Sri Sathya Sai International Organization - USA

Keep at it!

Do not get discouraged that you are not able to concentrate for long from the very beginning. When you learn to ride a bicycle, you do not get the skill of keeping the balance immediately. You push the cycle along to an open field and hop and skip, leaning now to one side and now to the other and even fall with the cycle upon you on many an attempt, before you are able to ride with skill and never again to worry about the balance. Automatically, you are able to make the necessary adjustments to correct the balance, is it not? After getting this skill, you can ride through the narrow streets and lanes, and you do not need an open road. You can negotiate your vehicle through the most crowded thoroughfares. So, too, practice will equip you with a concentration that will sustain you in the densest of surroundings and the most difficult situations. February 23, 1958 SSS01, vol 5

http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume01/sss01-05.pdf

Make time for the divine within!

A person once told Dr. Johnson, the famous English thinker, that he could seldom get time to recite the Name of God, what with the hundreds of things he had to do from morning till nightfall and even far into the night. Dr. Johnson replied with another question. He asked how millions of people found space to live upon the face of the earth, which is two-thirds water and the rest is too full of mountains, deserts, forests, icy regions, river beds, marshes, and similar impossible areas. The questioner said that man somehow struggled to find living space. So too, said Dr. Johnson, man must somehow find a few minutes a day for prayer to the Lord.  - SSS01, Vol 2

http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume01/sss01-02.pdf

You are surrounded by grace, just plug in!

The Grace of the Lord is always flowing like the electric current through the wire. Fix a bulb, and the current, to the extent of the wattage, will illumine your home. The bulb is the spiritual exercises you perform; the home is your heart. Come to Me gladly; dive into the sea and discover its depth; there is no use dipping near the shore and swearing that the sea is shallow and has no pearls. Dive deep and you will secure your desire. - July 22, 1958, SSS01, vol 10

http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume01/sss01-10.pdf

The Power of Good Company

There were two parrots on a tree, twins to be more precise. A hunter trapped them and sold them, one to a low, cruel butcher and the other to a sage who was running an ashram to teach the Vedas. After a few years, he was surprised to find that one bird swore very foully, while the other recited the divine plays of the Lord in a sweet musical tone, which captivated the listeners. Such is the effect of the environment. So, seek and secure good company. September 03, 1958, SSS01, vol 15

http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume01/sss01-15.pdf

The best cleanser- God’s name

But remember, elation is Heaven, despondency is Hell. Have always some work to do, and do it so well that you get joy.Delusion is the dust that settles upon the glass of the chimney of the lantern and dims the light. The attachment to sensual objects and to the pleasure they give is the soot that sticks to the inside of the chimney; that also dims the light. Clean the chimney by repetition of the Name every day, and the flame will shine for you and others. Also, have good activities and good companionship. That will help very much in spiritual discipline; proper atmosphere is very essential for the aspirant. September 03, 1958, SSS 01, vol15

http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume01/sss01-15.pdf

Keeping the mind sharp

Gramophone records are all made of the same material. So too are all hearts of the same Supreme Consciousness. The grooves carved in them appear the same in all the plates. The grooves carved upon the hearts by grief and joy are also more or less the same. It is the needle that runs over the groove that produces through the sound box and the amplifier good music or bad. The needle is the mind, the mind that runs over the happiness and misery and translates or exaggerates the response and makes you feel elated or dejected. If the needle is sharp, the music is a pleasure to the ear. If it is blunt or broken, the sound becomes a screeching torture. December 20, 1958. SSS 01, vol 18

http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume01/sss01-18.pdf

Keeping the faith

In all effort, if you trust in a Higher Power, which is ready to come to your help, work is made easy. This comes out of devotion and reliance on the Lord, the source of all Power. When you travel by train, you have only to purchase the ticket, enter the proper train, and take a seat, leaving the rest to the engine. Why should you carry the bed and trunk on your head? So too, put your trust in the Lord and carry on to the best of your ability. Have faith in the Lord and His Grace. Try to earn it by using the intelligence and the conscience with which He has endowed you. September 21, 1960 SSS01, vol 28  http://www.sssbpt.info/ssspeaks/volume01/sss01-28.pdf

Overcome obstacles for oneness!

Pure love is like a well-paved, one-way road with no speed breakers. You can rush along it to God at whatever speed you want. Rivers also illustrate this principle. All rivers speed down from mountains. They flow fast and swift to somewhere. Where to? To the ocean. In the process, they go over boulders and rocks, skilfully avoiding obstacles on the way. They never stop, but keep moving all the time towards the goal. Life must be a river rushing towards the ocean called God. The flow should never stop or falter. Overcoming all obstacles, you must keep rushing towards God. That must be the characteristic of your spiritual journey. Be strong-willed, resolute, determined, and sincere. There should be no room whatsoever for despair, depression or weakness of any sort. Correct your vision and what you hear, introspect your thoughts and feelings, and ensure your actions are noble and good. Then, you will experience nothing but bliss.

Bhagwan Sri Sathya Sai Baba, Divine Discourse, May 21, 2000.

Practice is what makes it practical!

Your nature is divine; what has happened is that delusion has covered it with dirt. The washerman does not make your clothes white; they are white already; what he does is to manifest the whiteness by removing the dirt that has hidden the ge,nuine native colour, white. The washerman must have two good things to bring out the basic whiteness; soap and water. Both have to be good; you cannot manage with only one of the two. In the case of the mind and removal of the dirt therein, the soap is ethics and the water is its practice. Sathya Sai Baba  July 18, 1961 SSS02-12

In any situation, look deeper!

The orange rind is not very tasty, but it protects the fruit and preserves it. To get the sweetness of the orange, you must peel and throw off the rind. Such is the fruit of the tree of life; it is protected by a bitter rind, of course, but the wise man does not try to eat the rind; he gives it the consideration due to it and proceeds to throw it off; he then tastes the sweetness. - Sathya Sai Baba December 14, 1958, SSS 01, vol 17

All are children of God

Sai is beloved to all people, so you can take up any name that gives you joy. Tastes differ according to the temperament and character one has earned by generations of activity as a living being in this world. The proprietor of a coffee house goes to the nearby druggist for a pill to ward off his headache, and the druggist, when he gets a headache, goes to the coffee house for a cup of coffee, which he thinks will cure him. Men are like that: the tastes of people differ. The wise one says, “In God is All (Sarvam Brahma mayam)”; another, a yogi, says all is energy; a third, who is a devotee, says all is the play of Bhagavan (the Lord). Each according to their taste and according to their progress in spiritual practice. Do not hurry or ridicule them, for they are all pilgrims trudging along the same road. Sathya Sai Baba Vijayadashami 1953, SSS 01.01

What is essential is invisible to the eye!

The eye which is an inch long can see the stars, millions of miles away; but, is it the eye that sees? Can the eye see itself?. No. You must learn how to know others and more than that, how to know yourselves. You are most curious about others. Even casual acquaintances you meet in railway compartments, you ask about their family affairs, their property, and lineage. But, you do not know your own lineage, property, your heritage and status. You are Manuja, born of Manu, the person who laid down the moral code which is your property. You have the Lord installed in your heart and so, you are essentially Divine. Sathya Sai Baba 19 February 1966