Bhagavan Baba – Spiritual directions/advice on Operation of Sai Centers
Questions & Answers
Published by Sri Sathya Sai Central Council of Malaysia in conjunction with the MINI CONFERENCE of FAR EASTERN Sai Centers Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, July 1984
DUTY, DISCIPLINE AND DEVOTION
Q: What is duty,
discipline and devotion?
A: Remember, Duty,
Discipline and Devotion, all three, are absolutely essential for everyone in
our Organization. You may have Devotion; you may discharge the Duty entrusted
to you. But, unless you are saturated in Discipline, the other two are useless.
Many of you rushed forward when I walked along the passage this morning and
tried to reach out your hands for touching My Feet, falling over others while
so doing. This is definitely an instance of devotion outrunning discipline.
Discipline must regulate and control, not only your activities as members of
the Organization, but every activity of your life.
(Sathya
Sai Speaks, Vol. 9, Page 14)
Q: What exactly is
meant by the word “Duty”?
A: I do not mean by
duty the items of work entrusted to you by your superiors or society. Duty
means the responsibility you have not to hinder or harm anyone by your
movement’s speech, behavior, or activities.
(Sanathana
Sarathi, June 1976, Page 93)
Q: What is duty
Swami?
A: By duty I do not
mean the items of work entrusted to you by your superiors or society. Duty
means the responsibility you have, not to hinder or harm anyone by your
movements, speech, behavior, or activities. When one walks on the street waving
a big stick, one has to be conscious of the man coming from behind; if you have
the freedom to wave, he too has the same freedom, and both should behave as if
they have a duty towards each other.
(Sathya
Sai Speaks, Vol. X, Page 46)
Q: Are not the Rules
and Regulations an impediment to the free expression of my Sadhana?
A: Do not fret
against the rules and regulations which the Organization imposes on you; they
are laid down for your own good. Regulation is of the very essence of Creation.
The Oceans observe their limits, wind and fire respect limits and bounds. The
human body has to maintain warmth up to 98.4 degrees in order to be free from
fever. The heart has to beat a definite number of times a minute; breathing has
to be done 21,600 times a day. How then can the Organization escape the
prescription of certain rules and regulations?
(Sathya
Sai Speaks, Vol. X, Page 45)
Q: What is the reason
for and the benefit of the rules and regulations?
A: In order to help
the Sadhaka to attain this result (achievement of the knowledge of the
Atma as one's real core) it is necessary to impose some hard rules and
limitations. An illness cannot be conquered by mere drugs alone; a tight
regimen of food, drink, and habits is also to be prescribed and followed. All
are 'ill' with Bhavaroga, perpetual journey from birth to death and from death
to birth. Repetition of the Name is the drug; but this must be accompanied by
the regimen, Disciplinary Limits and Laws. “Na sreyo niyamam vinaa”- No
spiritual progress without regulated disciplined lives. A song is pleasant to
the ear only when there are a consistent tune and proper timing -a raga and a
system of thala. So, even for your spiritual sadhana through these Seva
units, some rules of discipline are essential, and they have to be strictly
observed. You should not deviate from them.
(Sanathana
Sarathi, January 1978, Page 258)
Q: I find the rules
and regulations difficult to follow...?
A: These rules we are
laying down might appear to some of you as knife-thrust or hammer-strokes; but
they are meant to heal, and to weld. Bow to them and observe them in action
sincerely your path will be soft and smooth, like a path strewn with floral
petals. I bless you that you adhere to them and receive the benefits of discipline
and devotion.
(Sathya
Sai Speaks, Vol. 8, Page 76)
Q: Is it necessary
for us to wear scarves and badges?
A: Do not feel that
the scarf and badge that you wear are impediments to freedom. They are
reminders of the high mission to which you have been initiated, the keys to
your realization of Reality through the sadhana of seva.
(Sathya
Sai Speaks, Vol. X, Page 37)
Q: I love Swami!
Isn't that enough? Why must I be subject to rules and regulations?
A: Discipline entails
the strict observance of rules and regulations and directions. The sense of
duty can yield results only when discipline is observed, and devotion to Sai
and the Message of Sai is the basis for the sense of duty which keeps your ever
bound to discipline. Do not be part-time devotees, leading one kind of life
when you wear the scarf and badge and another kind of life when you have
removed them. Be ever Sadhakas and sevakas. Do not forget, do not
modify. In the path of service that you have chosen there should be no bumps of
doubt or jumps of deviation. Move on steadily and bravely, with your eyes fixed
on the Goal, and The Grace of the Lord. Be intent on the development of the
man-mind, not the monkey-mind. Do not hope about from decision to indecision,
from acceptance to denial.
(Sathya
Sai Speaks, Vol. X, Page 38)
Devotion has to be
guided and controlled by discipline and duty... Rules are necessary until the
members realize the spiritual Unity of all. When they become capable of
inflicting harm or transgressing the moral code, rules become superfluous.
(Sathya
Sai Speaks, Vol. X, Page 46)
Q: Are the strict
disciplines expected of volunteers at Prashanti Nilayam unnecessary for
volunteers in other places?
A: Some feel that the
disciplines of the Prasanthi Nilayam are limited to the geographical bounds of
this area and so they can be ignored when one is beyond the gates. They smoke
and swear, shout and swagger, fight and frighten, talk loose and light indulge
in slander and scandals, in the coffee houses beyond the gate, where they lounge
and loll... For you the whole world must appear as a Prasanthi Nilayam, not
simply this stone and cement structure. As a matter of fact, the world is,
fundamentally, a Prasanthi Nilayam, only, man, by his ignorance and perversity
has fouled it into a snake-pit of crime and hate.
(Sathya
Sai Speaks, Vol. V, Page 125-126)
Q: Is there a need to
pay attention to our attire?
A: Note the type of
dress that is now considered fashionable - the weird uncouth bush-shirts and
drain-pipe pants. Note the sideburns and the weird moustaches and beards thr.t
besmirch the face of youth. Note the value attached to slovenliness and
primitivity, to foulness and frivolity. No one can appreciate this trend,
except those who are victims of it; disgust is the only reaction one gets. When
the exterior is reeking with untidiness, how can the interior be tidy? How can
harmony and honesty be installed in such a cluttered heart and in such a lumber
some brain.
(Sathya
Sai Speaks, Vol. 9, Page 29)
Q: How do I maintain
devotion when a member slanders me and talks ill of me?
A: Even when you are
slandered, you should not lose balance. Put up with slander and scandalizing
talks. Contentment is heaven; grief is hell; anger is the foe; calmness is the
armor; compassion is the comrade. You repeat Santhi three times, don't you? It
is to encourage peace in the human, godly and natural milieu in which you have
to live; - also to develop peace in the body, mind and intellect!... Denigrate
any individual; it affects me for all individuals are expressions of My Will.
(Sathya
Sai Speaks, Vol. 8, Page 29)
Q: How should I react
when I get to know that some members are talking ill of me?
A: Be like an ant,
when the ant gets a mixture of sand and sugar, it selects only sugar; it
neglects the sand. See only the good in others; pay no attention to the bad.
They may criticize and cavil at you but preserve your equanimity and do not
take them to heart; Keep them out; they are sand particles.
(Sathya Sai Speaks,
Vol. VlI Page 96)
