Sathya Sai Speaks 1996 · Unity Is The Very Life-Breath Of Humanity
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Unity Is The Very Life-Breath Of Humanity
9 April 1996, Sai Shruti, Kodaikanal, TN
Published English.
1Where There Is Purity, There Is Divinity We acquire all types of wealth through our words alone. We develop friendship and relationships through our words. Something bad can also happen to us by the words we utter. Our words should be sacred and should contain the essence of the and scriptures. We acquire the knowledge of spirituality through words. Man should therefore make every effort to speak only appropriate and proper words. Swami always says, “You cannot always oblige, but you can speak always obligingly”.- 2Consider Nature As Divine As Nature is the creation of God, it has all His attributes. Nature is not merely the source of natural wealth, but it reflects God’s wealth. Man should therefore consider Nature as divine and revere it. The relationship of Nature with God is called and . is feminine while is masculine. Though it is feminine in nature or , there is no difference between and in the physical sense.
- 3stands for feminine but not in the physical sense. What is the real meaning of ? The word has three syllables, ‘St’, ‘R’ and ‘I’. ‘St’ stands for , ‘R’ stands for and ‘I’ denotes . Every person whether masculine or feminine has three qualities. ‘St’ signifies divine sacred feelings and piousness, so that everyone may merge in the Divine. ‘I’ does not stand for dullness but for obedience, humility, morality, and integrity. ‘R’ does not denote emotions, anger, arrogance or pomp but forbearance, tolerance and charity.
- 4Who is (human being)? is one who treasures sacred feelings. He should have the human qualities and entertain sacred thoughts, words, and deeds. The real human quality is harmony of thoughts, words, and deeds. That is why it is said, “The proper study of mankind is man”. Nature has all the purity. Man should learn from Nature and develop complete purity. Spirituality does not consist only of penance, rituals, meditation, etc. All these practices are meant to make the heart pure and to enable one to keep away from the transient, evil world. It does not mean merely thinking of God but also being away from all unsacred actions. Spirituality embodies eternal truth. Nature is the best teacher. Through the study of Nature, man can learn what is transient and what is permanent. That which is sacred in Nature reflects Divinity. Without Divinity, Nature cannot exist. You say that you are not seeing or experiencing God. That is sheer foolishness. In Nature, everything is Divine. You are experiencing Divinity in Nature, yet you want to see God! Just as gold is the same in all the ornaments, everything is Divine in Nature.
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- 6Make Your Vision Noble And Sacred The feminine aspect of God is or Nature which is in the form of matter. But God is energy. It is not possible to have Nature without God and God without Nature as both are interdependent and interrelated. We should not think that anything is bad in the world because everything is Divine and full of sanctity. We cannot change the creation, we have to change our outlook. envisages that man should make his vision noble and sacred.
- 7From the physical point of view women are considered weak. But they are not really weak. The states that women are endowed with higher powers than men. In ancient Bharat, women represented higher and nobler qualities. In the home, woman was called as the prestige and reputation of the family depended entirely on the standards set by the woman. Women are the great strength of the family and society.
- 8Recognising that Divinity is the basis of all things, everyone should reflect on his indwelling divinity and broaden his heart. When it is narrow, you cannot call it because is full of love and compassion. The word consists of ‘Hri’ and ‘’ which means a heart with or compassion. Unfortunately, man’s heart is bereft of compassion and full of wicked thoughts and wicked feelings. In order to purify his heart, man should always contemplate on God.
- 9Everyone Should Manifest His Divinity Many people use the word ‘’ with reference to women. But it does not mean women are weak. They are mentally very strong. It is by their innate strength that they impart strength to family and society. Therefore, we should not measure their strength by their physical body. Truly, both men and women are the sons of immortality. Who is truly man? God is the only or man though not in the worldly sense. The body which moves from top to toe is the , and the Divinity residing inside the human body as awareness is the . So, the reality of the human being is awareness. Based on that awareness, all are . The truth remains as equality or unity in all. So, everyone should manifest his divinity. However, everyone should discharge his duty with discrimination between and , realising at the same time that though the bodies are separate, is one. We wear our slippers on our feet, not on our head, and we wear our glasses on our eyes, not on our ears. We do not do the reverse.
- 10Similarly, we should see that every object in Nature has a specific utility. One who follows the proper procedure based on correct knowledge and performs his duty with earnestness is a true human being. Discharging one’s duty in this manner is . means unity. Man should practise to realise divinity. Where there is unity, there is purity. Where there is purity, there is Divinity. Unity is the very life-breath of human existence. Unity imparts strength to love. For example, when threads are woven into cloth, the cloth will have strength. But if you separate the threads, there would be no strength. Everyone has duties to perform for himself, for the family, and for the society. When the individual is good, the family will be good, when the family is good, the society will be good. When the society is good, the whole country will be good. So, the welfare of the country depends on the individual.
- 11We call a human being . But it does not denote human form alone. A is one who has innate sacredness and divinity, which he should manifest. Then only can he be called a true or individual. Good conduct is the main quality of such an individual. From the divine perspective, the entire mankind is one because the same is present in all. There is only one caste, the caste of humanity. Man should recognise that the same divinity permeates the entire creation. There are many tubelights and bulbs in the room. Though they have different capacities, the current in all of them is one and the same.
- 12Religions are many but goal is one. Clothes are many but yarn is one. Jewels are many but gold is one. Cows are many but milk is one. Castes are many but humanity is one. Beings are many but is one.
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- 14We should always use discipline and discrimination to lead an ideal life. We may have to suffer if we do not observe discipline. Take for example the body temperature. The normal temperature is 98.4°F. If it rises a little higher, there would be fever and illness. Similarly, the normal blood pressure is 120/80; any variation in it may cause disease. One’s whole life is a limited company and should always be kept within limits. Be it (spiritual aspirants) or (those engaged in spiritual contemplation), all should follow the principle of renunciation in life. If we do not excrete the food we eat, we will get stomachache. The breath that we inhale has to be exhaled, otherwise our lungs would be damaged. The blood in the body, too, has to be circulated; it should not stagnate in one place. The renunciation and sacrifice that we experience in our daily life is called . So, we have to practise sacrifice in our life. But we should take into account the deservedness of the recipient if we sacrifice for another person.
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- 18In the culture of Bharat, we do to elders. We bring ten fingers of both our hands together to do . Bringing ten fingers together signifies that we offer our five senses of cognition and five organs of action to God. It denotes unity in diversity.
- 19In unity, there is Divinity. Do not associate with wicked people. If you have bad company, you will also become bad. Tell me your company, I shall tell you what you are. How can you discriminate between good and bad company? When you watch the conduct of a person, you will know whether he is good or bad. Spiritual aspirants should not associate with too many persons. If you associate with all types of people, it can be dangerous. You may consider someone a friend but he may turn out to be an enemy. You should just say, “Hello, how are you and goodbye”. Never have too many relationships. You should always observe limits. Many people have come here () from different countries spending a lot of money. But they are wasting their time in gossiping. By this, they lose their energy. When energy is lost, there is loss of memory. Unnecessary talk takes one away from nearness and dearness to God. Talk only to the extent necessary. Excessive talking is a bad quality. You may be good, but you do not know whether the other person is good or bad. So, be always in good company. Have friendship only with good people.
- 20Share your love with at least ten people every day. To say that you and I are one is wrong. To say “you and I are we” and “we and we are one” is correct. When we discriminate clearly and follow the dictates of our conscience, we become sacred and peaceful. It is a waste of time to do and meditation if our mind wanders around. God is not separate from you. He is in you, above you, and all around you. Why search for God and go to the forest when He is within you? You yourself are God. You have a name because of your body. But you do not exist for the body. Service done to anyone is service to God. Whomsoever you respect, it goes to God; whomsoever you criticise, it also goes to God. Therefore, do not hurt anyone. Help Ever, Hurt Never. When you develop this principle, you will experience bliss. There can be no greater bliss than this.
- 21(Bhagawan brought His Discourse to a close with the , " Sukha Nahin…")