Life 48 (Feb 25 - Dec 26)

[winston]

Why should we adore beautiful Nature with respect and reverence?

Nature is not merely an embodiment of the five elements, nor is it an embodiment of the five life principles or five sheaths or five senses.

Nature is the very embodiment of Divinity.

Man is making every effort to attract and control this beautiful Nature.

Plato described and taught that Nature is Truth, Goodness and Beauty. However, where did this beauty and elegance come from?

The Divine is Beauty! Hence, Nature is also beautiful. Therefore, it is His form that is reflected in Nature.

In trying to acquire such Nature without His permission, man experiences failure and hardship, which leads to troubles, obstacles and sorrows.

Who can hope to win over Nature, which is His property? It is an exhibition of ignorance to dream of winning over Nature. Hence, prior to acquiring Nature, one must secure His Grace.

- Summer Showers, May 28, 1996

You must see Nature as filled with Divinity, shaped by Him; as He is in those shapes, smells and sounds.

Soure: radiosai.org

[winston]

To develop a sacred and pure heart, where should we begin?

A heart that is full of love for the Divine, is truly the heart of a human being.

Those who wish to develop such a heart of love, should be careful with regard to their food and drink.

Of the food you consume, the gross part is excreted; the part which is intermediate in nature (between gross and subtle) becomes bones, muscles, and blood; and the subtlest part of food becomes the mind.

Therefore, food is responsible for the good and bad nature of the mind.

As is the food, so is the mind. Hence, it is necessary to eat satwic, sacred, and good food in moderation.

In days of yore, sages and saints, giving up the villages and towns, lived peacefully in forests, eating only fruits and tubers to sustain themselves.

You may not be aware how beneficial such satwic food can be. How blissful were the sages living in the forest and eating fruits and tubers during their exile!

Happiness lies in proper food and habits. Not only food, but also drinking water should be pure.

- Divine Discourse, Sep 02, 1996

As the food, so the mind; as the mind, so the thought; as the thought, so the act.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Why is it necessary to filter the good impressions of the mind from the bad ones?

Scientists, especially those belonging to the geological department, know this very well.

When they prospect for gold, they find out the spot where gold is, then dig deep into the earth and find impure lumps of raw gold mixed with other elements.

In this natural state, gold is found to be in the company of other impurities. At a later stage, they purify the impure mass and get pure gold from it.

All natural laws will be like this. It is a natural law to answer calls of nature, to sleep, to feed and so on.

But by just following these laws of nature, we will not be able to go anywhere or reach any higher destinations.

From the same heart, we find two emotions, one anger and the other mercy. Thus, we find it difficult to understand this nature, by which two contradicting emotions emanate from the same heart.

Because the heart is the source of both good and evil, it is the bounden duty of students to understand how our ancestors were able to constantly focus their attention on good alone.

- Ch 21, Summer Showers 1972

You may read many Scriptures but if you do not acquire the capacity to discriminate between right and wrong, all these things will become useless.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the important distinction between a human life and that of birds and animals?

Some argue that man is born just for the gratification of his senses. Some think that they should amass food and wealth for the sake of joy and happiness only.

If man simply consumes food like the other animals, how does man differ from them? Is it necessary to be born as a man to amass food?

The bird, which is hungry and has not stored food, just goes straight to the food to satisfy its hunger.

On the other hand, man stores food for the sake of future gratification. Man is not born to go in quest of food. He is born to go in quest of the Atma.

We should develop our intelligence because our intelligence enables us to know good from bad through the process of constant thought and discrimination.

We should not stuff our heads with all worldly matters. We must implement the good principles, which we have stored in our minds.

The discourses of elders and the messages of great books, point out the great principles of finding unity in diversity. But this principle remains only theoretical if it is not implemented in our daily lives.

- Ch 21, Summer Showers 1972

Acting under the dictates of the mind brings disaster; acting under the instructions of the illumined buddhi is desirable.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the right way to lead life so as to make the right use of this valuable gift?

Every human being is the embodiment of the Atma. But because of Dehabhimana (identification with the body), he forgets the principle of the atma.

When you give up Dehabhimana and develop Atmabhimana (identification with the Self), you will experience bliss.

There are three types of beings in this world. Some beings can live only in water, some others can live only on earth and there are some others which can live both on earth as well as in water.

Similarly, there are some noble souls who spend all their time in the constant contemplation of the Divine.

There are some others who lead a worldly life but once in a while think about spiritual matters. Their life is like a two-horse race. They have one leg in the world and the other in spirituality.

There is a third category of people who lead a totally worldly life and have no spiritual inclination whatsoever. Because they are afflicted by the cold of ignorance, they cannot even smell the fragrance of spirituality.

It is your great good fortune that you are blessed with human birth. It is not possible for everyone to attain human life in every birth.

Human birth is like a precious diamond. But man is ready to barter it away for petty things which are like pieces of charcoal.

One who knows the value of the diamond, will he use it like a paperweight on the table? No. One who knows its value will keep it safely in a steel almirah under lock and key.

- Divine Discourse, Sep 02, 1996

Human life is sacred, noble and fragrant with virtues. We are bartering away such a valuable human life for the charcoal of worldly possessions.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

What is the message of the scriptures and what is the role they play in this spiritual quest of man?

The body is transient. The Dehi (indweller) is eternal and real. The Dehi is known as such not because it is just in a body (Deha).

The entire Cosmos is the body of the Divine and therefore the term Dehi applies to this Cosmic Consciousness.

To realise the nature of this all-pervading Atma (soul), which is the unchanging reality, it is not enough to seek authority from the Shastras (ancient scriptures) alone.

The Atma is not realised through the Shastras. The realisation of the Self has to be obtained on the basis of the authority of the Shastras but through one’s own earnest Sadhana (spiritual efforts).

The Vedas, Upanishads, Shastras and Puranas (ancient scriptures of spiritual wisdom, metaphysical treatises and mythological legends) all serve as signposts.

They indicate the direction one should take. They show the goal that should be sought but the journey has to be made by ourselves.

- Divine Discourse, Sep 06, 1984

Each life is like a day’s march in the pilgrimage; make the fullest use of your talents and march forward to pitch the tent nearer the goal when darkness falls.

Source: radiosai.org

[behappyalways]

Chinese man loses in chess then analyses game for 4 hours in rain
https://m.youtube.com/watch?v=L_JggcSn3L0

[winston]

How can we attain the state beyond happiness and sorrow?

In the waking state, the mind is completely conscious. So long as you have a mind, you see the prakriti, nature.

And so long as you are conscious of prakriti, you cannot escape from the experience of happiness and sorrow.

So, what really is responsible for happiness and sorrow? It is the waking state.

In the deep sleep state, there is no mind, and consequently, there is neither the world nor the experience of happiness and sorrow.

So long as there is the mind, there is the world; so long as there is the world, there is happiness and sorrow.

There is neither happiness nor sorrow when you transcend the mind.

How can you transcend the mind? By developing love for the Divine.

Just as sugar permeates every drop of the syrup, love permeates the entire world.

There is no place without love and the world cannot exist without bliss. Love is all-pervasive, bliss is all-pervasive.

Human being, any living being has no existence without love.

- Divine Discourse, Sep 02, 1996

When man shares his love with others, he experiences more and more bliss. This bliss is eternal and everlasting.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

How should we treat the opportunity of being a part of the Divine’s work?

This is a chance for service for which you must feel extremely delighted, for here you can transmute your devotion and faith into positive acts of service for the benefit of your brothers and sisters.

And, since He is with you in all that you do, you do not have to worry about the success of the undertakings.

You have only to be ‘instruments’; you need not devise devious ways or roundabout tactics.

Doing your duties, you have the need to preserve and develop trust. This is the Divine work, which you are invited to enjoy.

This is elevating work that brings you nearer to the heart of the Divine. The conscious hand must have the inert pickaxe in order to break the hard sod; so too, the Divine Consciousness must have the Prakriti (Nature) to carry out His plan.

For this, you have to yourselves lead exemplary lives. Your daily living must be transformed into live prayers and live sadhana.

Calculate within yourselves the benefit that would accrue to you from this sadhana into which you are initiated now, and prepare for shouldering the task assigned to you — to be instruments dedicated for advancing the mission for which the Divine has come.

- Divine Discourse, Jun 20, 1974

Two attainments mark out the servitors — absence of conceit and presence of love.

Source: radiosai.org

[winston]

Is the Divine loving or is He the One who punishes us for our mistakes? What is His true nature?

The Divine allows Himself to be captured easily by His devotees.

To those who entertain negative feelings in them, He appears as an enemy.

Hence, good and bad are both decided by our own feelings.

- Summer Showers, May 28, 1996

Only through the cord of love can He be bound. But it is only when love is for love's sake, that this cord can bind Him to man.

Source: radiosai.org