Instruments of the Divine Will
I am happy to meet you and talk to you on this occasion - the very first gathering of the members of the Council of
There are many trusts operating in this country and in others beyond the seas. I wish to emphasise that the Sathya Sai Trusts have to shine forth among them all by their special characteristics. They must be based on mutual trust and co-operation, built on the actual experience of the oneness of all. There is no room here for egoistic poses, compulsory tactics, greed for power, recrimination, and jealousy.
Trust depends on Faith in God
Of course, wherever money is dealt with, these evils are common; there are trusts that are compelled to enter into the process of litigation even as far as the supreme court, against their own members for breach of trust. Remember that trusts are built firmly on the foundation of trust; if you do not trust yourselves and your own reality, you can never trust another. Ultimately, trust depends on faith in God, as expressed in your own actions and in the actions of others. Virtue can grow only in an atmosphere of theism; you must have faith in the omnipresence of God, that God is the witness, the guide, and the guardian. Self-confidence, confidence that you are the pure unlimited self, is the great reinforcement that religion can endow you with. When you establish this in your hearts, you can be entrusted with any type of responsibility, and any type of work.
The Vedhas lay down four goals before men: Dharma, Artha, Kaama and Moksha. But they have to be pursued in pairs. Dharma and Artha (virtue and wealth) together and Kaama and Moksha (desire and liberation) together. That is to say, wealth has to be earned through righteousness, and desire has to be for liberation. But, man takes these four separately, and loses all.
He puts them into separate compartments and adopts distinct plans to achieve them. So, this personality is not integrated; he leads a broken life. He gives up Dharma and Moksha as beyond him and wastes his life pursuing sheer Artha and Kaama. They lead him into ruin.
You have to practise righteousness in the
You have to struggle to ensure spiritual Progress
This is a chance for service for which you must fell extremely delighted, for, here you can transmute your devotion and faith into positive acts of service for the benefit of your brothers and sisters. And, since I am with you in all that you do, you have no worry about the success of the undertakings. You have only to be 'instruments;' you need not devise devious ways or roundabout tactics. Doing your duties as members, you have the need to preserve and develop trust in Sai, too.
This is Sai work, which you are invited to enjoy. This is elevating work that brings you nearer to the heart of the divine. When Naaraayana hastened to save the elephant from the jaws of the crocodile, the Bhaagavatha says, He did not take with Him the weapons - wheel or even lotus or the conch. He went empty handed, as far as the eye could discern. The conscious hand must have the inert pickaxe in order to break the hard sod; so too, the divine consciousness must have the Prakrithi (objective world or objective instrument) to carry out His plan.
You have the chance to contribute to the happiness and beatitude of thousands. In order to carry out this duty, you have yourselves to lead exemplary lives. Your Nithya Jeevitha (daily living) must be transformed into live prayers and live Saadhana. How much struggle are you now going through for ensuring physical comfort! You have to struggle much more for ensuring mental peace and spiritual progress, for Sathya Jeevitha (life in truth).
Calculate within yourselves the benefit that would accrue to you from this Saadhana into which you are initiated now, and prepare for shouldering the task assigned to you - to be instruments dedicated for advancing the mission on which the divine has come.
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