All India ConferencesDiscourses
Discourse Date
20 April 1967
Place
Chennai
Occasion
First All-India Conference of the Sri Sathya Sai Seva organization
Discourse Collection
Sri Sathya Sai Speaks, Vol 7 (1967)
LIKE food to a starving man, like showers on a parched field, the Vedhic science of spiritual self-discovery is the life-saver for humanity sliding down to destruction because it has lost its hold on truth, morality, peace and love. You are the instruments in the spread of Vedhic science among the farthest corners of this vast land; you are the chosen ones! You have to show by precept and by example that the path of self-realisation is the path to perfect joy. Hence on you lies a great responsibility; the responsibility of demonstrating by your calmness, composure, humility, purity, virtue, courage and conviction under all circumstances, that the Sadhana you practise has made you a better, happier and more useful person. Practise and demonstrate, do not simply assert in words and deny in deeds. The Sea is considered holy, holier than any river, because all the rivers pour themselves into it. This gathering of workers from all over India is therefore a holy congregation, representing the confluence of streams of devotion. It has become imperative to plan out the process of carrying spiritual knowledge to every door, for the gigantic flood of the modern machine civilisation is fast obliterating all traces of the Divine in man.
Atmosphere Today Is Fouled By Sickly Competition
The Atma which can confer eternal joy is ignored and man rushes wildly under the sea or out into space to cater to his craving for pride and pomp. Some persons have to step forward boldly now to declare from their own genuine experience that the joy of reaching the moon is as nothing when compared to the joy of reaching the inner moon of Anandha, and the source of all Anandha, the Atma. Saying one thing and being another will defeat the very purpose. The slightest sign of hypocrisy will weaken the foundations of the edifice. That is why it is necessary to lay down certain tests and qualifications, certain broad guide-lines for those who stand forth as workers in this field. Standards and systematic self-examination are necessary at every stage for the success of every effort.
The atmosphere today is fouled by hate, greed and sickly competition, which cast out the virtues of reverence, humility and equanimity. The world and its ephemeral attractions have become the goal of human endeavour. God who is the Source, Sustenance and Supreme Goal, is ignored both in the external world and in the inner world of impulse and intellect. So, the organisations you are representing have to be ever vigilant and efficient, lest you too are drawn into the vortex. I am not keeping you here any longer, for you have to gather in groups and draw up points for discussion and clarification, in the further sessions of this Conference; some of you have to meet in committees to prepare reports and lists of suggestions and recommendations for presentation to the Conference. So, I bless you all and allow you to go, back to your lodgings, so that you may met early afternoon for the next stage of the discussion.
Illness is caused more by malnutrition of the mind than of thebody. Doctors speak of vitamin deficiency; I will call it the deficiency of Vitamin G, and I will recommend the repetition of the Name of God, with accompanying contemplation of the glory and grace of God. That is the Vitamin G. That is the medicine; regulated life and habits are two-thirds of the treatment, while the medicine is just one-third only.
– Sri Sathya Sai Baba