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VIAJES DE SAI BABA POR EL MUNDO 2015 09 Australia English
VIAJES DE SAI BABA POR EL MUNDO 2015 09 Australia English
VIAJES DE SAI BABA POR EL MUNDO 2015 09 Australia English
THE D I VI N E VI S I T
M u r w i l l um b a h, N e w S o u th Wa l e s - Au s tra l i a
23-24 S e pte m b e r 2 0 1 5
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Copyright Sri Sathya Sai Premamruta Prakashana (R), Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli,
Chikkaballapur Taluk and District 562101, Karnataka, India.
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I n t ro duc ti on
During 23-24 September 2015, Australia was blessed by a visit of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
in the subtle body. To the delight of His Australian devotees, this was the second time Swami had
chosen to visit Australia in His subtle body, the first being nine months ago, when Swami chose to
spend New Years day with His Australian children. For that visit, Swami Himself chose the theme as,
Experiencing Love. Swami told us that the next trips theme should be Experiencing Bliss, as Love
should lead to Bliss.
With Swamis guidance, a two day programme was organised in Murwillumbah, located in far northeastern New South Wales (NSW). The first morning consisted of a divine discourse and a Q&A session,
addressed to the organisers of the retreat, held at the Shangri-La, Swamis residence in Australia.
The evening session was held at the Murwillumbah Civic Centre, where approximately 600 devotees
had gathered, eagerly waiting for Bhagawans Darshan (sight of the Lord) and Sparshan (speech of the
Lord). Swami was ushered into the Civic Centre with a welcome song and the official programme
commenced with a traditional Aboriginal dance. Swami requested Mr. V Kumar, Mr. C Sreenivas and
Mr. Narasimha Murthy to speak. A divine discourse and Q&A session followed and Arathi concluded
the session.
The next morning, 24 September, Swami inaugurated a mobile medical van, after which Bhajans (devotional singing in parise of God) sung by the Children of Australia and a multi-faith offering, signifying the oneness of all religions, were offered to Swami. Mr. Isaac Tigrett then addressed the devotees,
followed by a divine discourse and Q&A session.
That afternoon, Swami granted a discourse to the youth before making His way to the Civic Centre to commence the proceedings for the evening. The programme commenced with Gary Seaton,
Swamis host, summarising the service projects currently in place and those to come, all of which
Swami has been guiding. This was followed by an enlightening speech by Sri Badri Srinivasan, a former student of Swami, Bhajans and a Veena recital. Swami delivered His divine discourse and Arathi
concluded the session and the trip to Australia.
This is a booklet containing divine discourses, Q&A sessions with Swami and excerpts from the
speeches given by members of Swamis entourage, including Mr. B. N. Narasimha Murthy, Mr. C.
Sreenivas, Mr. Isaac Tigrett, & Mr. V Kumar.
Pro gramme O ve r vi e w
D ivine Visit to Australia
Mur willumbah, NSW 23-24 S eptemb er, 2015
23 S e pte mb e r
D i v i n e D i sco u r s e ( m o r n ing ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........1
Q&A S e ssi o n ( m o r ning ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ........5
Exce r pts of G u e s t t a l k s ( eve ning). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......13
D i v i n e D i s co u r s e ( eve n ing ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......17
Q&A S e ssi o n ( eve n ing ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......23
24 S e pte mb e r
M ed i c a l Va n I n a u g u rat io n . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......30
Exce r pt of G u e s t t a l k ( m o r ning). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......31
D i v i n e D i s co u r s e ( m o r n ing ) .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......32
Q&A S e s s i o n ( m o r n ing ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......38
Youth I nte r v iew. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .. . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......44
Exce r pt of G u e s t t a l k ( eve ning). . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . ......54
D i v i n e D i sco u r s e ( eve n ing ) . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . . .....55
D i vi ne D isco urse - 2 3 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
Embodiments of Love!
Once upon a time, there was a sage by named Uddalaka. His sons name was Shwetaketu. This is
a story from the Upanishads. Just like any father, Uddalaka was anxious about educating his son.
Uddalaka himself was a very learned scholar. He decided to send his son to another teacher. You
see, when you personally try to teach your children something they dont listen very well, but if
you send them to the school and they get to learn the same things from a teacher, they are more
attentive. They dont value what they have right at home, but they give more respect and attention
to what is said outside. Therefore, at times, even I have to tell all these people to talk to you, so that
you understand better than when I speak.
So, the father sent his son for education to another Guru. After the few years that he spent with
the Guru, the son, with his head swollen with pride and ego of having attained a lot of knowledge, came back to his father. His father, out of great joy at seeing his son, welcomed him inside
his house, made him sit, served him water and food and asked him questions
Theabout
Mewhat
d i cahel had
Va n
learned while he studied in the Gurukulam (a type of school, residential in nature, with pupils living
near the guru). The son thought, My father knows nothing. Had he known anything, why would
he have sent me to another school, to another Guru? Today he is trying to question me and judge
how much I know and whether I know more than him!
In this way, the son started doubting his fathers intentions. His father asked, Did you
learn about the Vedas? Did you learn about the
truths that are within the Vedas? Did you learn
about our great history and culture? Did you
learn about the principle of God? As the father
kept on questioning, the son, with tremendous
arrogance, started explaining to him, Oh yes,
I have learned. His father said, Then tell me
something about God, what have you learned
about God? The son said, Oh, God is formless.
He pervades the entire universe.
D i vi ne D isco urse - 2 3 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
He cannot be described in words. He only has to be experienced..., and he went on quoting from all
the great scriptures about the nature of God; about the omniscience and omnipotence of God.
His father heard it all and understood that his son had learned nothing, for the one who is really wise
does not need so many words to explain. It is the one who does not know that needs the help of
many words. The father said, Let me teach you something, let me tell you something. He told him
to get a pot full of water and then he took a few sugar crystals. The father said, What is this? and the
son replied, This is water. The father asked, And what is this? and the son said, This is sugar. Now
the father put the sugar crystals into the water pot, mixed it thoroughly, until you could no longer
see sugar as separate crystals. Then the father asked, Now where is sugar? The son said, The sugar
is in the water. The father said, But I cannot see the sugar in the water, only water. His son said,
Oh father, you know nothing. Take a drop of water and put it on your tongue and then you feel the
sweetness and you will know that sugar is in the water. His father said, This is the same way that
God exists in this universe. He is not visible as separate from the universe. He is a part of this whole
universe, but you must experience God in this universe to understand Him.
Many think that they can talk about God and understand him, they can discuss, conduct a conference or seminar about Divinity, read books -- but all this is theoretical knowledge. Its like describing
how good the lunch is, what items are being served, who has made it, how it is made and all that -but, at the end, if you havent eaten anything, your hunger will not be satisfied. Only by experiencing
God will you truly know God. There is no other way of knowing Him. Until then, like the four blind
The Me d i ca l Va n
men in the story, you can go on describing God just as they described an elephant; one, by touching
its tail says, Its like a rope, another, by touching its legs says, Its like a pillar, another one touching
its stomach says, Its like a wall -- and they go on describing it in their own foolish ways. The one
who has really seen an elephant will know what an elephant is. Likewise, the one who has truly seen
God, understood and experienced God, will know who God is.
There are many ways in which you can understand and experience God, but this requires two things.
One is Shraddha, a sincere desire, a sincere yearning, to attain God. The second is patience, that is,
Saburi. This is what the first Sai Avatar (Incarnation of God in human form), Shirdi Baba taught. Two
things, Shraddha, a sincere desire or yearning, and second is Saburi, that is, patience. With these two,
one can attain God.
Many devotees come to Me and tell Me to grant them Self-Realisation; to give Self-Realisation without even knowing what it is! If you pass a high-voltage current through a low-voltage bulb, the bulb
will shatter and will no longer shine. Unless you are ready, I cannot grant understanding or wisdom
of God. In a pot that is not properly dried, if you pour water, it will develop cracks and will break into
pieces. Likewise, to experience God, one needs to develop certain qualities.
D i vi ne D isco urse - 2 3 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
First, it is important to have a sincere yearning to know God, to experience God. Secondly, you must
have patience to let it happen when the time is right. The only purpose for which you are born is to
attain Divinity; to understand your true nature. Whatever you do, say or think, if it helps you become
closer to your true nature, then it is worth doing. Everything else is a waste of time. One may think
that, by attaining great wealth, by making great relationships, or by becoming very famous, one is
going to be closer to God -- but that is not true.
Only the one with a pure heart is close to God. Ramakrishna Paramahamsa was a great Indian Guru.
He was an Avatar Himself. He tried all kinds of penance for 12 long years to understand Divinity, but
he failed. At the end, He cried like a child and approached the murthi (idol) of Kali, the Mother Goddess and said, If You do not give Me Your Dharshan now, Ill take the sword from Your hand and cut
My head off. When He cried this way, Kali immediately manifested and told Him, Had You prayed
to Me like this before, I would have manifested immediately. You wasted 12 years going round and
round, it was unnecessary. A deep yearning to know God, to experience God is all I require. At one
point of time, when His disciple approached Him and said, Ramakrishna Ji, can I also experience
God and see Him like You? Ramakrishna said, Why not, it is very simple. Come, I will show you God
and He took him to a nearby well and told, Look inside. God is inside this well. When he bent over
to look inside the well, Ramakrishna pushed him inside the well and the man started drowning and
shouting, You told me You would show me God, but it seems like You were planning to show me the
God of Death instead! He said, The way you are crying now for your life, for the breath -- if you cry
like this for God, then God will definitely manifest. Do you have this kind of sincere yearning to see
The Me d i ca l Va n
and experience God? Only if you cry for God like a man cries for breath when hes drowning, then
alone can you have the vision of God.
D i vi ne D isco urse - 2 3 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
Talking about God, hearing about God, discussing God can give you some temporary joy, but that
will last only as long as you are hearing or talking about Him, or discussing Him. The true joy, the
everlasting joy, will come to you only if you start living in a way that is divine. Every thought, every
word, every action should be soaked in Divinity. Everything that you do should become totally selfless, and that is the only way you will start living in Divinity and experience Divinity everywhere.
Why I am speaking to you about these things and not simply about mundane affairs, is because I
consider you to be in My higher class -- you must learn higher things. Gone are the primary school
days when you ran around playing and just engaged yourself in idle talk.
These are the days of high school, and as children who must promote themselves from primary to
high school by making efforts, you must all put in a sincere effort to become closer to your divine nature. Shun everything that has a remote trace of selfishness in it. Only accept those thoughts, speak
those words and do such deeds, that are absolutely selfless, that are done for the sake of God. Now,
when I say all of these things, it sounds like music to your ears (laughter), but when you have to get
down to actually doing it, then you come back with doubts. Therefore, as a small group of people
from whom I expect more than the others waiting outside, I want you to ask your questions and clear
any doubts that you have, because when you go out and talk about this with the others, the first
thing they will do is, look at you and ask, whether you are truly following it or not. They will see you,
and through you, they will come to know about Me. There is no other way that they will know Me.
You must become true, living examples of Swamis presence and Divinity. Therefore, if you have any
The Me d i ca l Va n
questions, such as, how to lead such a life; is it possible to lead such a life; can this be practised in all
circumstances and in all situations; if it would lead to any other difficulties in our day-to-day living;
you should ask, because you may be haunted by many such questions once you start practicing. If
you have any of these doubts, you can spend a few minutes clarifying them, so that when somebody
else asks you, you are able to answer them correctly.
Q& A S essio n - 2 3 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
Swami: Do you think it is possible to lead a selfless life every moment?
Devotee: One can try.
Swami: Kumar will explain how to lead a selfless life at every moment.
Kumar: Swami, its very difficult to lead a selfless life every moment, Swami. Selfishness is something
which is so much part of life, right from the time we are going to school, Swami, when we are young.
We are not taught selflessness at all in school, Swami, in the orientation and the training which the
teachers give us. I did my schooling in Mumbai, and no teacher taught me any selflessness, Swami.
It was very difficult until I came to Bhagawan, where I learnt the spelling of selflessness and what it
really meant. So, selflessness in each and every moment of life, as we have learned from You, is something that we need to practise each and every moment by thinking that, No this is not mine, this
is Bhagawans, and not just putting ourselves first; just thinking that, This is Swamis work and Im
just an instrument. Thinking that way each and every moment is the only way that we can practise,
Swami.
Swami: Kumar is good at marketing. He will go round and round and round (laughter). Is it possible
to live a selfless life all the time?
Kumar: Yes, it is possible, Swami (laughter).
The Me d i ca l Va n
Swami: Yes, this is the right answer (laughter). It may be difficult or it may be easy, but it is possible.
Think of when I told Narisimha Murthy and the others that we must go to Australia and talk to the
devotees. Firstly, only if he knows that it is possible to go to Australia, will he make any effort to enquire about tickets, to look at dates, to work out a travel plan. If he thinks it is not possible to go to
Australia at all, why would he waste any of his efforts in preparing for the trip? First you must believe
that it is possible to lead every moment of your life in a way that Swami wants, in a perfect, selfless
way. Then, make the effort to figure out how to lead every moment in a selfless way. You did not learn
to walk in one day; you did not learn to in just one day, to talk or sing or do whatever youre doing
today. You were not born with these skills, but you learned them.
As you practised walking, you fell a few times, and even hurt yourself, but then you rose again and
continued walking, because you saw other children playing and running and you wanted to be like
them, free and fast and happy. Therefore, despite all your failures, you got up again and again until
you mastered the art of walking, running and playing.
Q& A S essio n - 2 3 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
Despite several falls, you had to get up again and say, I want to be like them. I do not want to be like
the others, simply crawling despite having legs. I want to run, I want to play, I want to be enjoying every moment, and then you would get up, again and again, despite several falls. In the same manner,
first believe that it is possible to be God. Then you will put all the efforts that are needed to become
That. If you start with the feeling that it is not possible, it is too difficult, it is not worth the time, then
there is no way that you will ever try. If you put in a little effort, you will definitely get there.
There was a man with very bad habits. He was not able to give up his habits, despite several efforts.
He met a guru who visited the village and he asked him, How can I give up these bad habits?What
is your bad habit?, asked the guru. He said, I take drugs everyday. That gives me a lot of pleasure,
and if I dont take them even for one day, Im restless. This is the habit that I am not able to give up.
What do you do? asked the guru? He said, Im a teacher at a school. The guru replied, It is all the
more necessary that you give up the habit, because you are in a very responsible position. What
can I do? I cannot just give up. I have tried many many times, but I have failed, replied the man. Then
the guru said, Take this piece of chalk and use it daily in your classroom. Each day, take only so much
of the drug as equal to the size of the chalk that is left after using it in the school. So everyday, as
he wrote on the blackboard, the chalk would diminish. Then he would measure the chalk and take
only as much of the drug as the length of the chalk. Slowly, as the chalk size reduced over a period of
time, his intake of the drug also reduced. At the end of it, the chalk totally disappeared and his habit
also totally disappeared. If the guru had come and given him a philosophical speech about giving up
his bad habits, and telling him that he must give the bad habit up there and then, then it probably
The Me d i ca l Va n
would not have happened. He would not have attempted it, but by gradually putting it into practise,
he was able to attain what he wanted to.
Start with one selfless act everyday. Start with one selfless act every hour, then every minute and
then every moment. Start consciously, making an effort to become selfless. As you start enjoying
being selfless, you will slowly become totally like Me. First, the child which is born does not want
to eat any solid food, it only wants to drink milk, but by constant practise, the mother tells the child
to eat solid food and, as it learns, it develops a taste for it. Eventually, it wants to eat solid food, and
does not even want to drink the milk, which it loved so much. With practise, you can change your
habits. As you change your habits, you can change your character, and then your destiny. You are all
destined to become divine. If make the effort, you achieve earlier, if you do not, you will come slowly,
but ultimately, all have to come. So know that there is no other way, there is no other purpose than
to become Divine. The earlier that you make an effort, the more sincere your effort is, the better it is,
the earlier you will be able to attain the state of bliss. First, say to yourself, It is possible to become
Divine, that is what I am. Then make the effort to become That.
Q& A S essio n - 2 3 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
What else?
Question: Swami, how do we become more and more selfless in our professions? Especially the
commerce professions: lawyers, accountants, IT. How do we become more and more selfless so that
we can lead a life of complete selflessness?
Swami: First, ask yourself what is the purpose of the job that you are doing? Is the purpose to acquire
more wealth, to become richer, to create more comforts or to fill up your household with more valuables? What is the purpose of the very job that you are doing, whether it is commerce or anything
else? If the purpose is only to feed your senses and crave for these outward pleasures, then you will
never become selfless. If you do it for the sake of looking after yourself, your family, your relations
and the people who depend on you, whether related or not, then it will become more selfless. The
purpose is not just to look after yourself. The purpose is to help others who are in need, to share what
you have with a few others.
However, the first step that you must take, is to take care whilst you are working, that you do it according to Dharma (righteous conduct). If something is not in accordance with Dharma, then there
is no point in engaging in it. Both the means and the end are important. It is not enough if you earn
something and share with others -- the way you have earned must also be pure. Many people tell Me,
Swami I need to do such a job, I need to earn so much money, its only then that I can look after my
children, its only then that I can pay their school fees, its only then that I can make them comfortThe Me d i ca l Va n
able. I told them the same thing which I am telling you today -- it is your desire to make them study
in such a school, to drive them around in such a big car and to put them in such a big house. Because
of your desire to do these things for them, which you think will give them permanent happiness,
you engage yourselves in such jobs. Sometimes you even have to sacrifice the Dharmic way of doing
things just for the sake of fulfilling these kinds of desires. Even with all these comforts, one may not
be happy; but, even with little, if one is making an effort toward leading a life of purity, he and his
family will be permanently happy. First know that.
Do not engage in activities or professions that are not Dharmic, that are not following the right codes
of morality, because then, that impure money will not be of any use to anyone. To become selfless,
the first thing you should do is, be on the right path. First, choose the work that you do in a way that
keeps you always on the right path; that does not cause you to deviate from Dharma, because, later
even if you come and cry, nobody can help you. You sat on the wrong train in the first place, and obviously if you dont reach the destination, it is nobody elses fault, it is yours.
Q& A S essio n - 2 3 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
Tigrett was running a big hotel chain and he was doing it for many years. How many years? 17-18
years. Then he came to Me and said, I want to offer all this to You. I said, Im not going to accept
this money from you, because this is not what I want from you. There has to be purity. Then he went
back and thought for a long time and repented and said, Swami, this is all I had known, I did not
know what else to do. I only knew this but, whatever I have done, please pardon me for my mistakes.
Please accept it, make it Yours, make it pure. Use it the way You want. It is only after he repented so
much, that his money became purified and that is when I could accept it. Otherwise, it was not for
the sake of earning money that he was doing it. He always wanted to help, but then there had to
be purity. First, ensure that the work you are doing is pure, it is Dharmic. For the sake of a few extra
coins, do not bargain with your conscience, do not negotiate on these things, do not compromise on
righteousness. That is the first step and then, whatever you gain in the righteous way, use it not only
for yourself, but for others too, by practising, ceiling on desires. Follow these two things: Get into the
right job, do it in the Dharmic way, and then use it well for everyones sake by putting a ceiling on
your own desires. Youll be able to lead a happy, professional life.
Many rich people come to Swami with the same complaint, My wife does not love me anymore, she
wants to separate, she wants to take away the wealth that I earned with her. My children dont listen
to me, they dont respect me. All the money that they earn in the wrong manner does not help them
at the end, to develop love and respect from their own children. What will you learn from all this?
If you have done things in the right way, even with little, people would have been more loving and
kind.
The Me d i ca l Va n
You must not think that you are leaders or organisers or important people; you are only servants. The
first servant is God. He comes down as an Avatar to serve humanity and, if you join Him in service,
you are the servant of the servant. Therefore, you should be more humble than others. Humility is
the hallmark of greatness. You must do everything with great humility, then you are the servant of
the servant.
When Hanuman was asked asked to identify himself, he said, I am the servant of the servant, that is
how he introduced himself. Rama Himself is servant of society; I am the servant of Rama. Therefore,
I am the servant of the servant. All are sevakas, that is, servants, not nayakas, that is, leaders. Remain
humble, remain kind, be willing to serve, be willing to sacrifice. That is how you should be known to
the world -- not as people who have authority or power, and whose head is filled with pride and ego.
That is not the kind of people that I am looking for. It is very easy to be a servant, but very difficult to
be a leader. By serving, you can lead better. Be humble, be kind.
Q& A S essio n - 2 3 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
Question: Swami, lately Ive become aware of the concept of self-reliance. When we want to develop
our character and self-reliance, how does surrendering to God play a factor in this? I am confused. As
much as we want to rely on Swami to help us with everything, does it enable us to become strong in
character and develop self-reliance?
Swami: You must understand the meaning of the word self, which youve used. A bird sits on the
branch of a tree and because of the breeze, the branch keeps swinging, but the bird is not worried
about the branch. If a man is sitting on the branch, he will get tremendously worried because he
knows that, if the branch breaks and falls, the man will fall too, but the bird is at peace sitting on the
branch because it relies not on the branch, but on the strength of its wings. It can fly away in case
there is danger. It depends on itself, it does not depend on the moving branch and therefore, it is
not afraid, it is not worried. True self is the Divinity within you. It is the divine power that makes your
heart beat, that makes you breathe every moment, that makes yours eyes see, your ears listen, and
food digest. Everything happens by this divine power. If you depend on this divine power, know full
well that things are not in your hands; it is all God who is doing everything through you. That is truly
self-reliance. Depending or relying on your true self, which is God, is true self-reliance. Surrender
comes into picture when you think something belongs to you and then you want to offer it to God.
If nothing belongs to you -- it belongs to God in the very first place -- where is the question of surrender? Surrender means that there are two, one is you, and one is God, but if everything belongs
to God, everything exists because of God, there is nothing to give. Therefore, if you truly believe that
God is the one who does everything through you, and truly depend on God, then there wont be any
The Me d i ca l Va n
sense of ego, there will be no sense of attachment to anything, there will be no sense of distinction
or differentiation between things. You will know that the God that operates through you, is the same
God that also operates through other people. All are puppets in the hands of God. God is the one
who decides how each should play their part. If you have this deep sense of understanding of the
nature of our lives and depend on God, who is really the true doer, although unseen, as the puppeteer is unseen, you will develop true confidence, which is free from ego.
Confidence is not ego, confidence is the strength to take on any challenge without fear, knowing
full well that God is with you. Over-confidence leads to ego. What is over-confidence? It is when you
think that you are the doer, and that nothing can harm you and nobody can stop you. This kind of
unwanted ego is over-confidence, but a person who is fully confident, self-confident, who depends
on the Self will be always humble, will always be in peace. Therefore, there are no two things like surrender and self-reliance. Self-reliance is itself surrender, because you are really depending on God
and not on anyone else.
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Q& A S essio n - 2 3 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
Question: Swami, could You kindly share with us what Your vision is for us here in Australia? Youve
chosen Murwillumbah as being the centre of the spiritual activities here in Australia, and we know
since Your first visit, at the end of last year and beginning of this year, there are a number of devotees
who have decided to move from where they are currently living and working, into this area around
Murwillumbah. Obviously, You have a mission for each one of those people who have made that
choice under Your prompting. You mentioned last time that You were here, that we would not understand the magnificence of what is going to happen in this valley and the start of Your mission here,
so could You kindly share with us a little bit more about that?
Swami: If, within a few months of My visit, so many people are migrating to Murwillumbah, you can
imagine within a few years, that the whole of Australia will be here (laughter). No, its not a joke. It is
the truth. When a flower blooms, the bees will find their way to it. Bees wont want to come if they
are artificial flowers. If the flower is real with the nectar inside, you dont have to send invitations. The
bees will find their way to partake nectar which is in the flower. This is just blooming now. This whole
place will become a very big Sathya Sai Centre, an Ashram (a spiritual hermitage), as time progresses.
I have begun by sowing the seed here, now it has grown into a small sapling with a few buds. In time,
it will grow into a big tree full of flowers and fruits and, automatically, it will attract people to itself.
Let it take its natural course. In the country of Australia this will become like a Sathya Sai Ashram in
the times to come and, as Tigrett said, this is all preparation for the next Avatar, more than the present one.
The Me d i ca l Va n
In our Muddenahalli and Alike schools, children who pass from primary to high school need a little
bit of coaching in order to pass the entrance exam. That is exactly what I am doing now -- I am training you, so that you can pass the entrance exam when it begins, and then you can be there. The only
condition is that you have to be selfless, you have to be full of love -- and as I said, if you dont start
practising from today, or rather from now, by doing one act, thinking one thought, by saying a word
of selflessness on every occasion, you will not suddenly be able to pass the exam. You must practise
on a daily, an hourly, a moment-to-moment basis, so that you are capable of passing the entrance
test and coming to the presence of Divinity again. You will understand nothing if you havent done
your homework. The teacher may be a great instructor but, if the students are not able to understand, its the fault of the students, for they have not done their homework. Practise now so that you
can understand better. This is going to be a very beautiful Ashram, which will be used by Prema Sai
during His visits around the world. Shirdi Sai was born, and lived in a small state. He did not travel out
of the state. Sathya Sai was born in a state but travelled all around India. Prema Sai, though He is born
in a state, will travel all around the world. Thats how this mission of love will expand, to encompass
the whole world in its fold of love.
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Q& A S essio n - 2 3 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
In Australia, this will be the principal centre. That doesnt mean that people from other states of
Australia need to start feeling bad (laughter). It is just that, if all of you converge in one place, it will
be better. In every country, there will be an Ashram of Swamis that will be developed. In Australia,
this and the place surrounding it, will become an Ashram where there will be seva (service) activities, schools and a small hospital. There will be many other projects related to energy, water, social
welfare, teaching, education and youth development. Multiple branches will develop once the tree
starts growing. It will all happen in its own course but, more importantly, all of this will not happen
unless and until you are ready. I am readying you to do all this. An Ashram is not buildings. An Ashram is not activities, it is the people who live in the Ashram who define it. Therefore, if you are pure,
if you are selfless, the whole world, the whole of Australia will come here, attracted by your love and
kindness.
A day will come when the whole world will be fed up with materialism. They will not be able to take
any more, just like a child who, when he sees a cake, gets greedy and starts eating, but after some
time, chokes and spits out the whole thing; it wants it no more. The world is coming to such a situation. There are people who will become fed up with materialism, who will look for something higher.
Then, guides like you must lead them on to the right path. That is your role. Unless you know the way,
how can you lead others? A blind man cannot lead another blind man. Likewise, unless you are pure
and selfless, how can you lead others to the path of purity and selflessness? Therefore, I am preparing
you. An Ashram will serve as a place where all can come to share the love and to serve others. The
true work of the Ashram is that each one of you will have to lead many more on to the noble path of
The Me d i ca l Va n
love and kindness. That is what I am preparing you for. Unless you practise, you cannot preach. There
is still time. There are five more years in which everybody should put in enough effort.
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Q&A S essio n - 23 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
Swami: Faith! The one who does not have complete faith in God can never be completely selfless. If
you have complete faith in God, that He will look after everything, then you can become selfless, because you know that whatever the situation may be, He will take care and you need not worry about
yourself. You will truly depend on God. Narasimha Murthy, Sreenivas, Tigrett -- they have nothing
on their own -- they are constantly working and serving others. They are not afraid of anything. It is
because they have complete faith that I am in charge and, whether they see Me or not, they believe
that I am around to look after them. If you develop that kind of unwavering faith, you will be completely selfless. Develop such faith. This is enough.
Arathi was offered to Swami.
Swami: Look at this camphor. It has melted away. Like that, the ego and all your attachments should
melt away. You should offer it to God.
The Me d i ca l Va n
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C S reen iva s
The scourge of our times is poverty, which is lack of money the necessary wherewithal to eke out a
basic form of existence in daily life. However, poverty can assume several forms: poverty of thought,
of goodness, of brotherhood amongst men and women, etc. Poverty, lack of opportunity, and lack
The Me d i ca l Va n
of love are the bane of the times that we are living in, all over the world.
Love converts the problem of poverty into a supreme opportunity for goodness and meaning in life,
and this is the game Swami is playing. He brings meaning to us, to address these issues. For example,
through the super speciality hospital we have built in Raipur. It addresses poverty through love and
service and is a temple of healing, love, and service, embodying the great Spirit of Love which will
drive the world.
When Swami chooses to use us as instruments, we should be aware that mysterious, mystical, and
amazing things are waiting to happen in our lives. We should not become an obstacle to ourselves.
Once we allow ourselves to become the Lords instrument, a mystical and wondrous journey is waiting to happen, and so much meaning is going to come into our existence.
Being chosen to do the Lords work is not a small thing. We wait, we pine, we tire, we hunger, we
clamour, we anguish, and we cry, to be chosen. Finally, when a Divine Being, in His mercy, says we
are chosen, is it not a blessing? Would we want to lose this? This is our defining moment. The power
of love to address this scourge of our times, is what is going to drive humanity in times to come.
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The Me d i ca l Va n
N a ra s im h a M ur thy
It is said that God has no beginning and no end. All Divine Masters have a beginning at a certain
point of time in the history of the world, but they never have an end. Whether Rama, Krishna, Buddha, Jesus Christ, or Ramakrishna Paramahamsa all were born, but never died. They live on as the
love songs which rejuvenate the spirit of mankind. So it is with Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba.
Bhagawan and all Divine Masters always live on, because they emerge from one source. They all
represent various facets of the same God, who comes in various forms. However, all the Divine Masters, who came to the world in a physical form and disappeared, live on spiritually in Subtle Forms.
Recently, an Argentinian devotee wrote me, I believe in the Subtle Form of Bhagawan Baba because
there is a saintly lady in my town who sees the Subtle Form of Jesus Christ and communicates His
messages.
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The Me d i ca l Va n
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The Me d i ca l Va n
The mind will have different forms when it has different desires and thoughts. When you have sacred
and pure thoughts, your mind will also become pure and sacred. It is the mind which is the cause
for your bondage, and also your liberation. If you base your life on the body, you will be under the
control of your sensual pleasures. When the mind becomes enmeshed with the body, you think that
the body is permanent and for the sake of the body you struggle so much. When you turn the mind
from the body towards the Atma, the Divine, then you know that you are Divine. You can recognise
the Atma only when you utilise the mind properly. There is a very subtle relationship between your
mind and your desires. The mind can bring you both bondage or liberation. All this depends on the
kind of desires which are there in your minds.
In earlier times, if people wanted to catch hold of forest monkeys, they would do it using many tricks
and their cunningness. A monkey is not going to come to you if you call it. First you should understand its nature and then catch it. A monkey is very greedy for food. A monkey is not satisfied with
enough; it wants more and more food. In earlier times, when they wanted to catch a monkey, they
would get a jar or a pot with a very narrow mouth and fill it up with many kinds of eatables. That is
how they would catch the monkey. A monkey would put its hand to catch hold of the eatables and
would remove it. When the fist was full of food, it would not able to take out its hand, because of the
narrow mouth of the pot.
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The Me d i ca l Va n
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The Me d i ca l Va n
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Mo b i l e Me d i ca l Cl i n i c
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D i vi ne D isco urse - 2 4 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
Ju st a s a reflec t ion is no t a tta c hed to a m i r ror, or wate r d rop l e t s d o not st i ck to l ot u s l e a ve s,
s imilar ly, sins do no t a ffec t a p e r son w ho has d e vot i on i n t he i r he ar t .
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D i vi ne D isco urse - 2 4 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
The daughter-in-law wanted to sell the furniture in her mother-in-laws room, that is, the dining
table and chair, and get new furniture for her son -- but the son said, You may sell anything else, but
please dont sell the table and chair. The daughter-in-law asked her son, What are you going to do
with this old table and chair? We are going to get a new set of furniture for you. Then her son replied,
It is not for me, it is for you. When you get old, you have to eat your food all alone in your room, so
I will save this table and chair for you. Then she realised the truth; she realised the fact that her son
would look after her in the same way she had looked after her elders. As you sow, so you reap. If you
sow a mango seed and expect to get an apple, it is never going to happen. If you look after your
children with love, they will look after you with love when you get old.
The most important duty of parents is to bring up their children well. If, between the mother and
father, the children receive love and affection, they will also learn the same thing. Just because children are born to you, through you, you think that those children are there to live only for your family.
This is not correct. Every man is a limb of society. Society is a limb of the nation. The nation is a limb
of the world. This world is a limb of creation and finally, creation is a limb of God. Therefore, if you
dont bring up children well today, tomorrow, society will be lost, the nation will be lost, the world
will be lost, and the whole of creation will be lost. Therefore, bringing up children well is not only the
responsibility of parents; it is also the responsibility of society, because man is part of society. If man
is good, society is good. Man cannot live all alone in society, nobody can do that; and when everybody works as a team, this is community, this is society. Therefore, the fundamental unit of society
is man. That is how society can be moulded through an individual, the nation through societies and
The Me d i ca l Va n
the world through nations. For the whole society to be happy and the nation to be happy, requires
some kind of sacrifice on the part of individuals. Where there is no sacrifice, there cannot be love,
patience, or sympathy. Because of selfishness and self-interest, nobody wants to make sacrifices for
others. Everyone is leading their lives in a very narrow-minded way and they dont develop broadmindedness. Even the children observe that their father and mother do not make sacrifices for each
other.
The father and mother both come from the office and the children are alone at home. The father will
ask the mother, I have laboured very hard at office, just get me a cup of coffee. The mother says, I
have also come from office, so you go and prepare the coffee yourself; and also get a cup of coffee
for me. Then the father says, I am the husband and you have to listen to me. The wife responds,
What do you mean by saying that you are the husband? Both of us are working hard for the sake of
the family, therefore, you can do it. The minds of the children are damaged when they see this kind
of bickering between their father and mother -- yet it would be so simple for the husband and wife
to take turns to make coffee for each other.
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D i vi ne D isco u rse - 2 4 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g )
If the father and mother behave with patience and mutual affection, the same thing will be learned
by the children. Children are never bad -- there are no bad children, there are only bad parents and
bad teachers. Because of the parents and teachers, children grow up the same way. When there are
good parents, when there are good schools and good teachers, only then will children develop in the
right way. If parents send their children to school and think that their responsibilities are over, that
is not right. Only if parents join with teachers in moulding their children, will the children develop.
We are running a school here. A school is not just a building. Even if you dont have a good building,
but you have a good teacher, you will provide a good education to the children. Therefore, I have
been directing people here that we should also start a teacher-training institute. When you think of
teacher-training, it is not only about particular subjects, knowledge or skills. Who is a good teacher?
A good teacher is one who behaves well; only those who practises good principles and teaches them
to children. Only those men and women who have unity in thought, word and deed will become
good teachers -- and we want such teachers, who are one in thought,word and deed; we dont want
teachers who say onething and do another -- such teachers set a bad example for the children. If the
teachers tell lies in front of the children, the children also will do same thing later. I tell you, if teachers act in right way, the children will also learn the right ways. Therefore, I want all the devotees in
Australia to get together, form a teacher-training institute, create good teachers and send them to
every part of society. Wherever you go, good teachers are very essential.
Wherever we start schools in Australia, we should send good teachers there. This is what Australian
The Me d i ca l Va n
devotees should do. I am very delighted that young men and women here have developed the
programme of having a mobile clinic. With the mobile clinic, the young men and women should go
to the villages and serve the needy people. Young men and women in the villages will look at these
selfless young men and women, and learn those values themselves. Not only will they see and learn,
they will learn and do the same themselves. When you go to villages, the young men and women
there in the villages will join you in service. Thus, one person can change many people. If you light
one lamp, through that lamp you can light many lamps -- you dont require matches to light every
lamp. You have to light just one lamp, that is all. What is this lamp? It is the lamp of love. The body is
like a lamp; love is the oil and the wick is our mind. The light of wisdom is lit by the flame of service.
Your task is to think that your body is a lamp and develop love, which is the oil, immerse your mind in
this oil of love, and light the lamp of wisdom through service. That is what you have to do and when
you light the lamp of love, wherever you go, the lamp will shine. Today, in this Kali Age, everybody
says that it is full of darkness, that this is some kind of dark age. Where is darkness? It is not outside.
The darkness of selfishness and self-interest are the root cause of darkness outside. In the darkness
you dont see that you are hurting yourself and, as a result, you keep hurting everybody. Because you
cant see all things in the right light, you are subjected to all kinds of dangers.
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D i vi ne D isco urse - 2 4 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
When you light the lamp of love, in that light you can see that everybody belongs to you, and you
will be able to love them more and more. The world is nothing but your own reflection. If you look
at your own reflection in many mirrors, you will be very happy to see it. If you smile and laugh, the
reflection also laughs. If you cry, the reflection also cries. The world around you is nothing but your
own reflection. You love, then others will love you. You serve others, others will serve you. You should
not hurt anyone. This body is given to you in order to help others. The essence of the 18 Puranas
composed by Sage Vyasa can be summarised in these two sentences: first, merit is nothing but helping others and second, sin is nothing but hurting others. Narasimha Murthy said that Jesus explained
the truth in just two sentences, in a simple way, whereas Narasimha Murthy gave his explanation in
many sentences! I am telling you in a much simpler -- Love all, serve all. There is nothing higher than
this truth. If you can love everyone, you can serve everyone; thus, love becomes service by itself.
Love will not keep silent when looking at the difficulties of others. Love will immediately attempt to
relieve people of their suffering.
Many people ask Me the question, Swami, when You were in the body, You set up many projects and
You are doing the same now. Why do You do that? It is because I dont think that only the people
of India are My people. I feel that all people of all nations are Mine, therefore, I want to love everyone and serve everyone. Just thinking that you want to serve others, is not enough. Just making an
attempt is not enough; you should work together with others. When man and God get together,
anything can be achieved. You see many light bulbs shining, but the bulbs are not enough by themeselves; there has to be electrical current passing through the bulbs. The electrical current, on its own,
The Me d i ca l Va n
is not enough; there needs to be a functioning bulb, too. With both the electrical energy and the
inert lamp working together, you can see the light. Thus, when God and man are united, the whole
world will be full of love and service. I am always ready -- you have to become ready. I want good instruments. If you want to set up a really big service project, the proper instruments are required. For
performing surgery, a doctor alone is not enough. You must also have the right instruments. Even if
the doctor is brilliant, if the instruments are not good enough, the operation will be poor. That kind
of instrument is not what I want -- I want the kind of instruments who have love for God, fear of sin
and morality in society. The first thing is love for God. You should feel that you will not hurt those
whom you love. Furthermore, when you love God, you will not hurt God in any way. Then where is
God? God is in everyone -- so you should not hurt anyone. Therefore, if you really love God, you have
to love everyone.
The second, is fear of sin. You should avoid that which is not truth, that which is not righteousness.
You should know that when you do wrong things, you hurt God; therefore, you should not do such
things. How will you develop fear of sin? You will learn this when you have love for God. It is only
when you develop love for God, that you will easily develop fear of sin -- and finally, you will achieve
unity also, and will be able to create a Garden of Unity. What does unity mean? With one finger you
cant do anything. You cant even lift a handkerchief with one finger. When five fingers on a hand
work together, you can do as much work as you want to do.
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D i vi ne D isco urse - 2 4 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
When you look at the five fingers, their length and shapes are different. There will always be external
differences, but you should recognise that, within, everybody is the one and the same. When children wear different costumes in a fancy dress competition you cannot see their real identity. In the
presentation, Unity of Faiths, the children came wearing various kinds of costumes. One came as an
Egyptian king. He became an Egyptian king by wearing that costume, but what is he really? Where is
his kingdom and where are his people? When he removes the costume, he will become an ordinary
boy with no kingdom and no subjects. When you wear a costume, you act the part -- but, actually,
the truth is different.
In reality, you have all come here wearing various costumes. Some of you have come as men, some
as women, some as children, some as old men and old women. This is all nothing but a fancy dress
competition, not the truth. All these bodies are nothing but costumes, but, in truth, your real nature
is Atma. Because the Atma has put on various costumes, you see diversity and differences. Only the
external things are different -- but internally, everybody is one and the same. All are one, My dear
son, be like to everyone. Therefore, you have to attain unity within yourself, for, when you have that
kind of unity, you can achieve anything in the world. It is My hope that all of you in Australia forget
your external differences, recognise the inner unity, and get together to achieve great service.
Do not think that people belonging to the various religions are different. Children may be studying
in various schools; some may be studying in the English medium, others in other languages, but
the lessons that are taught are one and the same in all the schools. The buildings may be different,
The Me d i ca l Va n
the teachers may be different, the languages may be different, but the lessons taught are one and
the same. All religions are like different schools, but the lessons taught are only love and service.
You should model yourself on the essential unity of all the lessons, and not on the differences in
the kinds of buildings and teachers. When you understand the subtle, inner significance of every
religion, you will definitely forget the external differences. Only then can you become united. There
is only one religion, the religion of love. In all religions, it is the same love which is taught. However, it
is not just about telling people to love themselves and their families -- love all is what needs to be
taught. When you say, love all, that is the ancient religion or Sanathana Dharma. That is the highest
Dharma. Therefore, if somebody asks you what is your religion, you should say, it is the religion of
love. If somebody asks you what is your caste, you should say, it is the caste of humanity. If somebody
asks, Who is your God?, you should say, Truth is my God. Truth is omnipresent. So, if you recognise
the inner unity of all the teachings, you will forget the external differences. Whichever religion you
may belong to, whichever caste you maybe long to, whichever language you may belong to, when
all of you unite, society will be become better. Rivers keep flowing; rivers never think that their water
is just for Christians or Hindus or Indians. All the river knows is how to flow. It flows for everyone. It
does not have any prejudices. Similarly, air flows; you are inhaling the oxygen in the air to live. You
only take in oxygen and not nitrogen or carbon dioxide. Whichever religion people belong to, all of
them live by breathing in the same oxygen. One sun shines on all the continents of the world.
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D i vi ne D isco urse - 2 4 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
There is no different sun for Australia, or America or India. When you look at creation, nature or the
world, it is always demonstrating unity as a reflection of Gods teaching. Man is nothing but a reflection of God. Nature and your internal nature should become one and the same. In nature we find
complete selflessness; nature is nothing but a reflection of God Himself. You were born out of nature.
Therefore, your own internal nature should also become selfless. Any dish prepared from sugar will
be sweet, and can never be bitter. Where do you get the sugar from? It comes from sugarcane. The
sugar that comes out of the sugarcane is sweet. Therefore, any dish that is prepared with sugar will
be also sweet. Nature, which has come from selfless God, is also selfless. Therefore, man who arises
from nature should also be selfless. Knowing your inner nature is nothing but selflessness. Love everyone, serve everyone -- that is how you will find fulfilment in your life. This is My message to you.
The Me d i ca l Va n
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Q&A S essio n - 24 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
Do you have any questions? Ask questions which are useful for everyone.
Question: Swami, why is it that we change when are are around different people? Our personalities are ever moulding around different situations and different people. How do we know our true
selves?
Swami: This world, which is bound by time, space and circumstances must be respected. For instance, if you are in India, you have to follow the rules that pertain to Indian laws. You have to drive
on the correct side of the road, you have to deal with things in a certain way. In America, the laws are
different and you have to comply with American laws. These are only external variations, that are required in order to suit a certain situation, time or place, but they are just temporary. The inner nature
remains the same. The driver who drives in India, or the one who drives in America, or the one who
drives in the UK or Australia may have to follow different rules according to the laws of traffic, but his
intention is to reach the destination safely, without hurting anyone or himself. In the same way, your
lifes intention should not change. The external circumstances may change, the way you do things
might change, but your intention should not change -- the intention should be to be kind, to be loving, to be helpful. Externally, you may do it in a different way, but internally the intention should be
the same. So there is no conflict if you look at it in a deeper level.
Question: Swami, I was recently in Puttaparthi for a festival. One of the Trust members was giving a
talk on seva. He told a story about when he was once in Whitefield with You and he was talking about
all the different seva projects that the Trust was doing. He was describing the progress of one seva
project and another seva project, when apparently You interrupted him and said that, this is not real
seva. Real seva is realising our true nature. Swami, I pray that I have the grace to do that seva for You.
Could You please talk about that seva, the ultimate seva and how we may achieve it?
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Q& A S essio n - 2 4 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
Swami: When a child is born he cries. What does he cry? He cries, Koham, Koham, Koham. It means,
Who am I, Who am I, Who am I? -- because he doesnt know where he has landed again. He doesnt
know what hes going to do with his life or what his real nature is. So he is curious and cries, Koham,
Who am I? The answer to this is, Soham, I am That. I am That, means, I am Divinity, I am God. However,
during the course of his life, he engages in different actions, which have favourable or unfavourable
results; which leads to joy or sorrow; which leads to praise or blame; which leads to gains or losses.
He continuously shuffles between these two ends of duality, pleasure and pain, loss and gain, good
and not so good and, slowly, he develops the feeling that, I am this body, which has a mind. I am just
this body-mind complex, and then he learns to consider himself to be a body with a certain name
and nature. That is when he has to practise, Naham, I am not this body, I am not this body. He starts
the journey with, Koham, Who am I?, progresses to, Naham, I am not this body, and finally realises,
Soham, that is, I am That, the Divine Self.
While you are leading your lives in this world, you are faced with duality, you develop this bodyconsciousness and you develop ego. At that point, service comes to your rescue. Service allows you
to think of others before yourselve. Service allows you to sacrifice your petty interests for the sake of
others joy. Service allows you to give up body-consciousness, ego and attachment, and helps you
grow towards God. Therefore, if you render any service with a feeling that you are the doer, you are
doing a favour to someone else, and you are benefiting somebody else through your knowledge,
skills or resources, then that service is ultimately not going to take you to Soham. You are born with,
Koham, Who am I? and you also die with, Koham, Who am I? You will not realise your true Self. SerThe Me d i ca l Va n
vice helps you mitigate the effects of ego and attachment. If service is not rendered with that feeling,
then it is of no use to Me. If service is done for the sake of preparing reports and analyses and then
producing all this data in front of the masses, in order to prove that you have done something for
the sake of others, then I dont need such empty words. Service that does not lead to realisation is no
service at all. That is what I mean by saying that true service is the realisation of your Self, and that is
only possible if you do it without any trace of ego and attachment.
The right hand should not know what the left hand is doing. The left hand should not know what
the right hand has done. Therefore, you should never develop any kind of attachment or ego when
you serve. If you serve selflessly, you will definitely gain realisation and, once you are a realised soul,
believe Me, that is the greatest service you can do for society. Your very presence will motivate and
transform people. Your very existence will become an inspiration for others to follow. Therefore, if
you become perfect, if you become Divine, your mere presence will help many, many more. Ultimately, that is the greatest service. The sun has simply to rise in the sky but, as it shines, it serves so
many people. The whole of life on earth carries on by the mere presence of the sun. If you can become like the sun, realising your Divinity, your mere presence will take care of everything else. This
is what I mean.
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Q& A S essio n - 2 4 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
Question: Swami has advised young people to become fearless, majestic and just. Swami, we find
that very hard to practise. Please enlighten us.
Swami: When does fear come? Fear comes when you think that youre going to be harmed, you are
going to lose something, or you are going to be at a disadvantage. That is when fear comes -- because
you identify yourself just with the body and think that it has to be protected, it has to be looked after,
it has to be cared for. If anything goes unfavourably, you develop anger, fear and all such negative
emotions. It is truly the identification with your perishable, physical nature, which causes fear. If you
know that it is just a temporary thing and it has to go some day or another, fear will also go away.
When you know the higher truth, fear disappears.
If the children who are here want to use the toilet in the middle of the night, they are afraid that there
might be a ghost hiding behind the door, because they think that ghosts exist and are going to catch
them, so they dont want to go to the toilet. What does the mother do? She takes the child by the
hand to the toilet, puts on the light and shows him that there is no ghost -- itsempty. Then the child
realises, there is no ghost. There is nothing to fear.
Fear is imaginary; it arises out of the identification with your body, which you think is permanent. So
divine incarnations come; they switch on the light of wisdom and then they show you that there is
nothing to fear; for all are yours, nobody can harm you, nobody can do anything bad to you. Everything that happens is for your good and, when you believe in the Avatars word, that everything is
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nothing but your own Self reflecting in so many mirrors, then there is nothing to fear. If you realise
that you are truly Divine, you will understand that you are nothing but God and the whole creation
is nothing but God. How can God hurt God, how can God punish God? God can only love God.
Therefore, you will come to realise that even if something is unfavourable, it is for your own good. In
time you will realise that and then move on. Fearlessness is not possible unless you identify yourself
with your true nature, which is Divine. In the Upanishads there is a story, where a lion cub, at birth,
gets lost in a herd of sheep. It starts thinking that it is a sheep and starts bleating, eating and doing
everything like a sheep. Until, one day, he sees a majestic lion and when it roars, he is in awe because
he did not know that such a beautiful, majestic creature was also there in the jungle. When all the
sheep are running away in fear, he stands by the side of the majestic lion and the lion asks the cub,
You are a lion cub, what are you doing amongst those sheep? The cub replies, I am not a lion, I am
a sheep. The lion says, No, you are a lion. Come here, I will show you. He takes the cub and shows
him his reflection in the river. The cub sees that he is truly, a lion cub and not just a sheep. With a little
effort, he is able to roar and not just bleat. Thats when all the fear disappears. He is no more afraid of
anybody, because he knows that he is a lion and not a fearful sheep. When you realise that your true
nature is God, all fear will disappear. You will become majestic, you will become just, you will become
fearless and above all, you will become loving.
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Q& A S essio n - 2 4 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
Question: In the world, when we see so much wrong, its sometimes difficult to remain silent. I want
to know, as an individual, should we say something when something is wrong or just transfer the
problem to You, Swami?
Swami: If you see that something is going wrong and do nothing about it, you are also a part of that
wrong. You become equally guilty of the mistake being made, or the crime being committed. You
have seen, and though it was within your capacity to do something about it, you decided not to. First
you need to make an effort yourself -- I always say, Do your best and then leave the rest to Me. Without doing your best and leaving everything to Swami, nothing is going to happen. I put you in such
situations to teach you how to deal with them; to make you learn courage; to make you learn compassion. If you do not make any effort and pass it all on to Me, how are you going to learn anything?
If parents keep doing the their childrens homework out of their misplaced love, when is the child
going to learn anything? Therefore, when you see that something is going wrong, make an effort to
stop it. Pray to Me to help you. There is no escape -- you must make an effort first and, only then, must
you pray to Me for help. Just transferring things to Me is not going to bring you any result. When you
are sitting at home and you are hungry, do you simply pray to Me for your hunger to be satisfied? Or
do you go to the kitchen, find something, cook it and eat it? When it comes to your own problems,
you want to solve them immediately. When it is other peoples problems, you want to transfer it to
God (laughter). Make an effort!
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Q& A S essio n - 2 4 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
Question: Swami, yesterday it was said that, when science ends, Divinity begins. I was recently in a
conference with scientists and similar statements were rejected by the scientific community. Isnt science also evolving all the time? When does it end? What we know today, we didnt know yesterday.
When is the concept of Divinty going to be accepted by the scientific community?
Swami: There are many states in a country. When you are travelling through one state on a particular road, you pass a sign which says that this state ends and new state begins -- but before all of the
states were divided, were not all the roads the same? In a house there are many rooms. Originally it
is just open space, then you build walls and differentiate between, Drawing Room, Dining Room,
Kitchen and Bathrooms. If you remove all the walls, the space becomes one again. If you look at
it from the point of Divinity, it is Divinity alone that exists. It is because of your perception that this
world is reality, that you create these boundaries and define, this is science, that is art, this is Divinity. The truth is, there is only Divinity. Music is Divinity as much as science is. Science is only trying
to understand how things work, but the fact remains that it is Divinity which is working. For that
matter, even with music, an instrument may be a scientific creation, the sound it produces might
be defined by certain laws or rules but, ultimately, when you sing from your heart, you become one
with the Divine -- and that is when Divinity is realised. According to Me, it is only Divinity which exists
throughout everything. It is your understanding that, this is science and, that is Divinity and this is
a misunderstanding. It is like drawing imaginary borders on the earth and differentiating one area of
land from another, this country from another, this state from another, this town from another. These
are all imaginary lines.
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As your heart expands, as your mind evolves, you will realise that everything is Divinity and there
are no limits to Divinity. It doesnt begin somewhere and end somewhere. It is complete. The Upanishads say, Poornamadah, that is, it is complete. Poornamidam, this is also complete. If you remove
something from the complete, what remains is also complete. So, Divinitys nature is infinite. Science
is only a way to explain certain laws or phenomena, but it doesnt explain the workings of it -- that is
still beyond the comprehension of the human mind. Science is only related to the mind. Spirituality
or Divinty is the subject of the heart. The heart encompasses everything, whilst the mind has its own
limitations. Where the mind ends, the heart begins, where science ends, spirituality begins -- but,
truly, it is only spirituality which encompasses everything. If you use your heart, you will know this
truth. If you use your mind, you have to go on evolving until your mind merges with the nature of
your heart, and then you will realise that everything is Divine.
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Q& A S essio n - 2 4 S e p te mb e r ( M o r n in g)
Question: Swami, would You kindly tell us a little about using thoughts for service?
Swami: Everything starts with a thought. A thought takes shape as a word and a word takes shape
as an action. First you think, then you say, and then you do. So the origin of all activities, not just service, is thought. Sow a thought, reap an action. Sow an action, reap a tendency. Sow a tendency, reap
a habit. Sow a habit, reap a character. Sow a character, reap a destiny. Therefore, everything begins
from a thought. I understand your predicament. You may not be able to go and speak to people,
or physically serve people, but then, in your thoughts, you can always pray for everyone. The minimum service I have given to all devotees, is to pray for the well-being of everyone. Samastha Lokah
Sukhino Bhavanthu (May all beings in all the worlds be happy). If, at the moment, with all your purity,
all your intention, you chant that mantra, that will help a lot of people.
What is this world? This world is nothing but energy manifested as matter. Every thought is nothing but a form of energy. Energy can merge with energy. Matter has to deal with matter. Therefore,
a positive thought is positive energy and it will help. Now, when you are all seated here with many
positive thoughts, you feel so energised, you dont feel dull, you dont feel slow; you feel happy, you
feel light. That is because all your thoughts are very positive here. Therefore, even if you have just one
pure, selfless thought emanating from a pure mind, know for sure that someday it will manifest itself
as an act of service. It may not be through you, but through someone else. Thought is very important. Before I said that I want to have a school or hospital, it was just a thought. Then I spoke about
it, explained it to My instruments and then, these instruments took it upon themselves to take the
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path of action and make it manifest as matter. Therefore, every pure thought is extremely important.
The minimum you can do is, think good, think divine, think of everyone. Dont have selfish thoughts.
Even in this way you will be able to serve.
Today we will close this session now. There are a lot of children and they all need to have lunch in time.
The adults may be able to wait, but the children cant (laughter). Therefore, we will finish now and meet
again in the afternoon.
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Swami: Small numbers is only in your mind. You think you are a small number of people, but one
person can achieve a lot. Even if just one starts off an activity with selflessness, believe Me, a lot more
people will come and join you. Dont just look at the people who belong to families that are devoted
to Swami. All youth, all children are ours. Love knows no distinction, service knows no discrimination; if you start serving and loving, more and more people will join. You will be surprised to see that
there will be more youth coming from all over the place than from Sai families, because they are
open-minded; anything good, they will accept. Therefore, become open-minded and you will attract many more people. Keep doing your work courageously, and more and more people will come
and join you. You are a doctor, give seva as a doctor, and then other doctors who know you will also
come along and your group will go on increasing. It is very important that somebody should start off
selflessly, then everybody will come. All revolutions in the world have started with just one person.
Looking at that one persons conviction, his faith and his sacrifice, others have joined in and then it
turned into a revolution. In the same way, this spiritual revolution will begin with you, and more and
more people will gradually join. Do medical seva; more will join.
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Youth: Swami, with Your divine Grace, You have allowed me to be a part of the medical unit. I am
graduating this year, and I need to look for a job. Swami, where should I apply if I am to continue to
be part of this service?
Swami: Right now, you are a part of it, right now, you work for it. When you get a job, wherever you
go, you can continue to do so. You can start with this project. As I said, at this moment, it is important
to concentrate on what is in hand at present. I tell you, it really does not matter -- wherever your job
takes you, go there and think that it is another opportunity for you to start service there. You will
have to go a little further, but you should not be disheartened, for you will find more people and new
people to work with you and recommence this in another place. Do you know how a tree multiplies?
It does not grow in the same place; its seeds fly to far-off lands and then they grow into trees. Then
more seeds are formed and they fly to other places and yet more trees grow. This is the way trees
multiply themselves. In the same way, each one of you, wherever you go, can start this work and
spread it further.
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Ultimately, what is written is going to happen -- but whether it will happen in a nicer way, in an
easier way, or in a tougher or more difficult way depends on your free-will. If you surrender your
free-will to God, then God will prevail over all your decisions, all your circumstances and help you
reach your destination in the safest and shortest way. If you have such a busy mind and so much
body consciousness, that you tend to ignore the voice of God and listen, instead, to the noise of your
mind, then your mind will take you according to your place. In the end, the only perfected person is
one who does not have a mind or a will of his own, for he has completely surrendered his mind and
will to the Lord and follows only the Lords direction. Unless you have reached that kind of perfection and have absolutely surrendered everything that you have to God, you have to understand that
free-will and destiny exist. Your destiny is what you will ultimately achieve, and how you will achieve
it will be defined by your free-will. Fill your mind with positive thoughts and pure feelings and God
will guide you to the right place.
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How is it possible to answer everybodys question in such a short time, in such a short session?
Ultimately, everyone has to find the answers from within. Each person is full of knowledge, full of
wisdom. It is like a library inside, but only if you go into the library will you be able to use the books
to your advantage. All wisdom lies within you. If you close your eyes, pray to God and ask Him for
guidance, He will somehow lead you to the answer -- through a book; through a friend; through
something that you read accidentally; through a person you meet accidentally, or even through
just intuition. It is important is that you trust and move forward in confidence that this is so. Each
is equally full of wisdom; each is equally Divine. So the answers to all your questions lie within. Try
whichever way helps you to connect to your inner Divinity and seek the answers, for all ways are
right. I can answer in any way. Trust your intuition.
What about the other meeting? We should go there because they are waiting, too -- but more importantly, amongst all people, the youth are the right age and this is the right time for you to use all
your abilities and skills to attain anything, including the highest -- that is God. The mind can lead you
to the world, and it can also lead you to God. It is, after all, the driver of the vehicle. If you guide the
driver correctly, it will take you to the right destination. If you guide it incorrectly, it is not the fault of
the driver. Therefore, use all your abilities, all your energies, and all your skills to move towards God
and be fearless. God will look after all your needs.
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The physical has strict limitations. Whatever you want to do in this limited world, can be done only
to a limited extent -- but the Empire of the Spirit is very vast. The subtle, spiritual universe is much,
much bigger than this physical universe. If you want to enter that Empire of the Spirit you need a
passport, a visa, and other required things. In this world, if you want to go to a particular place, you
need to get the papers required to go there. Similarly, if you want to go from the physical universe
to the spiritual universe, you need the right credentials. What are they? The passport is a very pure
mind -- one that allows you to recognise that you are not the body, that you are Divine. Only when
the word, Divine is written in your passport, can you enter the spiritual universe -- but a mere passport is not enough; you also need a visa. What is that visa? Selfless love is that visa. Only when you
have selfless love can you enter that universe. Even these two are not enough; you need to purchase
a ticket to go there. A ticket is nothing but a piece of paper which will enable you to travel. You have
to make payment to purchase a ticket. Where do you get this particular ticket? Only if you go to the
counter of a spiritual master will you get this ticket. In fact, the ticket is nothing but selfless actions.
Only when you perform selfless actions, will God send you that ticket.
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