Man Should Think Of God At All Times

15 April 1996, Sai Shruti, Kodaikanal, TN

Published English.

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World Is Temporary, God Is Eternal All worldly relationships also undergo change. The relationship of husband and wife is also temporary. They were not with each other in the beginning and they will not be together when they depart from the world. It is only time and destiny which bring them together for some time. However, Truth and Love are permanent and divine. Truth is God, Love is God. Live in Love. Love expresses itself in man and proves the existence of God in all. God is permanent and eternal. God was there before creation. He was the source of energy for creation in the form of consciousness. The provide evidence of this. Bharat should share this divine wisdom with the world.

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Forbearance is the real beauty in this sacred land of Bharat. Of all the rituals, adherence to truth is the greatest penance. The nectarine feeling in this country is the feeling of love towards one’s mother. Character is valued far higher than the very life itself. People have forgotten the basic principles of this great culture and are imitating Western culture. Alas! The are not aware of the greatness of their cultural heritage just as a mighty elephant is not aware of its own strength.

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It is unfortunate that are imitating foreign countries. Like the elephant which submits to the command of the , they do not recognize their own strength. Bharat is the land of highest spirituality. But all its sacred values are on decline due to modern education and culture.

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Think Of God First In Every Matter In ancient times, the contemplated on God and thought of God first while performing any auspicious task like building houses, performance of marriages, and other religious ceremonies. But, unfortunately, people of Bharat today have forgotten God who is the primal basis of the entire creation as they are enmeshed in worldly pleasures, considering the ephemeral world as permanent. Man should think of God first in every matter in his life right from the time he gets up from bed in the morning till he goes to sleep at night. Spirituality does not mean sitting in solitude with closed eyes. To experience the unity of the entire human race is true spirituality.

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The example of the and illustrates this truth. The considered God as everything, performed Dharmic actions, and adhered to truth. They always considered God first, the world next, and themselves last. Lord was first for them in all matters and they believed that everything happened by the Will of . had intense faith in and considered Him as his only refuge. But the thinking of the was just opposite to that of the . They considered themselves first, the world next, and God last. All their thoughts and actions were based on untruth and unrighteousness. That was the reason why they were defeated by the in the war. The story of teaches that only truth and righteousness lead man to success and victory.

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True Happiness Lies In The Service Of Society God has gifted the human body to man for performing righteous actions and serving others. So, man should always follow the path of and render service to society. Just as an iron machine gets rusted without use, the human body becomes dull without work. Man should use the body to perform noble tasks and redeem his life. You do not always get the work you like; so, love the work you get. Man should always consider that his happiness depends upon the happiness of society. Sai always advocates worship and wisdom for the redemption of human life.

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Action is the basis of human life. Man is born due to action, grows in action, and takes the next birth on the basis of his actions. Even though man’s pleasure and pain are the results of his actions, he unfortunately does not understand it and goes on performing unrighteous actions and does not discharge his duties properly. It is only through actions that man derives happiness. So, man should perform good actions and serve society. This is how he can derive true happiness. Since ancient times, have been deriving happiness by serving others. In fact, God has gifted the body to man to perform service to society. Therefore, he should use his body in this sacred way. Whatever actions man performs, their fruits come back to him in the form of reaction, reflection, and resound. As noble acts of service benefit the doer himself, it is for one’s own sake that one does service. Life without service is a living death.

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The entire universe is the gift of God. He is the first cause of creation. Everything in the universe is divine; all are the children of God. Man should think of God at all times as He is the Creator. Man should have strong faith in God. But man today has lost faith in God. When his desires are fulfilled, man praises God. But when his desires are not fulfilled, he blames God. God is the witness. He only confers bliss as He is bliss incarnate. Man himself creates his misery, which is the reaction of his own actions. If he sows bitter seeds, how can he reap sweet fruits? It is the sign of man’s weakness that he blames God for his sufferings. It was due to their own weakness that the continued to blame for their misery. God, in fact, undertakes suffering to make His devotees happy. God performs rare acts which man cannot conceive of. Man does not know what God is able to do for him.

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A true devotee knows that he will overcome his difficulties by earning the grace of God. was a devotee of Lord . He was very poor and lived in a small house. His family suffered tremendously due to his acute poverty. As his faith in was firm and his surrender to Him was total, provided all wealth and a palatial house to him. was a poor weaver who earned very little money by weaving cloth. As he wove the cloth, he continuously recited . As God was his sole support, he overcame his poverty.

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Sage sang, “Oh ! How can we know You? You are smaller than the smallest and bigger than the biggest. You pervade the entire universe. You steal the hearts of the devotees. “ Ke Bal” (the son of steals the hearts of devotees). Where is God? The abode of is . What does convey? ‘Hima’’ means soft, white, bright snow. ‘Achala’ means immovable, stable. Likewise, the heart of a true devotee should be pure and steady. So, purify your heart and make it sacred and steady. Then only can it attain the Divine. If it is agitated with evil qualities like anger, envy, how can it attain Divinity? So, man should get rid of evil qualities. God is always with you and all around you. Only those who are deserving can attain Him. Even though God is so near, many people do not receive what He wants to give. Even now when God has descended on earth in human form, people do not attain Him because they are beset with doubts. He is love incarnate and showers His love on one and all. Though God sometimes assumes human form, He is infinite like the ocean which has unlimited depth and the blue sky which is limitless. What does the blue color signify? It signifies unlimited vastness. That is why and had blue color.

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Divinity Is Supreme Consciousness Nobody can understand the of . Once when baby had eaten mud, complained to Mother . So, asked why He had eaten mud when there was so much butter and curd in the house. Then denied that He had eaten mud. When asked Him to open His mouth, she could see the entire universe in it. Then wondered: Is it a dream or some mystery? Am I ? Is He my child , or is it an illusion? When such thoughts overwhelmed her, she immediately hugged . When God incarnates on earth in human form, He covers Himself with the vesture of _M_aya. Just as ash covers the fire, cataract covers the eye and moss covers the water, God covers Himself with . With human body as illusion, God manifests infinite power and Divinity. But man cannot see His Divinity because of this illusion. always said, He is the son of even though sages recognised Him as Lord and worshipped Him. When was alone with , He revealed to her, “These demons must be killed. So, this drama has to be enacted though it is limited to the stage only.” What is behind the stage? This can be understood by and sages like and .

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Sages knew the Divinity of but they could not publicise it. If was not abducted, it was not possible to kill . Sage sent and to live in because he knew had the intention to kill and demon hordes. Everything happened when they went to . Sages knew the masterplan of as they had pure hearts and firm faith. Similarly, Sage took to and arranged His marriage with . This marriage was also a part of the masterplan.

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, Tvameva bandhuschcha sakha tvameva, Tvameva Vidya dravinam tvameva, Tvameva Sarvam mama Deva Deva.

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Why does perform actions? I have no need to act. Even then I act because unless I act, no one will be able to follow Me. I have to set an ideal for mankind. When God pervades the entire universe, how can you build a temple for Him? When He is Effulgence Itself, is a lamp necessary? When God moves in all waters, is it possible to give Him a bath? When He is present in all stomachs, is it possible to offer Him food? What more do you want to be conveyed? Even angels cannot know and understand Him.

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( closed His Discourse with the , "".)