Relief

There are only two ways of spreading light - to be the candle or the mirror that reflects it.

- Edith Wharton

I feel such immediate relief when I finally set down a heavy load of groceries or a cumbersome object.  I breathe easier, my muscles relax, and my steps become lighter when I free myself of the burden I was carrying.

And I feel relief when I forgive also, because I free my mind and heart of burdens I may have been carrying for days, weeks, months - even years.  Through forgiveness, I let go of the past and make a conscious effort to step forward into a time of new opportunities and new growth.

And is it any wonder that my act of forgiveness causes me to walk lighter, to breathe easier, and to be more relaxed?  By forgiving myself and others, I stand straighter and I move with confidence into a bright new future.

As I forgive, I release the burdens of the past.

(From : 'Daily Word' magazine by Silent Unity, a world wide prayer ministry) 

To Lead

Human Being

It is by accumulation the benefit of many good deeds in many earlier lives of yours that you are now born as a human being.  Because you are not aware of the great good treasures that you have thus accumulated as a result of which you have the reward of your present life, you are not assigning the necessary value to human life.  If you are only aware of the extent of the goodness of your previous births that has brought to the stage of your present life, you will never waste this present life.

(Summer Showers, 1973, pg 47)

Sai Darshan, Part 2 - 59

I call you my true devotee,
Only when you devote each and every moment
With your heart and soul to Me.
I always say, "Time is God".
Every minute wasted
Is a minute taken away from Me.
I want you to
Eat with Me.
Work with Me.
Play with Me.
And sleep with Me.
Time waits for none.
It continues to move on
And establishes its victory over all.
Let Me become the hands of your clock,
And move with you at all times.
Then even when time runs out on you,
You will not have any regrets,
Of time you could have used to be with Me.
So do whatever it takes to be with Me.
And end this bondage with time
Into a timeless one with Me.


From : 'Sai Darshan' - Part II
(Divine Messages received and recorded by Mrs Seema M Dewan)

GEM 805

An individual who is not aware of his true self cannot escape from sorrow.

(From : Garland of 1008 Gems, Bhagawan Shri Sathya Sai Baba's Sayings)

Living in the Presence of God (Vol I/Pt I - 64)

CHAPTER 64


Do not dwell on another's wrong done to you, let the memory erase, make it a new beginning, and with every fresh start, let the pain of blame leave you, forever. You carry with you the pains of yesterday that will only be the worries of tomorrow. By learning to forgive, you give another the chance to take a new step ahead, allowing the repentance of his wrong to burn his impurities, and encouraging him to develop the strength to fight his failures. When you will remember every wrong, you My dears, will become his barrier from being able to rise from his fall. As long as you will hold on to the wrong, he, too, will only be compelled to live with it. As long as you will resent that wrong, he will only be forced to justify it with the defense of his failing dignity. Hold on to only what is right, today, and not to what was wrong, yesterday. Peace will only come, when you are the first to make its offering. Peace will only come, when you are the first to make its offering. Peace will only come, when your path of right will shine before you. The one that wrongs is the one that will suffer - suffer, one day, with the same weapon that will be the course of his death - then why must you analyze, judge, and punish the one that is the unfortunate of tomorrow? Fill yourselves with pity - not the pity of pride, but the pity of love and compassion, ignoring the attack of the wrong doer and become the medicine of his disease.


Harsh behavior comes from a mind that has developed anger and bitterness of his own constant failures. Your success becomes his envy, and the envy shows the ugly face of pride - and pride will only scorn the one that is humble and blame him to be weak. But you must not pay any heed to these insane remarks. When you, too, will react with anger, you are only allowing evil to make its short-term victory. Evil must be destroyed by your reaction of its nonrecognition. Look only for the happiness that lies within you and emanate with it.


Live to keep the conscience clean, for no other proof of purity is required. Be vigilant of any wrong that you may commit, and do not rest, until you have undergone every penance to correct this wrong to a right. You must not forego the right at any time, even if it means facing the gutsy winds of limited hardships - however much the winds may howl, let them not frighten you. The pillar of truth can face any storm with a silence - a silence that will kill the scream of evil!


Each day, the clouds cover the sky, yet we know that behind the clouds, the sky still exists. The self, My dears, is the sky that must allow the clouds of delusion to pass by. Know, always, that the will of the Lord will only prevail, you may resist and walk against this law of nature, but the day will come when you will turn around, and walk back on the road of surrender. Believe Me, you cannot be lost forever - for I have come to find you. It is your prayers that has brought Me amongst you today, and it is My grace and your determination that will keep us together today, and each day from now on.




- Divine Messages received and recorded by Mrs Seema M Dewan

Desire

The Journey

The various journeys by car, bus, train or airplane undertaken by man in daily life are regulated by considerations of time.  But the journey of life has been going on ever since creation began and shall go on forever.  Unlike other journeys, this journey can never be canceled or even postponed!  It is inevitable for all men, be the prince or peasant, messiah or mendicant.  Forgetting that this ultimate journey is unavoidable for all those who come into this world with a body, man is foolishly arrogating immortality unto himself.  Engrossed in the transient matters of the world, he is becoming a victim of misery and suffering.

Childhood is spent with companions and playthings; youth is thrown away in romance and dance; middle age is wasted in the pursuit of wealth; and old age is a sad tale of repentance and relentless attachments.  Unable to discard evil habits and seek the path of liberation, man wallows in the mire of worldliness and fritters away the precious gift of human life!

(Summer Showers, 1979, pg 135)

A Child's Face

Through the face of a child

you can see so much

they have very soft smiles

with a warm gentle touch

You can see the sweetness

in all that they do

the precious look when

you tell them you love them too

The smile on their face

when they play in the rain

the sad on their face

when their aching with pain

A child is so precious

God's gift from above

so give them your heart

and give them your love

Sometimes they may not say

and sometimes they may not show

it's then that they really need you

more than you know

So give them your time

and show them how to grow

for all of them are special

more than we know!

~ Author Unknown ~

Q524

What is the main benefit of God's Grace?



Grace will set everything right.  Its main consequence is Atmasakshathkara (Self-realization); but there are other incidental benefits too, like a happy contented life here below and a cool courageous temper, established in unruffled santhi (peace).  The main benefit from a jewel is personal joy; but when one has come to the last coin in the purse, one can sell it and start life again... this is the nature of Grace.  It fulfils a variety of wants.

(SSS Vol 8, pg 70-71)