THOUGHTS OF SRI SAI BABA AND UPASANA

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Discourse No. (32)
SAINTS AND SAGES
Saints and sages are the pillars of society. They are manifestations of God's perfection. Revere them, sit at their feet and draw the nectar of life from their inspiration. They are the visible and invisible guides of your world's destiny. But for them, your world would go into pieces and there would be nothing but confusion and anarchy. They reverber­ate with God's voice, which speaks through them. They are the becon lights and unfailing guides of all mankind. They show the way from darkness to light, from death to immoratlity. They are the virgin minstrels, the music of whose souls reaches the different strata of life and enriches your earth plane with the song and beauty of God's good­ness and greatness.

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Discourse No. (33)

GOD'S LOVE AND LIGHT
Live in God's love and light. Live for God and He will give you light. Love all and He will love you all the more. Make God's Light and Love, the symbols of your life, the web and woof of your life, the tapestry of your life, the be all and end all of your life.

God's light is divine wisdom. It is greater than all the wealth of your world and al lthe learning of your so-called men of learning. God's light is the cannel of happiness. God's love is the fragrance of the heart that sweeps away all shadows of despair and distrust. It sweetens life and tunes the soul in harmony with all things in nature. God's love is heart's music, the radiant light that dispels all clouds of sadness and fills the soul and mind with rapturous delight. Think of God, every minute of your life waking or sleeping and you would be saturated in waves of ecastatic joy. Why think of the sordidness of life when the great treasure of God's love and light is within your reach Without God's love and light, life is a tinsel, a vortex of despair and dissolution. Live for God and God alone, for that is the only way to LIBERATION.

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Discourse No. (34)

MAKE LIFE A SAGA, AN EPIC OF HEROISM
Kindly keep your eye on the twinkling star in the firmament and not cast it on the mud beneath your feet. See the rose in its blossom and glory and not the thorns that pierce and hurt. See God in everything from the star to the dust and you will be filled with a passionate longing for God and eternity.

Life is a puzzle and quagmire if you get yourself engrossed in worldliness. Keep away from the snare of Maya and you would see God in all His glory and greatness. Never sink but keep a brave heart to the very end, for with God in your heart and mind, you cannot but reach the destined goal of liberation. Crosses are life's redeemers. Kiss them, not shun them. They will take you to your goal quicker.

Sing the song of God as you go merrily along life's dusty path, without sadness or remorse. Be not an owl but a nightingale. Sing to the tune of the whirling spheres. Breathe not a word of sadness. Make life a saga, an epic of heroism-Don't quiver and quail, if dragged down by adversity-Adversity is Nature's sweet drink. Drink it, for it is riot poison but nectar. Keep radiant and smiling even when winds blow you and storms burst upon you. Think of the silver lining in every cloud. Keep cheerful and happy  for there is God within you. Worship Him and you are safe as a rock in all the tempests of life, in all the storms of adversity.

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Discourse No. (35)
SILENCE - THE LANGUAGE OF ETERNITY-Silence is the language of Eternity. It is a gateway to Godhood. It is the impulse of God in man. Its arch is sublimity. Its base is fearlessness. It is a key to all knotty problems of life. Man learns more through silence than from desultory reading and writing.

Silence is the flower of the heart, the amber of life, the fragrance of the mind, the jewel of the deep sea. Sit in silence and commune with God and Nature. You will gain the peace of rnind and the heart's rapturous joy. Watch the stars and the spheres in the firmament in the still silence of the night and the music of God would flow in you with a mystic spell. Make silence your joyful companion. Disdain and keep away from the shouts and shrieks of your dizzy world.

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Discourse No. (36)
WORK IN HARMONY WITH GOD'S LAWS AND COMMANDMENTSThe fruit ripens in its proper time. Hustling will not mend matters. God's laws work in nature with unerring precision. Any defiance by man against the harmony that prevails in the universe creates repercussions, extremely injurious to himself.
Study the laws of the universe, work in agreement with God's laws and commandments and you will have contributed largely to your own gain and betterment of your world at large.
Make non-violence your creed, truth your gospel, love monitor and conscience your guide. Follow simplicity be natural in your way of life. Formalities, conventions, ceremonies add to the burden of life. Sincerity and simplicity sweeten life, for they are angelic qualities in man. Be humble, for humility is the cloth celestial. It is negation of egotism, the greatest obstacle to spirituality.

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Discourse No. (37)
Three classes of Society.
Your world is divided into people of three different categories. A very large mass is composed of ignorant persons, imprisoned in the dark cell of sinfulness, unaware of the light of God. They form the drag of society, steeped in ignorance and wantonness,

The second group is composed of intelligent persons, who use their intelligence, more for their benefit than for the benefit of the society at large.

The third group, which is composed of a very small number of persons is  the  highest  in the  three classe They form a class by themselves.    They are the saviour of the world,  the  real benefactors,  leaders, guides a spiritual wonder workers.    They work both visibly and invisibly for, the good of the world, without any the least thought for their own gain or profit.    Every individual in this group is directly or indirectly in communion with God. God works His miracles through persons of this highest category.

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Discourse No. (38)
Evil is the least good.There are two principles working in Nature—the principle of good, the principle of eviL. Really speaking there is no evil in life, for God being all perfection, He has not created evil. Evil is the least good. The struggle then is between the most good and the least good. The word " evil " is used for the purpose of facility of expression and as such it is the right word used.
There is no such thing as Satan or Ahreman as epicted in the Scriptures. They are merely allegorically used and should be taken in such light. Unless the evil in man is expunged and he is purified and perfected, there can be no liberation for him. The sole object of life is soul's emancipation and this can be achieved only when the state of perfection is reached. It may take many births to reach this final destiny of man, or less round of births. It all depends upon man's own individual effort and ceaseless search for God and His mysteries. Till the inner urge for God is not roused, the soul remains enchained in the mesh of desires and the way to salvation is lost. Renunciation is the only way to salvation.

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Discourse No. (39)

MAN'S APATHY FOR HIGHER LIFE
What makes the difference between man and animal? There is animal in man and there is angel in man. To drive away the animal instincts of sloth, greed, lust and rapine and to mould your life into angelic virtues leading to perfection of character, is the aim and object of life. It is really very sad that most of the people on the earth plane lead the life that is least desirable. They forget Buddha's eightfold path. They forget the ethical teachings of the great Lord Zoroaster— good thoughts, good words, good deeds. They forget Lord Krishna's teaching of discrimination and renunciation. They forget the great truth embeded in Jewish teaching—the teaching of Righteousness. They forget that Lord Christ was specially sent by God on the earth plane to wean men from the path of sin and to love God and to love all mankind. Other prophets following Christ and Mohammed have carried the torch of divine knowledge to all parts of your world. But, oh, here are their words listened to and practised? The prophets have failed to quicken man's conscience. Man is still entangled in the web of sin and ignorance.

In order to drive away the apathy of man for a higher life it is now God's design to send Masters in larger numbers, who will act as match to the gunpower and kindle the hearts and minds of men to love God. Not solitary prophets after long centuries, but scores of Masters in physical bodies will now be working on the earth plane, for knitting together the whole mass of humanity in bonds of love, harmony and mutual understanding for the promotion of material pros­perity and spiritual growth.

A new era of spiritual renaissance is in the offing. It will burst forth like a rainbow in the sky and colour and brighten the lives of the multitude.

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Discourse No. (40)

TRUE RELIGION, NOT BIGOTRY - THE WAY TO PROGRESS
When man forgets the reality, he mismanages his affairs and loses his soul. The great truth that God is the only REALITY has to be realised for the success of life's mission on earth. Make life a mission, and offering of one's self to God and the darkness of the world would be greatly reduced. True religion, not bigotry, Catholicism, not communalism, philanthropy, not mere profundity of book learning, the heart, not the head, the essence and not the form, the truth and not the dogma or ritual, should play the dominant role for the achievement of God's peace, love, harmony and mutual understanding. These will go a long way towards economic, moral and spiritual progress of man.

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Discourse No. (41)
SEEK NOT THE FORM BUT THE ESSENCE
Life and death are two opposite polarities. Life is spirit; death means decay. Life is energy; death is annihilation. Life is God's greatest blessing to man, but it must not be understood that the blessing ends with death. For death is a gateway to a higher life, in a higher region, for the perfection and sublimation of the soul.

Life is a blessing, if man makes use of the God-given energy in the right direction. If misuses it, life becomes a curse, a tragedy, a horror, a paroxysm of despair, a calamity.

Life does not end with the departure of the soul from the physical body. It is unending. It is eternal. For man is a spark of God, eternal, infinite and when life's sufferings are ended and the soul becomes perfect, to be received in the Ocean of Eternal Bliss.

Seek not form, but the essence. Make Virtue your bride, Truth, your companion, Love your counsellor and guide and selflessness the crown of your life. Ride the chariot of life fearlessly and be not daunted by obstacles and difficulties. So long as you control your senses and the mind and are engrossed in the thoughts of God, you will drive the chariot successfully without meeting any accident on the way. Drive the chariot well, till you reach the gateway of death. Your soul shall then ascend to the higher planes and continue the journey, from plane to plane, from birth to death and death to birth, till perfected, it is absorbed in the boundless Ocean of Eternal BLISS.

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Discourse No. (42)
CHANGE  OF THOUGHTS  NECESSARY IN THE PROGRESS OF LIFE
The seasons vary. Spring is followed by Summer, Summer by Autumn and Autumn by dreary Winter. Spring is the youth of the season; Winter is the withering old age. Summer is midway between Spring and Winter and Autumn is nearer to Winter than any other season. These variations of seasons are an indication of My Law, which though immutable and unchangeable, works in Nature for the manifestation of My other Law in Nature viz., the Law of polarity. These changes are an indication of the fact that man must change with Nature. Just as he changes his clothes, when he gives them for a wash, he must change his ways of thought, as he Progresses in life and builds his career and character by correcting himself at every stage of his progress. Change means evolution and it is through Evolution that the tined way to the final goal of emancipation of the secured. Sin not, but if you do sin, wash off the sin with the soap of repentance inward monitor, whose voice must prevail at all times.

Once liberated, you must work for the sinner and the non-sinner alike. For both are God's children and they want your guidance, assistance on the plane of physical life.

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Discourse No. (43)
DON'T MAKE LIFE A COMEDY OF ERRORS OR A TRAGEDY OF MISERY
As the flower raises its head towards the sun and gives its fragrance and throws it radiance all around, God wants every human being to look up to Him and do his best for his own happiness and the happiness of others. Life is a serious affair. It should not be made a comedy of errors or a tragedy of misery. Make it a bulwark against all assaults of temptations and sins. If you think of God, you will think of His Law, the great Law of Righteousness and of Mercy, Kindness and Love, and you will strengthen your citadel against all tempests of worldly illusions and delusions.
God's is within you. Harken to His Voice and you will steer the boat of your life safely through the waters of opposition and tempest to the heaven of Eternal Rest and Bliss. God is the only REALITY, all else is a delusion, an illusion.

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Discourse No. (44)
SIN AND REPENTANCE

The sun throws its light equally on all of the earth plane. It makes no distinction of good or bad people. In a similar manner, your heart should open out and let there be the outpouring of love for all—the virtuous and the sinner alike. Never befriend a sinner or encourage him in his misdeeds.
But have pity on him and try to save him from pitfalls and errors. If he refuses to listen or repent, leave him alone to his God and destinty.
Christ came on earth for the atonement of the sins of others i.e., he was sent by God to spread the mission of love and to teach people how to attain oneness with God by purifying themselves of all sins through repentance and good deeds. Repentance for sins is a fundamental step in the evolution of the soul. To commit sin is bad but to refuse to repent is worse. Repentance takes away the edge of the bitterness of sins and raises the soul Godward. Repentance means refusal to commit the sin again.
Sin is the most dreadful thing in life. It is therefore you must forgive the sinner and love him all the more, to enable him to leave the path of sin and come back to God.

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Discourse No. (45)
FAITH IN GOD
There is no force so great as faith in God. It is a spiritual fire, which ignites and spurs the forces within for the achievement of success in life. It is the divine light that shines with lustre, even when there is darkness all around. It is the talisman that changes failure into success. It is the beacon light on the pilgrim's path, full of thorns and snakes, guiding the devotee aright to God, the supreme crown of his heart's desire. It is a vital force that can shake mountains and cross rivers in flood. It is a torrent, the vital energy of which is immeasurable. It is the channel and gateway to God's own abode. To have faith in God is to encounter all difficulties with success. It is a weapon of inconceivable strength in the hands of man. Keep the fire of faith burning within you, for it is a living force, volcanic in its element and miraculous in achievement of divinity. It is a propeller of all the hidden and latent powers in man. To give up faith in God is to lose the battle of life. To live in faith means approach and access to God.

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Discourse No. (46)
REINCARNATION
To say that reincarnation is not taught in religions other than Hinduism and Buddhism is wrong. Christ taught it. So did Zoroaster. But unfortunately their teachings, veiled in esoteric language, have been lost through transit of time and man's inability to grasp the inner secrets.

Reincarnation is a fundamental truth, which truly speaking, no prophet or sage has ignored or can ignore, in view of the fact that he knows the past. Divine revelation means the power to see the present, the past and the future. How can then any prophet or sage, after attaining divine revelation and getting the knowledge of the working of the universe, lose sight of such an important factor in man's destiny? Reincarnation is as inevitable as death is unavoidable.
Your earth plane is the principal stage of man's struggle for freedom. In this struggle, man has to cross so many hurdles before he can reach his destination. To cross these hurdles in one life is not possible. Each hurdle represents a certain state of the evolution of the soul. When his soul is fully evolved, he reaches the last hurdle and crosses it. It is a hurdle of perfection, which requires many incarnations, according to man's own exertions for purity of life and self-abnegation. Each incarnation takes him further and further towards the goal i.e. his soul evolves, as it returns to the earth plane after its peregrinations in the worlds, to gain experiences for its progress.