Love God, Fear Sin, Guard Human Values

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Love God, Fear Sin, Guard Human Values

• World Youth Conference 1
• Discourse
• July 17, 1997

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Ceiling on Desires

• So long as one goes on multiplying his desires,
  he will continue to be in want. When he controls
  his desires, man attains prosperity. Greed makes
  a man unhappy and miserable. Only when greed and
  miserliness are given up one can have an
  enjoyable and peaceful life.
• People cannot understand the greatness of Divine
  Love. They misconstrue this love and even blame
  God when they do not get their low desires
  fulfilled. Some want liberation. What is
  liberation? It is liberation from desires. They
  want to see God. Should you not have the
  requisite faith and feeling in your heart for
  this?

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Ceiling on Desires

• You young men and women should know what is
  truth, what is love and what is God and what
  relationship is there between Mind and World.
  Youth go abroad in quest of money. You are not
  satisfied with what you can earn here and out of
  greed you go for earning more. You should have
  hands in society and head in the forest. This is
  real rest. Men spend their entire life with
  attachment to money to such an extent that even
  while on death bed they cannot think of God. In
  this conference, you have been told about fear of
  sin and morality in society. You have to carry
  these ideals with you and practice them.

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Ceiling on Desires Techniques

• Food
• Eat in moderation by avoiding taking more than
  you can eat on your plate.
• Offer food to Swami before you eat. Do not waste
  food offered to Swami.
• Time
• Constantly inquire whether the activity you are
  engaged in is the best use of your time.
• Money
• Consider ways to conserve money, e.g. preparing a
  home-made lunch instead of eating out.
• Open a piggy bank with saved funds to regularly
  give to the needy (in some form).
• Energy
• Avoid unnecessary talk. Swami says, Unnecessary
  talk should be avoided as this results in waste
  of energy and reduction of memory power.
• Practice silence after bhajans.

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Ceiling on Desires Sai Challenges

• Challenge yourself. Take up one or more of these
  Sai Challenges and keep track of it.
• Food
• Swami says we should eat such that 50 of our
  stomach is filled with food, 25 with water, and
  25 with air for digestion. Try eating according
  to this suggestion.
• Reduce your portions for lunch and dinner. Eat a
  healthy breakfast.
• Time
• Wake up immediately as your alarm goes off dont
  snooze.
• Limit your time in the shower to ten minutes or
  less.
• Money
• Identify your needs versus wants. Ask yourself if
  a purchase is a need or a want if it is a want,
  try not to buy it.
• Energy
• Identify and eliminate one energy wasting
  activity in your routine each week.
• Reduce, reuse or recycle instead of throwing
  things away.
• Set aside 15 minutes every day and be silent.
  This could be done at work during the lunch
  break, between classes at school, after work or
  school before returning home, or with family
  members.

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Unity of Thought, Word and Deed

• You should not be carried away by bookish and
  superficial knowledge. You should have practical
  knowledge to make your life useful Achieve
  coordination between your education and behavior.
  Perfect harmony in thought, word and deed is the
  hallmark of a human being. You should have full
  faith in God with no doubt at all. Divinity is
  beyond your human comprehension with the physical
  equipment you have. Your thoughts are only
  reflections, resound and reaction of the outer
  world. God has no such reactions. He has only one
  Sound, that is Truth Absolute.
• You should follow the twin ideals "Speak the
  Truth and do righteous deeds". God is the
  changeless Truth but no one understands this. You
  can do so only when you follow the righteous path
  of morality and integrity.
• You must radiate human values and ensure unity in
  thought, word, and deed. At present there is
  chaos and mutual animosity amongst various
  peoples. You have to spread the message of unity,
  purity, and divinity.

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Unity of Thought, Word and Deed Techniques

• Carry a small photograph of Swamis with you all
  the time. Whenever you feel that you are about to
  break the thought, word and deed harmony remember
  that Swami is watching you! Do you want to do
  some thing that Swami does not like?
• Have an activity to counter disharmony.
• If your words/ actions dont reflect your
  thoughts, take a short break, focus on Swami and
  restart activity.
• Strive to give up evil thoughts, evil looks,
  vicious speech and the greed to give ear to evil
  counsel and slanderous gossip. Constantly
  practice on discriminating your thoughts to have
  only good thoughts and intentions
• Learn the meanings of some of the words in
  devotional songs. Make your thoughts dwell on
  these images during devotional service.
• Keep good company, it will help you to think, do,
  and say good things.

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Unity of Thought, Word and Deed Sai Challenge

• Challenge yourself. Take up one or more of these
  Sai Challenges and keep track of it
• When thinking a negative thought, change focus by
  singing a devotionalsong or chanting a prayer. 
• Practice constant communion with Swami and use
  him as your Spiritual Police in practicing unity
  of thought, word and deed.
• Read good books or Sai Literature for the next
  two weeks. Use these positive text in your
  constant pursuit of uniting good thoughts, with
  words and deeds.
• Control your senses by practicing one hour of
  silence each day (without television, radio, or
  phones), what we see and hear directly affects
  our thoughts.
• Think of one or more selfless service deeds that
  you can offer, discuss it with fellow YAs, and
  conduct the selfless service once a month until
  WYC III.
• Prepare and eat Sathwic pure food only for a
  meala day a week -- Swami says, As is the
  food, so is the mind, as the mind, so the
  thought, as the thought, so the act.

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Unity In Diversity

• The whole world and the objects therein are
  inter-related by the bond of love. It is love
  that binds the human race together. The world
  cannot exist without love. God is love and
  resides in the heart of every one as embodiment
  of love. Based on this Truth we pray, that all
  the people in the world should be happy.
  (Lokaas-Samasthaas Sukhino Bhavanthu).
• You are all embodiments of the Divine. So you
  should love all and never hurt anyone. If you
  harm anyone, you are harming the Divine.

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Unity In Diversity

• St. John used to consider all as his brothers.
  But, on one occasion he punished one brother.
  Jesus appeared in his dream and questioned him "
  Do you think you are hurting that man? No, you
  are hurting Me" You should understand this truth
  that any harm done to a fellow being is harming
  the Divine. You should cultivate the spirit of
  oneness.

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Unity In Diversity Techniques

• Gain knowledge of others behaviors and actions
  without focusing on differences. Focus on
  similarities instead.
• Try and relate to anothers actions by attempting
  to understand why they act how they do. How does
  anothers actions resemble your own?
• Respect others differences. Remind yourself that
  each of us is Sai, and in truth, no different
  from anyone else. If it helps, carry a picture
  of Sai with you.

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Unity In Diversity Sai Challenges

• Make a special effort to speak softly and sweetly
  with each individual you encounter, remembering
  that they too are God. Do you notice them
  reacting differently?
• When you greet an individual, internally say I
  love you Sai to the God within the other
  individual. Do this with each individual you
  meet for a day/week.
• Visit a religious congregation of a faith other
  than your own and seek similarities between what
  you believe and they preach. Ignore any
  differences you might encounter.

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Selfless Service

• In ancient times, the sages and saints sacrificed
  everything for the sake of the welfare of
  humanity. Even the youth of those times followed
  suit. They are remembered even today because of
  their spirit of selfless sacrifice. On the
  contrary, the youth of today are becoming
  exceedingly greedy and totally selfish and
  harboring feelings of hatred and jealousy, while
  those in the ancient times were leading a life of
  Thyaaga and Yoga (sacrifice and sense control).
  The present day youth want to lead a life of
  Bhoga (enjoying worldly and carnal pleasures)
  which results in Roga (disease).
• every one of your actions must be done as an
  offering to God. But, nowadays people start their
  journey from 'I' and come back to the same 'I'.
  This is selfishness. The day you give up
  selfishness you are on the right path.

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Selfless Service

• I should be happy. I should enjoy all pleasures
  and be comfortable. I do not care for others".
  This is the attitude of Svaartha Prema (selfish
  love). Anyonya Prema represents the feeling that
  not only himself but also his relatives and
  friends should be comfortable and enjoy a good
  life. But, Paraartha Prema represents the feeling
  that all should be happy in the entire world.
  This is the highest type of Prema.

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Selfless Service Techniques

• Offer our time, energy and talents from a spirit
  of free, unattached giving, rather than from a
  feeling that we should serve.
• If you do an act of kindness and do not receive a
  thank you or a smile in return, do not be
  discouraged. Be assured that, when love is
  freely given without strings attached, love is
  doing its job.
• In whatever act we do at home or in the
  community, imagine and recognize that the
  recipient is God standing before you.
• If we are living with our parents, and even if we
  are married, look around and see how we can
  contribute to the smooth running of the
  household, i.e., do the dishes unasked, sweep the
  floor, take out the trash.
• Call our parents and family members regularly and
  be a good listener. Swami says that is why we
  were given two ears and only one mouth.

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Selfless Service Sai Challenge

• After assessing the needs of your community,
  undertake one selfless service activity or
  project in your region and maintain that
  commitment monthly at least until July 2007.
• If there is someone at home, work or school with
  whom you have exchanged unkind words or thoughts
  recently, the next time you see them silently
  say, "Baba, how can I serve you in the embodiment
  of this person today? Then make the effort to
  say a kind word or apologize for your previous
  comment.
• Try to spend two hours per week or perform one
  act per day of selfless service.
• Try to serve before being asked to - at home, at
  school, at work, or at the Sai Center.

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For Next Time

• There are a number of sub-values covered in this
  discourse which have not been discussed,
  including
• Sense Control
• Surrender
• Detachment
• Devotion
• Faith
• Discrimination
• Love for God
• Take some time individually or as a group to
  identify techniques and challenges for the other
  sub-values. Next time you meet conduct a study
  circle with your findings.

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Unity In Diversity Sai Challenge
Have full faith in God and surrender to God. Do
service with a spirit of dedication as an
offering to God. Spread the message of the glory
of God in every village by chanting the name of
God. Then the atmosphere and climate of the world
will change for the better and become sacred.
Jai Sai Ram