Passage 4

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In plain words

Any man, wherever he may be, can go forward in life only when he relies on morality. Morality itself is the true glory of man. You must strive to earn such glory.

To keep the rules of morality is the true pūjā

What does it mean to perform pūjā to God? It is not enough merely to offer flowers and recite mantras. To keep the rules of morality, following God's command, is the true pūjā. We are doing some meritorious deeds, holding feasts, singing God's glory. we are praying; and with that we rest content. But God needs none of these. All the prayers you offer, you offer for your own sake, not for God's sake.

Japa, tapas, yoga, mantra, yantra, tantra...... all these are things you practise for your own sake; God needs none of them. You need not pray to God in this way. If you carry out your duty properly, the Prema and grace of God will come to you quite naturally. But you are not carrying out your duty properly. How then will the Prema of God come to you? Every moment God is thinking only of man's welfare. If you ask where God is, He is everywhere. Where we are, God is there. To think that such a God is somewhere far away from us is madness!

It is Satya and Dharma that protect us!

As Mukundan (president of the Sai Organisation of Kerala State) said in his speech, Satya is God, and God is Satya. So we must keep guarding Satya. Bhāratīya culture teaches, “Satyaṃ brūyāt priyaṃ brūyāt na brūyāt satyam apriyam...” Not only that. “Satyaṃ vada, dharmaṃ cara”: we must speak Satya, we must practise Dharma. Satya and Dharma alone have stood as the very foundation of this world. Wherever we go, Satya and Dharma alone stay with us, in our home, behind us and beside us, and keep protecting us. Ānanda and happiness both spring from Satya alone.