The obliterating flood

24 April 1967, First All-India Conference of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva Organization, Chennai

Professor Kasturi's English.

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LIKE food to a starving man, like showers on a parched field, the Vedhic science of spiritual self-discovery is the life-saver for humanity sliding down to destruction because it has lost its hold on truth, morality, peace and love. You are the instruments in the spread of Vedhic science among the farthest corners of this vast land; you are the chosen ones! You have to show by precept and by example that the path of self-realisation is the path to perfect joy. Hence on you lies a great responsibility; the responsibility of demonstrating by your calmness, composure, humility, purity, virtue, courage and conviction under all circumstances, that the you practise has made you a better, happier and more useful person. Practise and demonstrate, do not simply assert in words and deny in deeds. The Sea is considered holy, holier than any river, because all the rivers pour themselves into it. This gathering of workers from all over India is therefore a holy congregation, representing the confluence of streams of devotion. It has become imperative to plan out the process of carrying spiritual knowledge to every door, for the gigantic flood of the modern machine civilisation is fast obliterating all traces of the Divine in man.

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Atmosphere today is fouled by sickly competition The which can confer eternal joy is ignored and man rushes wildly under the sea or out into space to cater to his craving for pride and pomp. Some persons have to step forward boldly now to declare from their own genuine experience that the joy of reaching the moon is as nothing when compared to the joy of reaching the inner moon of , and the source of all , the . Saying one thing and being another will defeat the very purpose. The slightest sign of hypocrisy will weaken the foundations of the edifice. That is why it is necessary to lay down certain tests and qualifications, certain broad guide-lines for those who stand forth as workers in this field. Standards and systematic self-examination are necessary at every stage for the success of every effort.

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