Know Our True Reality
With all the material comforts we have we are still not satisfied. Our innate nature longs for the source of all happiness–knowing our true reality. Know this and strive for it. Here ‘s what Swami says.
When a person saw that a fish was struggling on a riverbank because the waters had receded, leaving it high and dry, he sympathized with its plight and took it home wrapped in his handkerchief. He found it struggling even when he put it to bed. So, he gave it a few teaspoonfuls of hot coffee. The poor fish could not survive such ignorant kindness. It died. If only he had put it back into the river, it could have lived happily. Even if you put it in a bowl studded with gems, it would be miserable. So too, it is man’s innate nature to revel in the divine. If you keep man in the world and pour material gains and comforts on him, he will still pine for God whom he knows to be the fountainhead of happiness.”
“Resolve before it is too late, to weed out the wrong and strange notions and fashions. Entertain the belief that God exists in every living being. All people are your people and all your people are God’s people. When someone hurts you or abuses you, mitigate that anger by the knowledge that you and he are both one, in God. When your teeth bite your tongue, you do not punish your teeth; Both tongue and teeth are yours, and both are equally loved by you.”
“Recognize the string that passes through every flower to make this one garland. When you see the flowers, the string is not seen; it is, however, the thing that holds them together. You can make, from the silver cup you have, a plate or a casket or an idol. Names and forms change but silver they all are and will continue to be. Call out for Rama or Krishna; they both come before you and announce, ‘I am Hama. lam Krishna.’ But who is this ‘l’ that is common to both Rama and Krishna? That common factor is the alma.”
The Toughest Armor, Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. Vlll
“Have all your attachments severed from every object and concentrate on one thing–your divinity…. It requires hard and constant practice. The mind can be conquered only by slow and steady practice…. impurity is a mere superimposition under which the real nature of man is hidden. My dear! You are the embodiment of God. Fill yourselves with the thought of your almightiness, your majesty and your glory. Open the gates of wisdom. Enter the abode of bliss. Rest in peace forever.”
J. Hislop, My Baba and I, p. 246
