With Love and Gratitude – By Anush Mohan Excitement ran high amongst the vanara ranks. The Lord’s work was at hand. The bridge to Lanka had to be built as soon as possible and they could not afford to waste any time. They threw into the sea whatever they could lay their hands on – tree trunks, rocks, boulders; even hills were uprooted for the purpose. On the shore a tiny squirrel was keenly watching all the action. All of a sudden, this little creature too felt a sudden urge to participate in the Lord’s mission. He was aware that he was too small to be of any use. “I am too little,” he thought to himself. “What will I be capable of doing amongst these gigantic monkeys?” Then, somewhere in his tiny little mind, an idea flashed. He rolled about in the sand, ran down to the bridge, shook off a few grains of sand, ran back to the shore, collected some more sand and deposited it on the bridge. The tiny squirrel repeated this ceaselessly, without any break. Some distance away, Lord Rama was seated in His tent watching the antics of this little squirrel.  Amply pleased by its service, Lord Rama picked it up and lovingly caressed it. As a mark of Lord Rama’s appreciation of this little squirrel, three golden streaks appeared along the squirrel’s spine where the Lord’s fingers had touched it. Even today squirrels bear the sign of God’s appreciation on them in the form of the three stripes running across their back. When God Himself has shown so much of appreciation for a task which is so insignificant, how much of gratitude must we show the Lord for all that He has done for us? He has given us everything bountifully and made our lives peaceful and happy in His Presence. This is true of Swami’s own students – whom He considers as His own property. To enumerate all that He Has done for us would be an impossible task. He has given us education of the highest standards free of cost, a spiritual foundation too strong to be shaken, and above all this, His physical proximity, which is the envy of gods, and His limitless love, which is unmatched in any way. To be with Him is what the devas and the gandharvas yearn for. We enjoy His presence day and night and drink the nectar of His Love. Sages perform penance for thousands of years to earn His grace, and here He is showering it on us in abundance. What more can we ask for? Bhagavan is like a potter who has shaped us with His own hands into beautiful pots from mere lumps of clay. It is time we offered our heartfelt gratitude to Bhagavan for having given us everything in life. What does our great Lord ask from us in return? The lines of a song drift into my mind – “All I want is your Love, my child, all I want is your faith All I want is your Love in God, no matter what’s your faith So says Baba, Sathya Sai Baba, Sathya Sai Baba, my Lord.” Love is all that He seeks. Is it too much to ask for? The word ‘Love’ reminds me of a touching incident, which according to me is the best example of gratitude. When preparations were being made to commence the construction of Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medical Sciences in Prasanthi Nilayam, Bhagavan was looking into every detail connected with the construction. During one darshan session, while moving amongst the students He accepted a letter from a little boy. Clutching the letter in His hand, he went inside the interview room accompanied by some doctors. He suddenly came out and beckoned that small boy. He asked him, “Should I read out aloud what you have written to me in this letter so that everyone can hear?” The little boy was hesitant for a while and then he replied, “Whatever You wish Bhagavan.” Bhagavan then read out this boy’s letter for everyone present to hear. The boy recounted in the letter how Bhagavan was providing free education to all His students and was now constructing a big hospital that would provide the most modern health care facilities to every section of the society totally free of cost. This little schoolboy prayed that he too wanted to be a part of Bhagavan’s glorious mission. Yet, being a small boy from a middle class family, he did not know how he could contribute to Bhagavan’s work. He mentioned in the letter that for the last three months he had been trying to save from the meagre amount his parents sent him every month. In order to do this he had avoided giving any clothes to the washerman and had been washing his clothes himself everyday. He had also resisted the temptation of chocolates and other delicacies so as to save some money. In all his innocence, this boy now wanted to offer a hundred rupees to Bhagavan. While he was ashamed that he could offer only such a small amount for this gigantic task, he prayed to Bhagavan to accept this offering saying that he would be the happiest child in the world if this money could be used to buy a small brick for the new hospital. So saying, he had enclosed a hundred rupee note with his letter.  There was a twinkle in Bhagavan’s eyes when this letter was read out. Like a proud mother Bhagavan held the 100 rupee note in His hand and told the little boy, “My dear son, this is not a 100 rupee note for me. This note is worth much, much more than crores for me.” It was not the amount that Bhagavan saw, but the feeling of love and gratitude, which had poured forth from the innocent boy’s heart. The Lord is ‘Bhaava Priya’ and not ‘Baahya Priya.’ We must also make an effort to repay our debt

Be Perfect! – By Prof. E. Mukundan Years ago, Bhagavan granted interview to a group of youngsters from Kerala. Bhagavan graciously materialized a ring and put it on the finger of one of the boys. Amazed and overjoyed, he was enjoying the beauty of the Creator’s Creation. “Is ring perfect?” queried the Lord. “Yes, Swami!” the boy answered. To this, Swami said, “Be perfect!” Life’s journey as a humble child of our Beloved Bhagavan is a journey ‘from Sai, with Sai, to Sai’. This journey demands perfection at each and every step, then only can we realize the perfection that is within ourselves! This journey to perfection demands constant self-audit; the ‘ABC of Life’ that Swami has given us, “Always Be Careful” is very important in this regard. During one of the Vishu elebrations, I got the opportunity to speak in the Divine Presence. In the speech, I highlighted Bhagavan’s assurance, “When you take one step, I take a hundred.” In the Divine Discourse that followed, Bhagavan said, “What Mukundan said is correct. When you take one step, I take a hundred. But, that one step must be in the right direction.” The awareness about this ‘right direction’ must be the light that guides our life’s journey. Another important aspect of this journey is: be positive always. The second Sadhana Camp of the Sai Youth of Kerala was in progress at Brindavan. On 11th of April 2004, a drama was to be staged by the Sai Youth in the Sai Krishan Kalyanamandapam. At 4.45 pm, we went inside Trayee to report to Bhagavan that everything was ready. But Bhagavan gave us the opportunity to sit near him and talked to us on the theme of the drama. When the discussion came to the point of positivism, Bhagavan asked, “Where does this positivism come from?” Bhagavan was evidently not satisfied with the various answers that we gave; He went on asking the question over and over again. All that we could do was to pray for the Divine Answer on this vital point. Finally, Swami declared, “Positivism need not come from outside; it is inside only. Our duty is to develop it.” Bhagavan’s Love knows no limits. On one of the days of the Sadhana Camp for the Sai Youth of Kerala in 2005, two youngsters were selected to speak in the Divine Presence, as instructed by Bhagavan. When Swami came to the verandah of the Sai Kulwant Hall, the boys were about to get up to come to Swami. I signaled to them to sit down and conveyed to them that they could come to Swami after Swami occupied the chair. But Swami intervened and told me, “No… They are coming from distant places… Let them come to Me…” It was on the first day of the Sadhana Camp for Sai Youth in 2003. All the Sai Youth had assembled at the Sai Ramesh Hall, when Swami came for Darshan. I prayed to Bhagavan to inaugurate the Camp, to which Swami asked, “At what time?” “Swami… 8.30…” I replied. “Why so early?” asked Swami, “The boys and girls have just come. They may not have had their breakfast.” It was another instance that revealed how much Swami cares for each and every one of us. Bhagavan has categorically remarked that His love for us is to the level of seeing Himself in every one of us. Let us see Swami in all, so that our love is pure, selfless and perfect. In this divine journey, it is best to realize that we are nothing and He is Everything. It is He who plans; it is He who does. In 2004, a school named ‘Sri Sai Vidya Vihar’ was opened in Aluva. The response from the public was tremendous and applications piled up in our office. It became necessary that we purchased a new plot and constructed a bigger building. Banks came forward to offer help. Everything was set to take a financial loan from a bank. Suddenly a devotee came to our office and said, “Why take a loan? This is Swami’s school… I shall contribute the cost of the entire project.” We are amazed at the amount of confidence the society has in Swami and His Principles. When we announced the opening of the Sai School, many parents withdrew their children from prestigious schools (despite the heavy donations they had paid to them) and enrolled them in our school. To one of the Muslim parents who had come for admission, we made it clear that we would teach the children Bal Vikas lessons, Veda and Yoga, he happily responded, “Why not? These are part of our culture, let my child also learn them…” After one of the sessions of ‘Sai Parenting’ that was held in the school, a mother approached us and said, “I am terribly upset after today’s session; to this day, I have not been a good mother.” It is a matter of great joy seeing how the society of Kerala is adhering to Sai ideals. ‘Sai Parenting’ has become the guiding principle of families all over the state. When our young ‘Sai Soldiers’ – the team formed to take Swami’s message to newer and newer areas – visited new areas, they observed that Swami was not at all new there. Wherever they went, they were greeted by Bhagavan’s photographs. Now Swami’s Message is reaching every nook and corner of Kerala. Bhagavan’s Infinite Love has transformed the Sai Youth of the state. The three Sadhana Camps in the Divine Presence were unique and have provided golden opportunities for them. Now they are fully involved in the Grama Seva Project. We have also been arranging Summer Camps for the Bal Vikas children all over the state for the past three years. Going through the responses of the children, we understand that much more than the sessions of the camp, what touched and transformed them was the love and care the Sai brothers and sisters shared with them. They are motivated to involve themselves in the Sai activities.

Jesus was Love and Compassion in Human Form  Friday, December 25, 1981 Christmas was celebrated at Prashanti Nilayam on this day. The Christmas Eve was celebrated by the overseas devotees in the Divine Presence at the Round building in Prashanti Nilayam. On 25th morning, Swami gave Darshan through the the silver door from the Mandir balcony. At Poornachandra Auditorium the same evening, Swami permitted the Alumni Association of the Anantapur Campus, ‘Kingdom of Mother Sai’, to celebrate their annual day on 25th December every year. Then Bhagavan delivered His Christmas Discourse followed by a cultural programme by the overseas children. Bhagavan posed for photographs with the children after the show and accepted Mangala Arati.  In His Christmas Discourse, Swami said: “Love binds one person to another. Love attaches one thing to another. Without Love the Universe is naught. The highest Love makes us aware of the Lord in everyone. The Lord is equally present in all. Life is Love; Love is Life. Without God, deprived of God, nothing and nobody can exist. We live on and through the Divine Will. It is His will that operates as Love, in each of us. It is He who prompts the prayer, “Let all the worlds be happy.” For, He makes us aware that the God we adore, the God we love, the God we live by, is in every other being as Love. Thus, Love expands and encompasses all creation. Looking a little closer, we discover that life itself is Love. They are not two but one. Love is the very nature of life, as burning is the nature of fire, or wetness of water, or sweetness of sugar. We tend a plant only when the leaves are green; when they become dry and the plant becomes a life-less stick, we stop loving it. Love lasts as long as life exists. The mother is loved as long as there is life in her; when life departs, we bury her without the least compunction. Love is bound with life. In fact, Love is Life. The person with no Love to share is as bad as dead. This is the reason why love expands in an ever-widening circle. Love is the fruit of life. The fruit has three components’ the skin, the juicy kernel and the seed. To experience the fruit, we have first to remove the skin. The skin represents egoism, the ‘I’ feeling, the excluding, limiting, individualising principle. The seed represents ‘selfishness’, the ‘mine’ feeling, the possessive, the greedy, desireful principle. This too has to be discarded. What remains is the sweet juice, the rasa, which the Upanishads describe as Divine, the Love Supreme. Parama Prema is Jyothi, Amrutam, Brahma: “Aapo Jyoteeraso Amrutam Brahma.” Everyone has the right to partake of this nectarine prema and to share it with others. No one is excluded on the basis of race, caste, creed or place of origin. The only condition is: “Have the skin and the seed been removed?” Give Love to God and be liberated from worry When the Love Principle is known and practised, man will be free from anxiety and fear. Imagine your visiting a friend in a city and planning to stay with him for ten days. You have some money with you, and you are afraid to carry it about with you. Now, if you have handed over the purse to your friend for safe-keeping, you can happily go round, to all the places in the city and suburbs you long to visit. You can roam through the busiest market, with no trace of fear. The purse you had is Love; give it all to God. He will liberate you from worry, anxiety and fear. Through Japa, Dhyana and seva Sadhana, you have to cultivate Love towards God. Take Dhruva, for example. He prayed and practised austerities in order to induce God to grant him the rulership of the Kingdom. But when God appeared as Vishnu before him, he said, “Lord! I do not desire the Kingdom. I want you and you only.” Similarly in the preliminary stages, one prays for worldly boons and material gain, but as thoughts get clarified and purified, one desires just one boon from the Lord – He Himself! For, God is the entity closest to man, dearest to man. Your mother and father might be a little afar but God is right with you, in you. Even if you do not love Him, He will not depart from you or move afar. “Anoraneeyaan” (smaller than the atom) say the Vedas. He becomes “Mahato Maheeyaan,” expanding beyond the cosmos and filling all with grace. In every cell. He will be in you. You can earn this awareness through intense Love.  Good works always provoke the wicked Jesus was compassion (Karuna) come in human form. He spread the spirit of compassion and conferred solace on the distressed and the suffering. Noticing the torture of birds and beasts at the Temple in Jerusalem, he reprimanded the vendors and drove them out of the precincts. He drew upon himself the anger of the priests. Good works always provoke the wicked. But one should not falter or fear when opposition obstructs. The challenge gives joy; it evokes hidden sources of strength; it brings down Grace to reinforce the effort. Pleasure springs during the interval between two pains. One has to struggle with difficulties in order to taste the delight of victory. Jesus was the target for many mighty obstacles and he braved them all. As a result, his name and story and message are shedding splendrous light all over the world now. Not Jesus only, every Prophet, Messenger of God, Teacher of Truth and Spiritual Leader had to wade through ridicule, neglect and persecution. Though a diamond is cast in a dust bin, its lustre remains; its price will not diminish. Though a sweet pumpkin grows on a thorny fence, its taste remains; its attraction will not diminish. Even if a peacock’s egg is hatched in a

Sri Sathya Sai Baba: The Light of My Life – Lt.Gen. S. P. Malhotra (Retd.) Our first contact with Baba came while He was visiting Ooty. The year was April 1974. At that time, I was stationed at Wellington (Nilgiris), Tamil Nadu, commanding the Defence Services Staff College. I got to know about Baba’s visit from my staff officer, Brigadier Dixit who had gone for His darshan the previous day. Till then, we had no knowledge of Swami. After hearing so much about Baba’s miracles, our curiosity was roused and we decided to go for His darshan the next day. We listened to His discourse, which was in Telugu. We returned blessed and with a feeling that He is Divine. We were told that Baba was visiting Wellington the next morning. So, I requested Him to visit our Staff College temple and bless the staff and the students. Baba very kindly acceded to my humble request and visited our temple. His discourse in Telugu was interpreted in English by one of the students. We indeed felt blessed by Swami’s visit to our Institution.  We were told that Baba was leaving for Bangalore that day but we took a chance and went again for His darshan. We were lucky because Baba had not gone. He called us for the much coveted interview. He was all love and kindness and we were immediately drawn to Him. This started our journey of realizing the Supreme and my Light of Love. He changed the course of my life. I believed in God but I was not particularly a religious man in the conventional way. My contact with Swami turned me Godwards in the true sense. A Professor from Arizona University characterized Baba as “Love walking on two legs”, Walking or sitting, talking or silent, Baba is Love, all the time, to all, in all places. Many people have been transformed by His very Darshan. My wife and I visited the ashram at Puttaparthi a few months later. The occasion was Shivaratri 1975. The crowds were large but He made it possible for us to have a vantage position in the auditorium. The Shivaratri experience was breath-taking. The next morning I was fortunate to get prasadam from Swami’s divine hands. My joy knew no bounds. My conversation with Baba was a heavenly experience.  We have been visiting Puttaparthi again and again for three decades. He has showered us with His grace and given so much love. His love is phenomenal, very difficult to understand fully. Baba is a great giver and His love flows to all alike. Our greatest blessing was when Swami listened to our prayers and visited Kashmir. It was a real boon for the people of Kashmir and His devotees in particular. During his stay, he blessed thousands of devotees, irrespective of caste or creed. He appeared to be happy and relaxed during His stay at all the places He visited. As you enter Srinagar, there is a giant hoarding which reads, ‘If there is a paradise on earth, it is here’. This became a reality when Baba spent almost two glorious weeks there. The time spent in His close proximity was absolutely heavenly and seems like a dream today. He was like a father, mother, friend, guru, all in one. It must have been our great good karmas of past births that brought Bhagavan to our humble home. Baba has been our tower of strength, whenever we faced a crisis. Our son met with a serious scooter accident in 1978. He was in Mumbai at that time. In the middle of the night, a speeding taxi had hit him. He was grievously hurt but his head was saved despite the fact that he did not have a helmet on. It was Swami’s mercy that saved his life. It took some months but he recovered fully without any permanent disability. We faced another crisis in the early 80’s when our son-in-law came up with a rare kidney ailment. The doctors did not have a ready cure for it. They also felt that even if he recovered, the disease would recur. We were very worried and approached Baba for his help. Swami knew about the ailment and created some medicine to be given to him. After he took the medicine for a few days, the disease started receding and has never recurred. It was Swami’s grace. My own case is well known. I came up with herpes zoster of the eye. It came up in a severe form and also got aggravated due to my preoccupation with some important work. By the time, I was flown to the Army Hospital in Delhi, my eyes were not opening. It was a real bad case and the doctors were most concerned. Dr. Bhagavantam and Mr. Sohan Lal came to see me in the hospital; Baba had very kindly sent some vibhuti packets through them. Once I was better and able to travel, I came to Swami. He reprimanded me for being negligent and said He had gifted me my eyes. During this period, I was suffering from acute post herpes pains, for which medical science has only pain killers. Baba took away these pains when I spent a week at Puttaparthi under His benign eye. He took me off the pain killers and I came back fully cured. My face had ugly pigmentation marks which the doctors said would never go. In course of time, even those marks disappeared. Such is Swami’s love for His devotees and I felt His benevolence as I recovered. Swami has been our anchor, all these years. We have felt His benign influence in our day to day life, more so in our hour of stress and need. Sai Baba’s mission does not imply any new cult or religion. Swami wants us to respect all faiths; however, he would like each of us to adhere to his own religion and practise it sincerely. He says there is only ONE GOD and all the religions are various paths

How can we make the New Year a Divine Experience? Every man has his origin in Truth. He is sustained by Truth. And he merges in Truth. He is the embodiment of Truth. When every individual recognizes this truth, the whole world will be permeated by Truth. What man should seek today is not pleasure. Nor is his goal sorrow. Man should bring under his control the source of pleasure and pain. More than pleasure, it is pain that awakens the wisdom in man. If you study the lives of great men, you find that it is out of trouble and pain that they derived wisdom. Without sorrow there can be no wisdom. It is pain that teaches many wise lessons to man. Not realizing this profound truth, man pursues pleasure endlessly. No doubt man needs to be happy. But how is happiness to be achieved? It is only when sorrow is overcome that man realizes happiness. Hence everyone should welcome sorrow in the same spirit in which he greets happiness. Wherefrom does pleasure come? When pain is got rid of, pleasure is secured.  Treat pleasure and pain alike as Divine Gifts  In our country today the young boys and girls are the inheritors of the prosperity or poverty of the nation. The future progress of the nation depends on them. Hence, these boys and girls are the true wealth of the nation. It has to be realized that man is the architect of his own pleasure and pain. Hence he should face with equanimity whatever happens to him – good or evil. God is described as Siddhi Swaroopa (the embodiment of wish fulfillment). He is also described as Amogha (One without a limit or measure). This means that the power of the Divine is infinite. He is also known as Aprameya (the immeasurable). Hence, everyone should treat whatever happens to him as a gift from God. Pleasure and pain should be treated alike as Divine gifts. There is a unique joy in this process.  In daily life we tend to treat defeat, loss or grief as calamities. But, nothing occurs in the world without a cause. Hunger is the cause for eating. Thirst is the cause for drinking.  Difficulties are the cause of sorrow. If man is to enjoy enduring happiness, he must discover the source of such happiness. That source is love (prema). There is nothing greater than love in this world. Everything has a price. The price to be paid for enduring happiness is Divine Love. Without Love, no object can give you real happiness. Hence, the primary wealth for man is Love. Everyone should seek to acquire this wealth. With this wealth anyone can enjoy enduring bliss. Pain divinizes the pleasure that follows it We witness in the world all kinds of pains and sorrows. But none of these is permanent. Every term of pain is followed by pleasure. The experience of pleasure is refined and enhanced by the earlier experience of pain. Like the refinement of gold by melting in a crucible, pain divinises the pleasure that follows it. The New Year or a new month does not bring with it any new joy or sorrow. Every moment is new. Every second is new, because it heralds the march of time. A year is in fact a succession of seconds turning into minutes, days and months. It is only when every moment is cherished as new, will the new year become new. The sacred way in which every moment is spent will determine the fruitfulness of the year. If you wish to lead a sacred life and have sacred experiences, you must engage yourself in sacred actions. The good and evil in the world can be changed only by the change in men’s actions. Transformation of society must start with transformation of individuals. This morning the students recited a Vedic prayer about students living together in amity and acting in unison. But they did not mention the crucial passage in the prayer which declares: Let us live in harmony free from conflict” The Vedic hymn stresses that unity can come only when people live together without discord. Hence everyone should give no room for conflict or unrest but lead a life of harmony and love with others. Love is the dispeller of the darkness of ignorance God is ever love incarnate. His love permeates the world. The universe is termed Visvam because of the Lord’s presence in the entire cosmos. One of the names of the Lord is Vishnu. Etymologically the word refers to one who is present throughout the universe. God is the cause and the cosmos is the effect. The Lord is also known as Atma, which means light or effulgence. The Lord is the dispeller of the darkness of ignorance. Every word used in the ancient scriptures has profound inner meaning. This profundity is characteristic of the Bharatiya spiritual heritage. Very few are interested in exploring these profundities. Most people confine themselves to ritualistic worship for a brief time every day. They do not even attempt to know what for they are performing these rituals. There is no meaning in performing these rituals without understanding the purpose and goal of life. The ultimate purpose of all spiritual exercises is to realize the Love Principle (Love of the Divine). To foster love is the purpose of all spiritual endeavor. In no circumstance should love be given up or ignored. Where there is love, there can be no hatred, grief or want.  Time is passing. You are all growing in years. But there is little change in your attitudes. Purity in thought results in purity in knowledge and wisdom. Self-Realization can come only through spiritual wisdom (Jnana). Many in the world acquire wealth, fame and position. But what have they achieved in terms of the goal of life? Their failure is due to lack of understanding of the unity that underlies the apparent diversity. It is a mark of spiritual goodness to recognize the divine in everyone. Prahlada