Life

By Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

What is life all about? Many have asked this question, many more have looked for answers. Life appears as a bundle of experiences accumulated over a lifetime. There is happiness and sorrow, pleasure and pain, success and failure. What does life have to offer to the seeker? A gifted opportunity to realise the purpose of existence, finding the single truth to the many questions we find around us. Who we are, where are we going? Life is truly beautiful. Life is happiness. Life is learning. Listen to Bhagawan as He speaks to us about life and all it has to offer.

• Language: English
• Publisher: Sri Sathya Sai Sadhana Trust, Publications Division
• Release date: Oct 24, 2013
• ISBN: 9789350691458

Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

Sri Sathya Sai Baba was born as Sathyanarayana Raju on November 23rd, 1926 in the village of Puttaparthi, in the state of Andhra Pradesh in South India. Even as a child, His spiritual inclination and contemplative nature set Him apart from other children of His age, and He was known as 'Guru' and "Brahmajnani' among His peers and others in the village. On October 20th, 1940, He made the historic declaration of His Avatarhood and the world at large learnt of this divine phenomenon. Today, millions of devotees worship Him as an 'Avatar' and an incarnation of the Sai Baba of Shirdi.Revealing the purpose of His Advent, Sai Baba has said that He has come to re-establish the rhythm of righteousness in the world and repair the ancient highway to God, which over the years has systematically deteriorated.Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is an integral manifestation who combines two very significant roles. Firstly, He is a great spiritual Master, famed for His simple and sweet exposition of the greatest and most intricate of spiritual truths which form the fundamental teachings of all the religions of the world. His formula for man to lead a meaningful life is the five-fold path of Sathya, Dharma, Shanthi, Prema, and Ahimsa. Love for God, fear of sin and morality in society - these are His prescriptions for our ailing world.Secondly, He is an inexhaustible reservoir of pure love. His numerous service projects, be it free hospitals, free schools and colleges, free drinking water supply or free housing projects, all stand testimony to His selfless love and compassion for the needy and less privileged. True to His declaration - "My Life is My Message", He has inspired and continues to inspire millions of His devotees worldwide by His personal example to live the ideal that service to man is service to God.Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba is a beacon of hope in the world. A devotee said, "Bhagawan Baba is nothing but Love walking on two feet."

Book preview

Foreword

What is life all about? Many have asked this question, many more have looked for answers. Life appears as a bundle of experiences accumulated over a lifetime. There is happiness and sorrow, pleasure and pain, success and failure. What does life have to offer to the seeker? A gifted opportunity to realise the purpose of existence, finding the single truth to the many questions we find around us. Who we are, where are we going? Life is truly beautiful. Life is happiness. Life is learning. Listen to Bhagawan as He speaks to us about life and all it has to offer.

1

Human life is highly sacred.

Jantunam Nara Janma Durlabham. Shareeramadhyam Khaludharma Sadhanam (The body is a medium meant for the pursuit of dharma). Do not underestimate the potentialities of the human body. In fact, the human body is the basis for attaining the goal of life.

(S.S.S. Vol.XXXIII p.56)

2

Human life is not meant for the enjoyment of physical comforts and worldly pleasures. They are momentary. It is meant to set an ideal to the rest of the world. Having lived all these years, what is the ideal that you have set? What is it that you have achieved? Put this question to yourself. The answer is a big zero. You might have done a few good deeds in life, but they pale in comparison to the number of bad deeds you might have performed. That is not the quality of a human being. Cultivate good thoughts, speak good words, and perform good deeds.

(S.S.S. Vol.XXXIII p.200)

3

Your life will find fulfilment when you please God by offering Him the eight flowers: Ahimsa (non-violence), Indriyanigraha (sense control), Kshama (forbearance), Shanti (peace), Tapas (penance), Dhyana (meditation), and Sathya (truth). Love is the undercurrent of all these. So, lead a life suffused with love.

(S.S.S. Vol.XXXIII p.200)

In this drama of life, all are actors. Even Bhagawan is acting a role. The world is like a stage. God is the director and as per the directions, all are acting.

(S.S.S. Vol.XXXI p.193)

4

Ahamkara (ego) is the pest that attacks the roots of the tree of human life. Raga (attachment) and dwesha (hatred) foster ahamkara. The three together spell doom for human life. Man’s life will shine forth brilliantly, when his mind is filled with Divine Love. The life