i
Teachings of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba
Volume 3
©2014 Sathya Sai International Organisation
All Rights Reserved
publications@ssswf.org
About printing this book:
Please use the “fit to printable area” option on your
computer when printing this book
To read “Teachings of Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba,” Volumes 1 and 2 please go to
the following link: http://sathyasai.org/publications/
Topics covered:
Volume 1: Ceiling on Desires/Eight Flowers of Worship
Volume 2: Silence/You Cannot Always Oblige, But You Can Always Speak Obligingly
ii
Contents
1
Who Is Dear to the Lord
Devoid of Desires
•
Absolutely Pure
•
Firm in Determination
Completely Detached
•
Free from Grief
•
Renounced Pomp and Ostentation
10
Twenty Virtues Essential for Wisdom
Humility
•
Absence of Vanity
•
Non-violence
Patience, Fortitude
•
Integrity
Reverential Service Rendered to the Spiritual Teacher
Cleanliness
•
Steadfastness
•
Control of the senses
Detachment
•
Absence of Egotism
Awareness of Birth-Death-Old Age-Illness-Grief
Withdrawal of Desire for Objects
Absence of attachment to family and home
Equanimity
•
Devotion
•
Solitude
Absence of Interest in the Company of the Worldly Minded
Awareness of the Distinction between Atma and non-Atma
Experience of Atma
15
Ten Types of Purity
Purity of Your Residence
Mutual Understanding and Cooperation in the Family
Pure Food
•
Pure Water
Pure Thoughts and Feelings
•
Pure Vision
Pure Reading and Writing
•
Pure Service
Pure Spiritual Discipline
•
Pure Work
18
Glossary
1
Who Is Dear to the Lord
Devoid of Desires
Absolutely Pure
Firm in Determination
Completely Detached
Free from Grief
Renounced Pomp and Ostentation
Man’s joys and sorrows, happiness or misery are not dependent on time. They are
based on man’s actions. Time has no relations or friends. Time is not subordinate to
anyone. All are subject to time. Hence if one is to realise the Divine, who is the Lord of
Time, one has to carry out His injunctions. God looks with love only at such a person.
In this context, the Bhagavad Gita has described the traits of the devotee who is dear
to the Lord:
Anapeksha Shuchir Dakshah Udaaseena Gatavyathah Sarvarambha Parithyaagi Yo
Madbhaktah Sa Me Priyah
—Bhagavad Gita: (12.16)
He who is totally devoid of desires, absolutely pure, firm in determination, completely
detached, free from grief, and has renounced pomp and ostentation— such a one is dear
to Me.
1
2
SIX QUALITIES ONE SHOULD POSSESS TO BECOME DEAR TO THE LORD
do anything and everything. Our actions must
be such that they please Him and would secure
His approval. If a devotee conducts himself in this
fashion, he becomes dear to the Lord.
2
Man Has Taken Birth to Perform
His Duties
When man performs actions, regarding him-
self, as the doer, the actions become fetters that
bind him. All actions that are performed with the
feeling that they are intended as offerings to please
the Divine do not lead to bondage. They become
desireless actions. One has to recognise that it is
the Divine Principle in all beings that is getting
all actions done through human beings as instru-
ments. As long as man regards himself as the doer
and enjoyer he cannot escape from the conse-
quences of his actions.
When a man regards a certain piece of land
as his, the crops grown on it will belong to him.
The Bhagavad Gita teaches that when actions are
done as offerings to God, they become “desireless”
actions. Man has taken birth to perform his duties
and not to enjoy power or assert his rights. When
one’s duty is performed, the right comes of its own
accord. Men today fight for their “rights” and for-
get their duties. Hence discharge of duty comes
first. It is through duty that man realises God.
1
The Lord Is Present
in All Righteous Actions
In the Bhagavad Gita, the Lord has declared
that He is present in all righteous actions. There-
fore, those who perform righteous actions can
develop desirelessness. This means that when a
man performs all actions as offerings to the Lord,
they become desireless actions. The Lord is the
one who, from within, makes a person act, speak,
listen, see, and perform many other actions. He
is the doer and the enjoyer. If a person performs
all actions with the conviction that the Indwell-
ing Lord is the real Doer, then his actions become
ANAPEKSHA
(Devoid of Desires)
There Must Be Control over Desires
Anapeksha means that the devotee is beyond
apeksha, i.e., desires or expectations. Is it ever pos-
sible for man, bound as he is by the body and the
senses, to be without desires? Hardly. Some desire
or the other will always be there. However, there
must be control over the desires that one has.
What sorts of desires are permitted? Recall
what Krishna has to say about this matter. He says
that all righteous actions are Divine. Thus, among
the permissible desires, the best is the desire for
sacrifice. The yearning for righteousness also is im-
portant. The desire for God is mandatory.
Although what must truly be desired is very
clear, people have widely different types of ex-
pectations and desires. Although some consider
being righteous as very important, others think
that achieving [worldly] greatness is the best goal.
Some even try to combine these two objectives.
Truly speaking, no one has the freedom or the au-
thority to do as one likes. One must do exactly as
the Lord says.
Perform Actions Exclusively for the
Pleasure of the Lord
The Lord has stated very clearly that He wants
you to attain the state of desirelessness. How does
one do that? One does this by strictly confining
oneself to righteous activities alone, performing
such actions exclusively for the pleasure of the
Lord, and by offering all such actions in their en-
tirety to the Lord. Actions performed in this spirit
rise well above worldly desires and expectations.
Thus the word anapeksha ought not to be inter-
preted in a very rigid sense.
What it really means is having the irresistible
urge to work only for the Lord and for His sole
pleasure. However, that does not mean one can