Out of One, Many
The thought manifests as word, the word manifest as deed; the deed develops into habit; the habit hardens into character. So, watch the thought and its ways. Let is spring from love, love that is born out of respect for all beings, for all beings are divine. Never forget that Reality.”
“Truth of Truths,” Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. VII
Differences that strike you while you cast your eyes are illusory; you have not yet developed the vision that makes you apprehend the unity which is the truth of all the seeming diversity, that is all. The fault is in you not in the world. The wold is One, but each takes it to mean what pleases him most. The world is one, but each sees it from his own angle and so, it appears as if it has multiple faces. Japa Sadhana SSS VII
When we do service, Swami reminds us, “It is not the quantity that matters….It is the inner joy, the love that you radiate that is important. The Will to Will Not, SSS VII
Expansion is the key to happiness and love is the unfailing key to expansion.
“Elephants and the Lion,” Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. VII
There is one royal road for the spiritual journey-love, love for all beings as manifestations of the same divinity that is the very core of oneself. This faith alone can ensure the constant presence of God within you and endow you with all the joy and courage you need to fulfill the pilgrimage to God. Pride and the Fall, SSS VII
Change your vision and the world will appear accordingly. Let the eye be charged with the Divine, it will see all as God. It is foolish to try to shape the world. Shape yourself as the embodiment of peace, love and reverence. Then, you will see all as love, compassion and humility.
“Beside, Behind, Before,” Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. VII
Unity has to be understood and practiced at many levels: in thought, word and deed; in seeing the One amidst many names and forms; and in being one with God. Here is what Swami says.
“Mankind can win happiness only through unity and not through diversity. If thoughts and feelings run along the routes of distinction and division, happiness is beyond reach and peace cannot be experienced. Without peace man has no chance to be joyful. Consider the one indivisible ocean as the goal; then, what does the direction of the flow matter? They merge in the self same sea, is it not? When spiritual aspirants, adopting the path of yoga or devotion, or the path of peace, right conduct, truth and love—reach the ocean of grace at last—name and form fade away; distinctions disappear. They are blessed with the merger in the sea of peace. So, unity must ever be kept before the eye; never nourish ideas of differences, of distinct names and forms of the Lord, or paths which are divergent. Such ideas are obstacles for the attainment of bliss. Avoid these obstacles. Develop the equal vision. Remember, peace is the royal road to strengthen that vision and reach the ocean of grace.”
Prasanthi Vahini, pp. 31-32
“Just as the same blood stream circulates in all the limbs of the body, the same one Divine activates the entire universe. Do not over emphasize individual variations, but fix your attention on the universal kinship. Ignore the beads, concentrate on the unifying eternal ever present thread.”
Truth—What is Truth, p. 152
“To earn that consciousness of “not two”, love alone is the path. Prema (love) means seva (service) which means sadhana (spiritual effort), which means expansion, self-enlargement, reaching out to the very horizon of being and becoming until all is I.”
“Sathatham Joginah,” Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. VIII
“True liberation consists in giving expression in words to the thoughts which arise in the mind and to practice what one says. The ancients considered this triple unity as a form of yoga. … Hence every man should strive to achieve unity in thought, word and deed.”
Sanathana Sarathi, February 1995, p. 30
When asked where you have come from, you quickly reply,”From Delhi” or “From Calcutta” … . Within the body, as its source, sustenance and support, there is the embodied one, distinguishable from the body. Where has it come from? That is beyond your ken. Investigate into that; discover the answer; that is the task of man. You will be released from this role, only when you have overcome this colossal ignorance and realized the source, the sustenance and the support of, not only our seeming individuality, but of all the manifold million-faced sparks of that one divine force. Do not delay any further; the minutes are fleeing past; be inspired by the yearning to drink the nectar of the realization of your true worth.”
“Unit In Unity,” Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. VI
