Passage 21

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In plain words

You will rise to any height, however great. I have never said anything to anyone for My own sake. Nor will I. Grow noble feelings like these, lead a sacred life, and set about giving this ideal to Bhārata. That alone is My joy. Bow to your parents' command. I have said it many times. Your food, your head, your blood: all of it is your parents' gift. If we cannot give gratitude to them, of all people, to whom else and in what way can we give it? There is no use at all. We keep defying them alone, and follow only the wife who has newly come. This is not how we should act. Give them the place that is due to them. These must have the place due to them. At all times we are sons to our parents. Today the wife is all nectar. The mother is poison. That itself is not right for a son. If the mother who fed you and brought you up is poison, why should the one who came only yesterday or the day before not become poison to you now? It is nothing but a delusion. Today and tomorrow, the moment the marriage is over, they say ‘wife is life’. Afterwards, wife is knife: be very careful. They suffer a great deal. You must see to that. From that, you must keep them themselves in check. You must give these their due honour and respect. Go from here and live as ideal householders. ‘Hey, look how well the children who came from the Sai Institute are doing! They are like a pair of parrot and mynah!’ everyone must say. It must not be that whenever one looks, it is quarrelling and quarrelling. The two of you must show others the way, as an ideal, both spiritually and in the world. In another three or four months the MBA second-year children and the PG children are all going away. But as for those who go: after you get there, you will keep at least one or two of Swami's sayings in your hearts and show yourselves an example; hoping this and blessing you, I bring My talk to a close.

I said it the other day. Love of God. Fear of Sin, Morality in Society: keep these three in view. When you get the chance, go into society and do service. Service is very necessary. It is for that very service that your body came. Paropakārārtham idaṃ śarīram. Śarīram ādyaṃ khalu dharma-sādhakam. We must not turn into something like a Road Roller, just doing some loading and unloading. We must do service. We must bend our backs. Even while you work, think of nothing else; work while doing bhajan.