Self-Confidence

First of all, one should have faith in one’s own Self. Develop self-confidence, which will lead to self-satisfaction. When you have self-satisfaction, you will be prepared for self-sacrifice. Only through self-sacrifice, can one attain self-realization. Self-realization means to realize that you are everything. Self-confidence is the foundation, self-satisfaction is the wall, self-sacrifice is the roof and self-realization is life. No one can live in a building without roof. Roof cannot be laid without walls and walls cannot be raised without foundation. So, self-confidence, self-satisfaction, and self-sacrifice are very essential for self-realization. Today man has lost Self-confidence. If one loses Self-confidence, one loses everything. Only through Self-confidence can one have the vision of the latent divine effulgence.

Divine Discourse, Sathya Sai Baba, “The Life Principles of Man”

With the passage of time, due to the effects of Kali Age people have lost faith in the Self and have reposed faith in this transient and ephemeral world. Today man does not have even the self-confidence of birds and beasts. When a small bird rests on a thin branch of a tree, the branch starts tossing up and down. But the bird is not fear-stricken because it depends on its wings, not on the branch it rests. Bird has total reliance on its wings, but not man in his Self…he suffers as a result.

There is no scope for any doubt in a man with faith in the Self. He is unperturbed by the vicissitudes of life. Since ancient times, the culture of Bharath has had Self-confidence as the basis, but with the commencement of the modern age Self-confidence is on the decline. Every man should develop faith in the Self. One can attain the blissful state only through Self-confidence.

If man does not know his own Self, what is the use of knowing the rest? He reads newspaper every day in order to be aware of the happenings around the world. He makes efforts to know what is happening in every country, but does not put in any effort to know his own Self. He keeps questioning whosoever he comes across, “Who are you? Where do you come from?” but he does not put these questions to himself. There is no point in undertaking any spiritual practice without Self-enquiry.

Divine Discourses ’98, “Develop Steadfast faith in God”

It is only when you have developed self-confidence, confidence in the indwelling Atma, that you will be able to develop a strong confidence in the Lord. If you do not believe in yourself, you cannot truly believe in God. For the body-mind, this master is the indweller. He will never leave you. Therefore, by means of inner inquiry you should try to discover and recognize this unchanging indwelling divinity which is your true reality.

Sai Baba Gita, “Worldly Knowledge is Useless Without Self-knowledge”