Birthday Special

Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba was born on November 23, 1926 in a small village called Puttaparthi. The birth of this unique child was proclaimed by heavenly music; wise men had divine visitations; and noble people had dreams about His arrival. Soon He was a darling of the whole village; they looked at Him with awe, love, and devotion. He had no formal education, but He could quote from the teachings of all the great masters. As we celebrate His Birthday, let us reflect on  some of His teachings and strengthen their practice in our lives.

“I have come to correct the buddhi, the intelligence, by various means. I have to counsel, help, command, condemn, and stand by as a friend and well-wisher to all, so that they may give up evil propensities and recognizing the straight mark, tread it, and reach the goal. I have to reveal to the people the worth of the Vedas, the Sastras, and the spiritual texts, which lay down the norms. If you will accept Me and say “yes,” I too will respond and say, “yes, yes, yes.” If you deny and say “no,” I also echo “no.” Come, examine, experience, have faith. That is the method of utilizing Me. I do not mention Sai Baba in any of My discourses, but I bear the name as Avatar [incarnation] of Sai Baba. I do not appreciate in the least the distinction between the various appearances of God, Sai, Rama, Krishna, etc. I do not proclaim that this is more important or that the other is less important. Continue your worship of your chosen God along lines already familiar to you, and then you will find that you are coming nearer to Me. For all names are Mine, and all forms are Mine. There is no need to change your God and adopt a new one when you have seen Me and heard Me.”

~Baba’s Discourse, November 23, 1968

The first prayer that He taught was:

“Manasa Bhajare Guru charanam; Dusthara Bhava Sagara Tharanam.”

“I called on all those suffering in the endless round of births and deaths to worship the feet of the guru (spiritual preceptor), the guru who was announcing Himself, who had come again for taking upon Himself the burden of those who find refuge in Him. That was the very first message of Mine to humanity. “Manas bhajare.” “Worship in the mind!”

~Vijayadashmi Discourse, 1953

“She finished serving and nervously signaled that her offerings be accepted. With a swift movement Sathya swept all the food into one mass and rolled it into three balls. “Maya! Maya!” he kept repeating. Someone told the stupefied mother that Sathya was bidding her come near. She moved a few feet forward. He put one of the balls of food in her right palm and kept his palm before her to receive it. As she gave it back, Sathya ate, whispering, “Maya is gone, Maya has left.” The two other balls got the same treatment of inscrutable indifference. The extraordinary supper struck the elders, including Seshama Raju, as the culmination of the process of disassociation from filial and fraternal ties.”

~Easwaramma, The Chosen Mother

Three days of bhajan [devotional singing] and namasankirtan [chanting the name] passed in the garden. A photographer came with a camera. He wanted to remove a crude stone that was right in front of Him, but Baba did not heed the prayer. He clicked nevertheless and lo! As can be seen from the picture [above], the stone had become an image of Shirdi Sai Baba— but only in the photograph, not for all assembled there.

~Sathyam Sivam Sunadaram, Part I

“The first sixteen years of this life have been, as I have often told you, the period when bala leela [child play] predominated and the next sixteen is being spent mostly in mahimas [miracles] in order to give joy to this generation. Santosha or joy and contentment are short lived sensations; you have to catch the mood and make it a permanent possession—into ananda or bliss. After the 32nd year, you will see Me active more and more in the task of upadesa or teaching erring humanity and in directing the world along the path of sathya [truth], dharma [right action], shanti [peace], and prema [love]. Not that I am determined to exclude leela and mahima from My activity, after that. I only mean that re-establishing dharma, correcting the crookedness of the human mind and guiding humanity back to the sanathana dharma [ancient religion] will be My task thereafter.

Do not be led away by doubt and vain argument; do not question how and whether I can do all this. The cowherds of Brindavan also doubted whether the little boy [Krishna] who grew in their midst could lift [Mount] Govardhanagiri and hold it aloft. The thing needed is faith, and yet more faith.”

~Vijayadasami Discourse, 1953

“Always remember your mother’s love. Do not hurt your mother in any way. You say Swami’s love is that of a thousand mothers. When you are unable to comprehend and experience the love of a single mother, how can you understand the love of a thousand mothers? If you are unable to please your mother, how can you make Swami, happy? Swami will be happy when you make your mother happy. Swami does not want anything.”

~Baba’s Discourse, November 19, 1998

“Do not seek these pleasures relating to the body. Seek the divine feet of the Lord, which will confer enduring bliss. Do not grieve over petty difficulties. Concern yourself with the means to experience God. All other things are valueless. Bliss derived from experiencing the Divine has been extolled by the Vedic seers and sages from ancient times. It is holy, eternal, ineffable, and infinite. It is the bliss of Oneness with God.”

~Baba’s Discourse, April l, 1995

“Yesterday, while returning from Ooty, we halted at Bandipur Wild Life Sanctuary. Riding on a tame elephant we moved into the forest to catch a glimpse of wild elephants. Imagine! Sitting on an elephant we were seeking elephants! When we caught a glimpse of a trunk in a bush, we were overcome with delight. Sitting on a tame, domesticated elephant we were eagerly searching for an elephant in its natural surroundings, unaffected by artificial habits and skills. Man, too, is everywhere ignoring the God within himself in its natural environment and trying to seek the shadows that attract him.”

~Baba’s Discourse, January 6, 1977

“The cows deny their milk to their own calves and provide milk for humanity, giving freely of this milk, which is such a fine, nourishing food for mankind. Whatever troubles you might give to a cow, still it will give you sweet milk. So, cows have been doing only good for humanity, whereas humanity may be giving all kinds of troubles to cows.”

~Baba

“Man can learn many virtues from animals, birds, and insects. The donkey is a beast of burden and [an example of] patience. It bears a heavy load on its back. Though it is whipped repeatedly, it is patient. Though it is not given food and drink, it maintains balance. Man can learn patience from the donkey. The ant, the smallest creature, has fortitude and vision. It plans for the rainy season by gathering grains three months in advance. Then there is the spider. It has determination. In spite of repeated destruction of its web, it continues to weave one. Parrots remain devoted to each other as a couple. The Ramayana was originally inspired by the sadness of a lonely bird. A hunter once shot at a pair of birds; the female bird fell, but the male bird could not bear the pains of separation and it died. Valmiki watching the scene started composing the sacred text in sadness (shoka) and composed verses (sloka). Between two birds, if one life partner dies, the other will not live. The partner left behind will not take drink or food. And even human beings do not rigorously observe this life principle of sticking to one’s life partner. If one wife dies, a man will have many to follow. Therefore from the parrot we can learn the lesson of character. There are thus many virtues to be learned from animals, birds, and insects.”

~Baba’s Discourse, February 13, 1997

“Whatever violence is done to a tree, however much trouble is given to it by cutting its branches and taking some of its wood, the tree continues to give protection from rain and sun to any person who takes shelter under it, and it will try to continue to give that person joy. Trees have been doing good for people by giving fruit, flowers, and fuel, even though, in turn, people may have been doing harm to them.”

~Baba

“Divinity is invisible and intangible, yet is omnipresent. Without realizing the divinity within him, man becomes egoistic and feels that all his accomplishments are due to his education, intelligence, and physical prowess. But in reality it is the divinity that protects and safeguards man at every step from womb to tomb. No one has the power to protect one’s own self. It is only the Divine power and Divine will that enables man to protect himself. Only Divinity has free will, none else.”

~Baba

“However profound man’s scholarship may be, he does not know the answer to the only question that is worth asking, “Who am I?” He may travel to the moon, but he has failed to explore his own inner moon, the mind. When he knows the mind, its composition and behavior, he can know all about the universe too, for the universe is only a creation of the mind. Men of science must be humble that their discoveries are not as important as the discoveries of sages about the inner reality. Be thankful to the scientist for the inventions, the manipulations of material forces and objects. But do not give him more reverence than he deserves. Science can confer ease and comfort, alleviate disease, and analyze objects. It cannot confer calmness, equanimity, peace and bliss. It can improve the cart, make it firmer, more mobile, but it cannot improve or inspire the horse.” 

~Baba’s Discourse, May 18, 1968

“Life is a game of football. You are the ball, and you are bound to be thrown and kicked about, this side and that. How long have you to bear this treatment? Until the air is full in the ball. Deflate it; no one will kick it again. The air that inflates it is the ego. When the ego is out, bliss comes in.”

~Baba’s Discourse, July 10, 1980

“Men in their ignorance ask the question, ‘If God is omnipresent and all-pervasive, why is He not visible to us?’ When the sun is shining, clouds that have been caused by the sun’s heat hide the rays of the sun. When the sun is not visible because of the clouds, can you say that there is no sun? Likewise, the clouds of doubts and delusion, which arise in man owing to his conceit and ignorance, hide the Divine from him. When a strong wind blows, the clouds are dispelled and the sun is visible. Similarly, when the winds of love and faith blow, the clouds of doubt and egoism are scattered and God reveals Himself. Thus, though God is omnipresent, man’s lack of faith and his self-conceit prevent him from seeing God. To get rid of this disbelief and egoism, certain spiritual disciplines have to be observed.”

~Baba’s Discourse, January 14, 1991

Oh! Lord! Take my love and let it flow in fullness of devotion to Thee.
Oh! Lord! Take my hands and let them work incessantly for Thee.
Oh! Lord! Take my soul and let it be merged in one with Thee.
Oh! Lord! Take my mind and thoughts and let them be in tune with Thee.
Oh! Lord! Take my everything and let me be an instrument to work for Thee. 

With Love and Grace,
Baba