Believe in God and the efficacy of prayer.

[SS91]

Biggest Treasure!

Once a king led his mighty army across the snowy peaks into neighbor's kingdom for the war.

On his way, he saw an ascetic
(one who has mastered the senses and the mind) sitting on a bare rock with no clothes on his body and with his head held between his knees evidently to protect it from the chilly wind.

The king was overcome with pity; he took off his own shawl and coat and offered them to the yogi.

The yogi refused to accept them and said "I am wearing the cloth given by God since my birth and will wear it until the grave.

This cloth is enough to guard me against heat and cold.

Please give these to some one who is poor".

The king was surprised and asked, "Where can I find a poorer man than you?" Then, yogi asked him 'where he was going and why?'.

The kind said, "I am going into the realm of my enemy so that I can add his kingdom to my own".

Now, Yogi smiled and said, "You are not satisfied with your kingdom and prepared to sacrifice your life and lives of thousands to get a few more square miles of land.

Certainly, you are much poorer than me and so, offer the clothes to yourself. You need them more than I do."

The king was greatly ashamed and realized his innate poverty and the futility of fame and fortune.

He understood that contentment is the most precious treasure.

Man suffers from two types of agony - The first can be allayed through the intercession of others and the second can be allayed only by the individual's own effort.

 Hunger and thirst can be overcome only when the individual eats or drinks but not even an iota of hunger will abate however much others may eat. Similarly, the illness of inner man is cured only by helping yourself.

The illness is produced by the viruses of kama (desire), krodha (anger), lobha (greed), moha (delusion), madha (pride) and mathsarya (jealousy) which will not allow your divinity to shine forth and cause discontent, worry, grief and pain. Do not yield to them.

You can brave them only by manifesting your inner strength.

Man is a mixture of two strands of the same substance - Maaya and Maadhava (Divine illusion and God), Moha and Raama (delusion and God), deha and dehi (body and soul), jada and chith (inert matter and consciousness), sareeram and sareeri (body and the embodied), jeeva and Brahmam (individual soul and the Supreme Soul).

Maayaa can be recognized and driven out only when the mind is purified by prema and by avoidance of envy and hatred born out of egoism.

The traits of Raavana's lust; Shishupaala's pride; Kamsa's hate and Hiranyaaksha's envy are tainting every human heart.

Only the discipline of spirit through Japam and Dhyaanam can quench the flames and sooth the conflagration.

Naama without bhaava (Godward inclination of the mind) rarely reaches the target (Naami).

The name of the Lord must be recited with awe and wonder, humility and reverence.

The bow has to be drawn full before the arrow is released so that it will pierce the target.

Similarly, Feeling is the force that draws the string taut and makes the Naama reach the Naami (the bearer of the name). The bhaktha must form himself on the model of Bhagavaan; otherwise, he cannot claim for saaruupya (sameness of the Form of the Lord).

Having body-consciousness is against the highest spiritual dharma. Give your heart over to the Lord and move around as a dedicated being so that no harm can come to you.

Give each problem the attention it deserves but do not allow it to overpower you because anxiety will not solve any difficulty.

Remove the weight from your head by transferring all burdens to the Lord; leave everything to his will.

Feed your mind with sweet and wholesome food---Sathsangha, Sathpravarthana, Sarveshwara-chintha (company of the holy, speaking of God, thinking of the Lord of the Universe).

Believe in God and the efficacy of prayer.

 Om Sai Sri Sai Jaya Jaya Sai



subhasrini
OM SAI SRI SAI JAYA JAYA SAI!!!
Let us pray at the feet of Sai Baba who is the incarnation of all gods and protector of all, to show mercy on us, and increase our devotion towards him.