Sanctify Every Moment
This New Year day is an opportunity to contemplate on the vastness of time, of its speed, of the short span of time that we share and which has to be put to the best use. Contemplate on the beginning of things, of nature, of life, of man, of the heart—all emanating from God and journeying toward God. Dwell on the grandeur of this procession from birth to liberation, through life after life. Become aware that you, nature, and all that is, was, and will be are God.
To attain this awareness, love is the surest means. Do not inflict pain on anyone through word or deed. Control your passions, emotions and impulses, especially, anger, envy, and greed. They thrive on the ego and make it a dangerous weapon. When you are enslaved by your passions, how can you stand forth and claim respect? Only cowards yield to their senses or passions. Brave men face up to them and win. The hero is he who overrules his mind and curbs his impulses; the zero is he who is overruled by them. Stand fast, like a rock when the waves beat. Have faith in your ideals, in God.
Do not allow faith to falter when failure comes into your door. Meet it as a new challenge, and triumph. Your faith must not be like your breath; for breath comes in and goes out, it is now in and now out. Let your faith be firm, with no alternations of entrances and exits. If faith is one full continuous stream, grace, too, will be showered on you in one full continuous stream.
Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. XII, p. 38
If you wish to embark on a new life, you need not wait for the arrival of a New Year. To wait for a whole year means waiting for 12 months, and so many days, hours, minutes, and seconds. Treat every second as new. Sanctify every moment of your life. This has to be done by realizing the unity of the Divine and the individual consciousness. When this union is achieved, ananda (spiritual bliss) is experienced. This is the primary task before everyone. Every second should be regarded as an expression of the Divine.
Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. XXV, p. 1
Be in perpetual contact with God. Let the pipe that leads into the tap, which is you, be connected with the reservoir of His grace. Then your life will be full of unruffled content. Without that awareness of the constant presence, any service that you do to others will be dry and barren. Be aware of it; then any little act of service will yield plentiful fruit.
Sarvathaah paani paadham: “God’s hands and feet are everywhere.”
Sarvathokshi Shiro mukham: “God’s eyes, head, and face are everywhere.”
Sarvathaah Sruthimalloke: “God’s ears are all over the universe.”
Sarvam aavruthya thishtathi: “He remains, enveloping all.”
Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol. XII, p. 51
