Life Is... Series

"The world is teaching man innumerable lessons all the time. Each one should try to discover for himself the secret of his life and the Universal Consciousness that is inherent in him. The first requisite for each one is to make himself his own guru," said Bhagawan in a discourse at Sri Sathya Sai University (then, Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Learning) on July 3rd, 1986. This book is the story of the efforts made by the author in obedience to that instruction and of some of the ways she has been assisted in her inner search by Baba's simple, but very effective teaching methods. This book does not attempt to tell anyone else how to live his life. It does not include any experiences, except those of which the author has first-hand knowledge. No attempt is made to describe or explain Sathya Sai Baba, but the author illustrates by incidents in her personal story what knowing Him has meant to her. This book is the first volume in the quartet, the other volumes being, "Life Is A Challenge, Meet It!", "Life Is A Dream, Realize It!", "Life is Love, Enjoy It!".

The author of the book 'Life Is Love, Enjoy It!' Mrs. Joy Thomas and her husband ventured to India, looking for a living Master in their quest for Knowledge about the purpose of life. Both, staunch Christians, were from working class families and were brought up by loving parents who valued duty, morality, and service to others. When they first heard of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba in 1983, they felt that the ultimate grace that could be won in a life time was showered on them by a miracle. The pure divine sparks in their hearts attracted Bhagawan who showered His divine grace and love and guided them in their spiritual evolution. The words of Bhagawan Baba, "Life is a challenge, meet it; Life is love, enjoy it; Life is a dream, realise it; Life is a game, play it," created immense joy in the author and prompted her to write a series of four books with those divine phrases as titles, under the inspiration of Bhagawan. There are experiences in the book like the one in which the doctor attending to her hot swollen leg was overjoyed one morning, on seeing sudden improvement, and said, "It is dramatically better." It was Baba's grace. The leg, which did not respond to any medicine, was cured by her application of vibhuthi over it from a packet that mysteriously plopped on the floor of her room on the previous night, which the doctor was not aware. There are experiences through which lessons were learnt to enjoy life, to expand one's love towards all, to meet challenges in life. She firmly believed that life is love and we can enjoy it. This is the fourth book in the 'Life Is...' series. Each of these books is standalone and can be read without reading the entire series.

In India, The Land of Contrasts, Sri Sathya Sai Baba teaches that both education and medicine are a God-given right for all men and women, regardless of their financial status, caste, creed, race, or religion. In accordance with this philosophy, He has established The Sri Sathya Sai University and The Sri Sathya Sai Institute of Higher Medicine, offering superior educational opportunities and medical care for all, free of cost. Students are instructed in astronomy, mathematics, ecology, architecture, and other subjects. From primary school through post-graduate study, the educational program emphasizes the development of self-discipline and character, as well as the acquisition of knowledge and attainment of skills. In this book, the author, a retired public school administrator, describes how Sai Baba provides a highly individualized learning program for each of His hundreds of thousands of devotees all over the world, relating her own challenges and lessons she has learned in her eleven-year relationship with this unique spiritual preceptor.

"Life Is A Dream, Realize It!' is the third in the series of books written by the authoress, Ms. Joy Thomas, based on Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba's four maxims on life. She has written all these books based on her experiences and the teachings of Bhagawan as also from her interactions with devotees. In this book, she writes about various types of dreams and finally concludes that life itself is a dream from which everyone must awaken and get realisation of the true self. She has discussed sin and repentance, cleansing of mind and service, practising the teachings of Bhagawan in life in order to get His grace, what is true wisdom, what is meant by 'living in God', etc. among other subjects. There is an interesting incident involving the author and Prof. N. Kasturi. She has written about the doubt of a Balvikas student about the purpose of life and how she dealt with it. For the benefit of readers, she has included 108 sayings of Bhagawan Baba kept for daily practice by her husband for helping him to follow His teachings. There is a chapter on the parable 'Return Of The Prodigal Son' in which the author stresses on keeping the sense of discrimination pure without any prejudice. The author also describes in detail the five sheaths that cover the human body. This book is an illustration of the author's efforts to awaken from the dream of what one is not and how to attain full realisation of what one really is, and of the impact of Bhagawan's teachings and the power of His presence to transform the life of anyone who chooses to follow His teachings. She has cited a number of sayings of Bhagawan Baba and also that of Jesus Christ, to back her views on the different subjects that she has dealt with in this book.