanama; Ayodya means a city that can never lie 
    captured by force. That is your real nature: Ayodhya; Badrachala. Forget 
    this and you are lost. Install Rama in your heart; and then no outer force 
    can harm you. 142 THINGS are not so important; the 
    transcendental truth of things is of value. You must visualise the spiritual 
    in the material, the gold in the jewels, the Divine in the diversity of 
    character and conduct and seek to know the Atma. All are equal in birth and 
    in death. Differences arise only during the interval. The Emperor and the 
    beggar are both born naked; they sleep equally silently; they bow out 
    without even leaving their new address. Then how can their reality be 
    different? There can be no doubt on this score. All are basically the same. 143 LISTEN to Me. When you wake up, 
    feel that you are entering the stage to play the role assigned to you by the 
    Lord; pray that you may act it well and earn His approbation. At night, when 
    you retire to sleep, feel that you are entering the green-room after the 
    scene, but with the dress of your role on; for perhaps the role is not yet 
    over and you have not yet been permitted to take the dress off. Perhaps, you 
    have to make another entrance the next morning. Do not worry about that. 
    Place yourself fully at His Disposal; He knows; He has written the play and 
    He knows how it will end and how it will go on; Yours is but to act and 
    retire. 144 WHEN the mind of man is unattached 
    to the ups and downs of life, but is able to maintain          equanimity 
    under all circumstances, then even physical health can be assured. The 
    mental firmament must be like the sky, which bears no mark of the passage 
    through it of birds or planes or clouds. Illness is caused more by 
    malnutrition of the mind than of the body. Doctors speak of Vitamin 
    deficiency; I will call it the deficiency of Vitamin G, and I will recommend 
    the repetition of the Name of God, with accompanying contemplation of the 
    glory and grace of God. That is the Vitamin G. That is the medicine; 
    regulated life and habits are two thirds of the treatment, while the 
    medicine is just one third only. 145 CARRY on your highest duty - 
    following the four F's:                                     Follow the 
    Master; Face the Devil;
 Fight to the End; and
 Finish the Game.
 Then you win My love in full measure. 
    Love is My highest Miracle. Love can make you gather the affection of all 
    mankind. Love will not tolerate any selfish aim or approach, Love is God. 
    Live in Love. Then all is right; all can be well. Expand your heart so that 
    it can encompass all. Do not narrow it down into an instrument of restricted 
    one. 146 THE tongue is the armour of heart; 
    it guards one's life. Loud talk, long talks, wild talk, and talk full of 
    anger and hate; all these affect the health of man. They breed anger and 
    hate in others; they wound; they excite; they enrage; they estrange. Why is 
    silence said to be golden? The silent man has no enemies, though he may not 
    have friends. He has the leisure and the chance to delve within himself and 
    examine his own faults and failings. He has no more inclination to seek them 
    (fault) in others. If your foot slips, you sustain a fracture; if your 
    tongue slips, you fracture some one's faith or joy. That fracture can never 
    be set right; that wound will fester forever. Therefore, use the tongue with 
    great care. The softer you talk, the less you talk and the sweeter you talk, 
    the better for you and the World. 147 BIRTH is the consequence of "Kama" 
    (desire, lust); Death is the consequence of "Kala" (Time, the lapse of 
    Time). The God of Desire (Kama) was reduced to ashes by Shiva; the God of 
    Time is Kala or Yama. He was subdued by sin. So, one has to surrender to 
    Siva (God) if one has to escape the consequences of these two frightfully 
    fatal forces. If between "Kama" and "Kala" you take refuge in Rama, then you 
    can escape the rigour. For Rama is the Atma who has no "Kama" and is 
    unaffected by "Kala". 148 WHEN you seek to learn swimming, 
    you will have to enter the water and struggle with the strokes. When Bhasma 
    (Vibuthi) is given, doubt haunts some people whether Swami is wishing that 
    the recipient should be a Saivite! It is a symbol of the indestructible 
    basic substance, which every being is. All things become ash; but ash 
    remains ash, however much you may burn it. It is also a sign of renunciation, 
    of sacrifice and of "Jnana", which burns all "Karma" - consequently into 
    ineffective ash. It is a sign of Iswara and I apply it on your brow to 
    remind you that you too are Divine. It is a valuable "Upadesh" about your 
    identity. It also reminds you that the body is liable any moment to be 
    reduced into a handful of ash. Ash is a lesson in detachment and 
    renunciation. 149 THE river of human life meanders 
    along, through many a valley, leaps over many a cliff, loses itself in many 
    a marsh and seeks to empty itself in the ocean of Divine Grace; though, what 
    happens is that it falls into the undrinkable expanse of salt. The flood 
    flows from the heights to the depths; only the flames of fire do ever rise 
    from the depth to the heights. That is why we speak of "Jnanagni", the Fire 
    of Wisdom of Realisation. 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" can be attained. 150 LIFE on earth is as on the ocean, 
    ever restless with the waves of joy and grief, of loss and gain, the 
    swirling currents of desires and the whirlpools of passion, greed and hate. 
    To cross the ocean, the only reliable raft is a heart filled with the Love 
    of God and Man. Man is born for a high destiny, as the inheritor of a rich 
    heritage. He should not fritter away his days in low pursuits and vulgar 
    vanities. His destiny is to know the Truth, live in it and for it. The Truth 
    alone can make man free and happy. If he is not prompted by this high 
    purpose, life is a waste and a mere tossing on the waves, for the sea of 
    life is never calm. 151 OUR car is not meant to be kept as 
    showpiece in a glass garage. It is meant for the roads, for taking you fast 
    and safe to the place where you want to go. So too, your body must serve the 
    purpose of your journey. Journey to where? Not, as it has been happening, to 
    the cemetery. You have nobler things to do than merely die! You must know 
    your own Reality before you die and merge in that Supreme Joy. Eat just 
    enough to keep the body trim; use the body to discover this Reality, namely, 
    God. Sanctify every moment of your sojourn here with pious deeds and sacred 
    thoughts. 152 IT is to persuade you to engage in 
    Naamasmarana that I am concluding My discourses with singing a few Namavalis. 
    An Officer of the Indian Civil Service has to write on the slate, A, B, C 
    and D and pronounce those letters, in order to teach his children the 
    alphabet. When you find him doing so, you do not infer that he is himself 
    learning the alphabet, do you? Therefore, do not be surprised if I sing 
    Bhajan songs; I am but initiating you into this most efficacious Sadhana. 
    Strengthen yourself, purify yourself, and educate yourself by this "Namasankeertan". 
    Do it loudly and in company. Let those who join you listen and imbibe the 
    nectar of the Name. 153 WHEN you call out in all sincerity, 
    the response will certainly come. Give up all low desires and call from the 
    anguished heart. Do not pray from the lips, as you do now, from the Puja 
    room, which is but a corner of the kitchen. You worship the Lord with an eye 
    on the dishes or cooking on the oven, with a nose inhaling hungrily the 
    smells of the hot curries. “Vishavasana”, attachment to sensory objects, 
    vitiates your thoughts of God. There is a vast gap between what you say and 
    what you do; and between what you are capable of and what you accomplish. 154 FOOD received by foul means and 
    clothing procured through ease and comfort are the main things in life. Do 
    not think that ease and comfort are the main things in life. Disappointment, 
    disease and distress are the lot of all, rich and poor, educated and 
    uneducated, young and old. They are the common lot of all. Let not your 
    pure, immaculate hearts be rendered dirty by false-hood and wrong. Do not 
    soil your tongue using it for uttering dirty words. Utter the name of God; 
    it acts like a spark, which can burn into ash a big hill of cotton! All evil 
    thoughts, wicked plans and plots will disappear like fog before the Sun when 
    the Name of God is remembered sincerely. 155 ONCE man is free from undue 
    attachment to the body and its appurtenances, he is liberated also from the 
    pulls of joy, grief, good, bad, pleasure, pain, etc. He is firmly 
    established in equanimity, fortitude and undisturbed balance. There man 
    discovers that the World is one in God; that all is Joy, Love and Bliss. He 
    realizes that he himself is all this apparent World that all the 
    multifarious manifestations are the fantasies of the Divine will, which is 
    his own Reality. This expansion of one's individuality to cover the ends of 
    the Universe is the highest leap of man. It gives supreme "Ananda", an 
    experience for which sages and saints spent years of prayer and asceticism. 156 MAN has been enslaved by money. He 
    lives a superficial, hollow, artificial life. This is indeed a great pity. 
    Man should seek to possess only as much money as is most essential for his 
    living. The quantity of riches one must earn can be compared to the shoes 
    one wears; if too small, they cause pain; if too big, they are a hindrance 
    to physical and mental comfort. When we have more, it breeds pride, sloth 
    and contempt for others. In pursuit of money, man descends to the level of 
    the beast. Money is of the nature of manure. Piled up in one place, it 
    pollutes the air. Spread it wide; scatter it over fields; it rewards you 
    with a bumper harvest. So too, when money is spent in all the four quarters 
    for promoting good works, it yields contentment and happiness in plenty. 157 MOVE forward towards the light and 
    the shadow falls behind you. Move away from it and you have to follow your 
    own shadow. Go every moment one step nearer to the Lord and then, Maya, the 
    shadow will fall back and will not delude you at all. Be steady; be resolved. 
    Do not commit a fault or take a false step and then repeat it! Have the "Thaapam" 
    (the deliberation, the decision, the discipline) first; that is better than 
    "Paschaath Tapa" (regret for the mistake made). 158 GIVE something divine if you want 
    the Divine. Prema, Shanti, Dharma and Sathya are Divine. Do not try to get 
    it for a flower that fades, a fruit that rots, a leaf that dries and water 
    that evaporate. There are some who write and speak as if they have known Me, 
    all that is to be known of Me. I can only say this: they can never know Me 
    and My nature, even if they are born and reborn a thousand times. To know 
    Me, one has to be like Me, rise to this height. Can ants discover the depth 
    of the Ocean? 159 IN this Kali age, the wicked have to 
    be reformed and reconstructed through love and Compassion. That is why this 
    Avatar has come unarmed. HE has come with the message of Love. The only 
    weapon which can transform the vile and the vicious is the Name of the Lord 
    uttered with Love. The Name is redolent with Divine Glory. So when it is 
    turned over in the mind, it transmutes it into an instrument for liberation 
    from delusion. 160 THREE disciplines are essential to 
    become aware of Divinity in all and in the Avatar; no activity should be 
    taken up with individual aggrandizement in view; intellect and emotion must 
    be directed to the revelation of the Resident of the Heart, Atma; and every 
    act should be done sincerely, with Love, with no yearning for acquiring 
    personal profit, fame or benefit. Above all, listen to the voice of God 
    within. As soon as one contemplates a wrong act, the voice warns, protests 
    and advises giving up. It pictures the shame that has to be suffered, the 
    punishment that has to be faced and the disgrace that it entails. 161 IF God is implanted in the heart, 
    you will see God everywhere, even in the objective World. "Sarvam 
    Brahmamayam" is a fact. Resolve this day to engage only in virtuous deeds, 
    good thoughts, and good company. Let your mind dwell on elevating thoughts. 
    Do not waste a single moment of your time talking in idle gossip, vain 
    boasting or demeaning recreations. 162 THE journey into the inner 
    consciousness, to calm the storms that rage, is more important than the 
    journey to the Moon or Mars. The latter may be more spectacular, but the 
    former is the more beneficial. Life without goodness, good thoughts, good 
    actions and good words is like the sky in the night without the moon or 
    stars. It is like a wheel without a hub or spokes! No one can push a boulder 
    away while standing on it; you cannot be free from anxiety while all the 
    entrances through which it sneaks in are open. Stop catering to the senses 
    and feeding the desires that haunts you. 163 THE ceremony of Brahmopadesam is 
    Upanayanam, because the word means, "taking near", taking the young aspirant 
    near Brahman, that is to say, and introducing him to Brahmajnana, the path 
    of Brahma. It is one of the Samskara, that is rites, which reconstruct the 
    personality, reform the mind, purify it and rebuild it. It makes the person 
    receiving it a "Dwija", twice born! The boy is born first into the World; 
    now he is born into the Sadhaka World. He becomes a Brahmachari, a person 
    who walks towards Brahma. 164 SEE God in every being and then 
    true "Sneha" will blossom. This type of true "Sneha" can come only when you 
    follow the advice of Krishna. "Adveshta sarva bhoothanam maitrah karuna 
    evacha Nirmano nirahamkaarah Sama dukher Sukha Kshami": "He who has no trace 
    of hatred towards any creature, who is friendly and compassionate towards 
    all, who is free from the bondage of  "I" and "mine", who takes pain and 
    pleasure as equally welcome and who is forbearing in spite of provocation". 
    Grow these qualities in you, for they are the signs of true "Sneha". It is 
    only when you are proceeding on the God ward journey along the nine stages 
    of Bhakti that you can attain this Divine ideal of true friendship. 165 MOHAMMED, who sought to establish 
    the primacy of the One Formless Absolute, had a large share of persecution, 
    defamation and privation. Jesus, who attempted to rebuild mankind on the 
    basis of Love, was crucified by little men who feared that their tiny tower 
    of hate and greed would be toppled by his teaching. Harischandra, who had 
    resolved never to waver from Truth, was subjected to ordeal after ordeal, 
    each more terrifying than the previous one. Those who seek to know God must 
    steel themselves to bear insult, injury and torture with a smile. 166 UGADHI: THE word "Ugadhi" means: 
    the day of the Inauguration of the "Yuga or Age". On this day dedicate your 
    life anew to the spiritual discipline, giving up all habits that interfere 
    with the constant remembrance of God. Nature puts on a neat garb of green, 
    but man alone continues with his old prejudices, out-worn habits and 
    moth-eaten principles, which tarnish and demean him. The spiritual 
    discipline prescribed by the Scriptures for the Krita (Yuga) Age is Dhyana; 
    for the Thretha Yuga it is Dharma; for the Dwapara Yuga it is Archana or 
    Ritual worship; and for the Kali Yuga it is Naamasmarana and Seva. With the 
    constant remembrance of God, worship the Lord, leaving the result to the 
    All-powerful, All knowing and All Merciful. The New Panchangam reveals the 
    position of the Sun, Moon and Stars. Saint Thyagaraja sang that Rama's Grace 
    could counteract the evil effect of Stars. Expand yourself. Take in all. 
    Grow in Love. That is the new dress you have to wear and shine on this day. 167 I AM showing you by My example. You 
    must fill every moment with useful beneficial activity. You talk among 
    yourselves, "Oh Swami is having his rest hour; Swami is sleeping", but I 
    have never craved, for a minute's rest or sleep or relief. Shall I tell you 
    at what time I feel restful, relieved and content? When I know that you are 
    all earning supreme Bliss through detachment and spiritual discipline; not 
    until then. I am ever engaged in some activity or other for your benefit. 
    Things that I could get done, I do not entrust to others; I do them myself, 
    so that they may learn self-reliance and get experience thereby. 168 YAMA or the God of death is 
    described as dragging his victims to his abode by means of the rope or "Paasa". 
    Well, He has no rope-factory there, for supplying him with the rope he needs. 
    You manufacture the rope yourself and have it ready around your neck; he has 
    only to take hold of the rope and pull you along! It is a three-stranded 
    rope, the strands being "Ahamkara" (Egoism); "Vishayavasana" (sense-attachment); 
    and "Kama" (Desire). 169 LEARN a lesson from the tree. When 
    it is heavy with fruits, it does not raise its head aloft in pride, it bends 
    low, stoops, as if it does not take any credit for its accomplishment and as 
    if it helps you to pluck the fruit. Learn a lesson from the birds. They feed 
    those who cannot fly far. The bird relieves the itch of the buffalo by 
    scratching it with its beak; they help and serve each other with no thought 
    of reward. How much more alert must man be then with his superior skills and 
    faculties? Service is the best cure for egoism. 170 I WOULD advise you to dwell always 
    on one Name of God, one personification of one of His innumerable attributes 
    of Glory. Then there is the expansion of your Love, the removal of hate and 
    envy from your mental composition, seeing the God whom you adore in every 
    other person intently as you see Him in yourself. Then you become the 
    Embodiment of Love, Peace and Joy. 171 REMOVE the cataract and the vision 
    becomes clear. So too, remove the feeling of inferiority that dwarfs you now; 
    feel that you are "Atma Swarupa", "Nithya Swarupa", and "Anandaswarupa"; 
    then every act of yours becomes a "Yajna", a sacrifice and a Puja. The ear, 
    the eye, the tongue and the feet become tools for your uplift, not traps for 
    your destruction. Transform "Tamo guna” into "Thapo guna" and save yourself. 172 REMOVE the weight from your head by 
    transferring all burdens to the Lord, leave everything to His will and His 
    Law. Feed your mind with sweet and wholesome food: "Satsang", "Satpravatana", 
    and "Sarveswara Chintha"; then you are full of joy. I am "Anandaswarupa"; 
    come and take "Ananda" from Me and, returning to your avocations, dwell on 
    that "Ananda" and be full of "Shanti". 173 HE greatest single cause for 
    darkness in the World today is envy. When one is happy and contented, others envy him and strive to ruin his peace of mind. When any 
    one is acclaimed as great, malice moves others to invent calumny in order to 
    tarnish his reputations. This is the way of the World. There is in life the 
    tragedy of ignorance and selfishness. They force man to take the wrong road; 
    and suffer calamity. 174 A STRONG will is the best tonic. The 
    will becomes strong when you know that you are a child of Immortality or a 
    person who has earned the Grace of the Lord. Medicine and hospitalization 
    are for those who doubt and hesitate and argue about this doctor being more 
    efficient than the other and this drug being more powerful than the rest. 
    For those who rely on the Supreme Doctor, His Name is the drug that cures. 175 YOU can call me on the phone, but I 
    will not be available for all those who do not have the sincere and steady 
    yearning for the Lord. For those who say, "No, You are not my Lord", I say 
    "No". For those who say, "Yes", I too echo, "Yes". If I am available in your 
    heart, I will be available over the phone. But remember, I have My own 
    special Postal and Telephone Systems. They operate from the heart straight 
    to the heart. There are rules and regulations for the operations of the 
    Systems, which the Sastras declare. You can find them there. I am glad that 
    devotees have today acquired this new convenience at Prashanthi Nilayam. 176 TRUTH can reflect itself in your 
    intelligence only when it is cleaned by "Thapas". "Thapas” means all acts 
    undertaken with higher motives and all acts indicating yearning for the 
    spirit; repenting for past blunders; staunch determination to adhere to 
    virtue; self-control; and unyielding adherence to equanimity in the face of 
    success or failure. "Thapam" means heat, burning intensity and earnestness 
    of endeavor. It is "Thapas" that fosters Renunciation and discipline. 177 THE Rama and Krishna Avatars 
    performed the mission of restoring Dharma and fostering virtuous living, 
    besides punishing the wicked and teaching the World that vice will not 
    succeed. Man is an amalgam of Humanity, Animality and Divinity. It is a 
    tragedy if he cannot get rid of the Animality; and it is a greater tragedy 
    if he cannot cultivate his Divinity. Contemplation of the Rama and Krishna 
    Avatars and their Leelas and Mahimas is the surest method of cultivating the 
    Divine in Man. 178 GOD has four qualities and it is 
    only when you cultivate them that you can understand Him. They are: Prema 
    (Love), Beauty (Soundarya), Sweetness (Madurya), and Shoba (Splendor). The 
    development of Prema is enough to add into you the other three. When you are 
    full of Prema for the Divine in all creation, that stage is Beauty; when you 
    are immersed in the sea of Universal Love, you reach the acme of Sweetness; 
    when your mind loses its identity and merges in the Universal Mind, then 
    there is Splendour indescribable. 179 MY task is not merely to cure and 
    console and remove individual misery. It is something far more important. 
    The important task of the mango tree is to produce mango-fruit. The leaves, 
    the branches and the trunk of the tree are useful in their own way, no doubt, 
    but the main aim is the fruit. So, also from the plantain-tree, the fruit is 
    the main gain. The leaves and the edible core of the stem are all incidental. 
    So too, the removal of misery and distress is incidental to My Mission. My 
    main task is the re-establishment of Veda and Shastra in the heart of 
    Bharthavarsha and the revival of Knowledge about them in the people. This 
    task will succeed. 180 NARADA once asked Krishna the 
    secret of the attraction His flute play had on the cowherds of Brindavan. 
    "Do they run to You or do You run to them?” he queried. "Among us there is 
    neither I nor they; how can a picture be separated from the cloth on which 
    it is painted? I am imprinted on their hearts so inseparably and so 
    inextricably", Krishna replied. Have God imprinted on your hearts; be ever 
    so inextricably established in Him - that is My message to you. 181 THIS Sai has came in order to 
    achieve the Supreme task of uniting the entire mankind as one family through 
    the band of brotherhood, of affirming and illumining the Atmic Reality of 
    each being in order to reveal the Divine, 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. 182 DO not get elated at the riches, 
    status, authority, and intelligence, which have been given to you on trust, 
    so that you may benefit others. They are all signs of His Grace, 
    opportunities for service and symbols of responsibility. Never seek to exult 
    over others' faults; deal sympathetically with the errors and mistakes of 
    others; hear only good things about them; and do not give an ear to scandals. 183 NOW, there is a wave of anxiety 
    spreading over the World as a result of rising prices; and attempts are 
    frantically being made to bring down the level. The fundamental cause for 
    the rise in prices is the decline in the price of man. Man must realise his 
    pricelessness; he should not regard himself as a cheap nut or bolt that has 
    no higher purpose in life. He should know that he is the imperishable, 
    unconquerable Atma; and the body is only a vehicle for the Atma. 184 DOES thou know why you are given 
    eyes? To see whatever can be seen? No! No! To fill the eyes with the vision 
    of God who resides on Mount Kailas. We have to cast our looks at sacred 
    sights. We must visualise in everyone only the good and the Godly. That is 
    the purpose for which God has equipped us with eyes. He has not gifted them 
    to us to observe and judge others, to follow people into the bazaar or to 
    see unsightly films. 185 THE snakes move in curves, not in a 
    straight line; man too, when he is following the senses, has to move in a 
    crooked path. He has greater poison in him than the snake; his venom is to 
    be found in his eye, his tongue, his hands, his mind, his heart and his 
    thoughts - whereas the cobra has it only in its fangs. The cobra raises its 
    hood and sways in joy when it hears music - so, man too, when he realises 
    the stage of  "Nirvikalpa", (steady unchanging establishment in the ultimate 
    Reality), dances in heavenly Bliss. 186 GOD is the source of all Love; Love 
    God, Love the World as the vesture of God, no more and no less. Through 
    Love, you can merge in the Ocean of Love. Love cures pettiness, hate and 
    grief. Love loosens bonds; it saves man from the torments of birth and death. 
    Love binds all hearts in a soft silken symphony. Seen through the eyes of 
    Love, all beings are beautiful; all deeds are dedicated; and all thoughts 
    are innocent. The World is one vast kin. 187 GOD is all-powerful; God is 
    everywhere; God is all knowing. To adore such a formidable limitless 
    principle, man spends a few minutes out of the 24 hours and uses a minute 
    idol, image or picture! It is indeed ridiculous; it is practically futile. 
    Adore Him so long as you have breath and so long as you are conscious. Have 
    no other thought than God, have no other aim than knowing His command; no 
    other activity than translating that command into action. That is what is 
    meant by Surrender. Surrender yourself unto Him. 188 GOD is the guardian, the corrector, 
    the admonisher and the savior; so, people must get into the habit of calling 
    on Him as a living presence. The temple helps to soften the hearts! It 
    instills the virtue of compassion and charity. Greed and cruelty will spread 
    in an atmosphere that has no devotion and adoration to God. Make yourselves 
    into moving temples. Become aware of the God that resides in you. It is He 
    who protects you, provides for you and prevents you from falling prey to 
    pernicious propensities. 189 THERE are three types of persons: 
    those, who confess their own faults and mention the excellence of others, 
    are the highest type; those, who highlight their own excellence and decry 
    the faults of others, are worse; those, who parade their own faults as 
    excellence and deride the excellence in others as faults, are the worst. The 
    last type is nowadays most rampant. 190 GOD has no will or want; He does 
    not confer or withhold; He is the eternal witness. To put it in the language 
    that you can understand: He is like the postman, who is not concerned with 
    the contents of the letters that he hands over to the addressees; one letter 
    might communicate victory; another defeat; and you receive what you have 
    worked for. Do good and have good done in return; be bad and accept the bad 
    that comes back to you. That is the law; and there is really no help (or) 
    hindrance. 191 THE relief and joy that you give to 
    the sick and the sad reach me, for I am in their hearts and I am the One 
    they call out for. God has no need of your service; does He suffer from pain 
    in the legs, or ache in the stomach? Try to serve the Godly; be "Dasanudasas", 
    the servants of the servants of the Lord. The service of man is the only 
    means by which you can serve God. 192 THYAGARAJA said that, if he is 
    armed with the Grace of Rama, the planetary missiles could never injure him. 
    Purandaradasa, another great saint, asked, "What are eyes for?" and answered 
    the question himself, "To visualise the Lord". "Eyes that do not yearn to 
    see you, are black balls; ears that do not hear your praise, are narrow 
    mountain caves where jackals live; and the tongue that does not relish the 
    repetition of your Name, can only croak like a frog", says Purandaradasa. 193 ALL who come embodied are Avatars, 
    that is to say, advents of the Divine, Manifestations of God. What then is 
    the special feature of Rama, Krishna, Buddha and Christ? Why do you 
    celebrate their Birthdays with such reverential enthusiasm? The specialty is 
    this: they are Aware; you are unaware of the Atma, which is the Truth. 
    Awareness confers Grace, Glory, Majesty, Might and Splendour. Awareness 
    confers Liberation from bonds, time, space and causation, and sleep, dream 
    and wakefulness. Avatars are ever alert, aware and alight. 194 THE name of God, if recited with 
    love and faith, has that power. Once the mother of Agastya boasted that her 
    son drank all the waters of the ocean; but the mother of Hanuman, who was 
    there, said; "Why go to that extent? My son leaped over it in a trice". But 
    there was the mother of Rama with them. She said, "Your son leaped over the 
    ocean, uttering my son's name. Without it, he was helpless". The name has 
    that overmastering power. It can bring unheard of and unimagined strength 
    and courage. 195 FOR Naamasmarana, no expense is 
    involved; no materials are needed; there is no special place or time to be 
    provided. No qualification of scholarship or caste or sex has to be proved. 
    When a bit of iron is rubbed to and fro on a slab of stone, heat is 
    generated; only the rubbing has to be vigorous and continuous. When you do 
    so at intervals and with poor pressure, the iron will not get hot. So too, 
    in order to get sufficient heat to melt the soft heart of the Lord, rub the 
    name "Ram",  "Ram",  "Ram",  "Ram” vigorously and unremittingly; then, the 
    Lord will shower His Grace. 196 THIS is the best time to tell you 
    something about the authenticity of this Advent. I only wish to communicate 
    the Truth. There are many who can not bear or tolerate the Splendour that I 
    am manifesting, the Divinity that is expressed in every act, the wonders and 
    amazing happenings that are the result of Grace; these people label these as 
    acts of mesmerism or miracles or feats of magic! They hope to bring these 
    down in the estimation of people. Let me tell you this; mine is no mesmerism, 
    miracle or magic. Mine is genuine DIVINE POWER. 197 LIFE sustained by food is short; 
    life sustained by the Atma is eternal. Do not lay claim to long life; but to 
    Divine life. Do not pine for more years on earth, but for more virtues in 
    the heart. Buddha knew and made known to the World the Truth. Everything is 
    grief. Everything is empty. Everything is brief. Everything is polluted. So 
    the wise man has to do the duties cast upon him with discrimination, 
    diligence and detachment. Play the role but keep your identity unaffected. 198 IN order to escape being tossed 
    about on the waves of joy and grief, one should cultivate unconcern (upeksha), 
    an attitude of welcoming either as a sign of Grace. Sri Ramakrishna said 
    that if you must avoid the sticky fluid in the jackfruit from contacting 
    your fingers when you peel it, you have to apply a few drops of oil on them. 
    So, too, said he, "If you do not want the World and its reactions to stick 
    to you, have a few drops of unconcern applied on your mind". 199 THE foundation for real peace is, 
    according to the Vedas, the quality of Maithree. Maithree means amicability, 
    friendship, compassion and, kindness. It can also be taken to mean "My three", 
    that is to say, my word, deed and thought shall be in accordance with words, 
    thought and deed; that is to say, we shall speak, think and act together 
    without friction or faction, in an atmosphere of love and understanding. 
    That is what is wanted in the world today: My three. 200 ALL men are Mine; so the whole 
    World has to be saved from the consequences of ignorance or limited 
    knowledge. I will get all My people near Me, for they are Mine, and I am 
    theirs. Then, I will start teaching and training them, until they become 
    entirely ego-free. For the last 25 years, it has all been sweetness, 
    kindness, soft persuasion; hereafter, it will be different. I will drag them, 
    place them on the table and operate. That is to say, I have no anger or hate. 
    I have only Love. It is Love that prompts Me to save them and to open their 
    eyes, before they get deeper into the morass.
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