Light The Lamp Of Morality In Your Heart
by
Bhagavan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

(Text of the divine discourse delivered by Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba on the occasion of the First Anniversary of the Sathya Sai Super Specialty Hospital and the Sai Health Meet 2002 at the Sri Sathya Sai Super Specialty Hospital, Whitefield, Bangalore, 19 January 2002)

One may master all forms of knowledge,
One may vanquish one's adversaries in debate,
One may fight with valor and courage in the battlefield,
One may be an emperor reigning over vast kingdoms,
One may offer cows and gold as an act of charity,
One may count the countless stars in the sky,
One may tell the names of different living creatures on the earth,
One maybe an expert in eight forms of yoga,
One may reach even the moon,
But is there anyone who can control the body, mind and senses?
Turn the vision inward
And achieve the supreme state of equanimity of the mind
(Telugu Poem)

Forbearance is the real beauty in this sacred land of Bharat (India).
Of all the rituals adherence to Truth is the greatest penance.
The nectarous feeling in this country is the feeling of love toward one's mother.
Character is valued far high than the very life itself.
People have forgotten the basic principles of this great culture and are imitating Western culture today.
Alas! What has happened this country?
The Bharatiyas (Indians) are not aware of the greatness of their own cultural heritage,
just as a mighty elephant is not aware of its own strength.
(Telugu Poem)

Man is making every effort to attain the state of perfection. It is culture that leads man to this state of perfection. Man has to undertake sacred activities to uphold his purity, culture, and character. Love is the fundamental principle of life. Fill your lives with love. Love is God. Live in Love. Ignoring such sacred principle of love, man is misusing his life by cultivating wicked qualities like hatred, jealousy, pomp and show.

The honor of a nation depends upon the morality of its people.
Lack of morality will certainly put a nation to disrepute.
The True human race is that which upholds morality.
Listen to this truth, O valorous sons of Bharat (India)!
(Telugu Poem)

Today, morality has declined among human beings. One without morality cannot be called a human being. Light the lamp of morality in your hearts. Only then can you lead a true human life. Morality alone can confer health and wealth on man. One should not develop undue attachment to the body which is physical and ephemeral. Besides the body, there is mind and spirit in every human being. Man should lead his life with morality as the basis. He should recognize the truth that human life is meant to uphold morality.

The entire world is pervaded by mind and matter. One has to make efforts to know the nature of these two. If you ask the modern man, "What is mind?", he says, "It does not matter." If you ask him again, "What is matter?" He will say, "Never mind."

How can such a person who does not know the nature of the mind and matter understand humanness? Do not be under the mistaken notion that the body, composed of the five elements, alone constitutes a human being. Humanness, in fact, consists of three aspects, namely, manas (mind), buddhi (intellect) and samskara (the process of refinement). These three have their origin in the Atma. On this basis, the Bhagavad Gita declares, "Mamai-vamsho jeevaloke jeevabhuta sanathana (the eternal Atma in all beings is a part of My Being)".

The mind is an aspect of the Atma. Do not consider it as a mere bundle of desires. From the worldly point of view, it may be a bundle of desires, but from the spiritual point of view, the mind is a bundle of Divinity. ln order to attain Divinity, first of all man has to cultivate unity. In unity lies the true culture. Unity is the ideal that man should strive to attain. Any mighty task can be accomplished through unity. Man has achieved independence, but he is has yet to attain unity. We find only diversity. Some people think that Swami has established this Super Specialty Hospital to render service to the people of Karnataka. But in fact, I have not constructed it for the people of a particular region. I have done it for the sake of the entire nation.

Man should make efforts to visualize unity in diversity and thereby attain divinity. Unity leads to purity. Where there is purity there is divinity. Only through unity, purity, and divinity, can one experience bliss. You can never attain bliss if you do not give up the feeling of diversity and cultivate the spirit of unity.

It is true that health is wealth. Dharmarthakamamokshanam arogyam moolamuthamam. Health is the fundamental requirement to achieve the four goals of human life, namely, dharma (righteousness), artha (wealth), kama (desire) and moksha (liberation). However, once you attain the state of bliss, you can always enjoy good health.

Man is deluded with the feeling that he can lead a blissful life by acquiring wealth and position of authority. Neither wealth nor position of authority can confer bliss on you. Bliss can be experienced only when you visualize unity in diversity. If you do not understand the principle of unity and attain bliss, all service activities, like construction of hospitals, will be of little consequence. Everyone working in a hospital, be they doctors, nurses, paramedical staff, or technicians, should have the spirit of unity. This hospital demonstrates the ideal of unity. All the staff in this hospital work with the feeling that they belong to one family. Our hospital stands for unity in diversity. It does not crave money, name, and fame.

In olden days, education, health care, food, and water were provided free of cost. I have determined to provide them all free.

Our hospital is not a business center. Most hospitals have become business center. It is the worst of sins to run a hospital with the sole purpose of earning money. You should understand that you too might fall ill some day. Hence, you should treat the patients with love, without expecting anything in return. You should not aspire for money from them. After I have started this hospital, many doctors have become jealous of Me and have started putting obstacles in the way. Come what may, I will never give up this sacred task. Their jealousy will only motivate Me further to carry on with sacred activities. Their jealousy will ruin them ultimately.

There will be peace and security in the world only when
people give up hatred and violence,
inculcate the feelings of love,
and realize the unity of mankind.
(Telugu Poem)

One should never be jealous of others' prosperity. Jealousy is the worst quality.

Asuya (jealousy) and anasuya (one without jealousy) are sisters. Anasuya was blessed with three sons, the divine Trinity of Brahma, Vishnu, and Maheswara. Asuya also has three sons, namely, desire, anger, and hatred. Once you give up Asuya, you can win the grace of the divine Trinity. You should participate in good activities and extend your cooperation to those who undertake them.

Once I take up a sacred task, I never go back on it. There are many poor and down-trodden people who are suffering for want of proper medical care. Nobody cares for them in big hospitals, because they cannot afford costly treatments. In some hospitals, they are not even permitted to enter the main gate. Can there be a greater sin than this? My intention is to provide free medical care to all such poor and forlorn people.

For a happy and healthy life, apart from proper medical attention, pure drinking water is also very essential. My plan of action for the welfare of humanity is stupendous. It is bound about the resources. There is no dearth of resources in our country Bharat (India). But there are very few who have the noble intention of doing good to society. When you undertake a sacred task, even nature will extend all its help. The sacred epic Ramayana stands ample testimony to this. When Rama, the embodiment of dharma, was proceeding to Lanka to rescue His consort Sita, nature extended all its cooperation. He was helped by monkeys and even by a small squirrel.

When you sow a good action today, you reap samskara (the process of refinement) tomorrow. Samskara leads to purity, which in turn confers merit. Man should always be prepared to undertake good activities. He should never postpone them.

On this sacred occasion, I have decided to undertake yet another service project. In Chennai, there is scarcity of drinking water. The rich can afford to get water through tankers and lorries, but what about the poor? They spoil their health by drinking polluted water from ponds and puddles. Hence, whatever may be the difficulty, I have decided to provide drinking water to the people of Chennai. The waters of the rivers Godavari and Krishna are being drained into the sea without being properly utilized. Even in Rayalaseema, people are suffering from water scarcity. The districts of Bellary, Anantapur, Cuddapah, and Kurnool are classified as backward regions. I want to provide pure drinking' water to all these four districts also. This project is bound to be successful. There is no doubt about it.

Man should have unwavering faith. But today man has no faith in himself. Then how can he have faith in God? People have become blind, having lost the eyes of faith. One with faith alone can be called a true human being. Man is misusing such a sacred birth. Janthunam narajanma durlabham (out of all the living beings, the human birth is the rarest).

Help others. Only then can your life find fulfillment. You know why hands are given to you? Is it merely to partake of food? No. They are. meant to render service to others. You know why the tongue is given? Is it to indulge in vain gossip? No. It is meant to chant the divine Name. In this manner, all the senses should be properly utilized. This is what Buddha did. He studied various sacred texts, met many noble souls, and listened to their teachings, but he was not satisfied. Ultimately, he realized that spiritual practices are of no avail if one does not make proper use of one's senses.

See no evil, see what is good;
Hear no evil, hear what is good;
Talk no evil, talk what is good;
Do no evil, do what is good;
This is the way to God.

In order to sanctify your senses, you should utilize them in the service of others. Yad bhavam tad bhavathi (as you think so you become). If you have bad vision, listen to bad talk, or indulge in bad activities, you will ultimately ruin yourself. If you cannot undertake any service activity, at least speak softly and sweetly. You cannot always oblige, but you can speak always obligingly. Today, man speaks harsh words, which hurt the feelings of others. He puts his senses to misuse, how can he expect to be happy and healthy? In order to enjoy perfect health, make sacred use of your senses. You may be a pauper or a millionaire. You may have money or not, but God has given each one of you five senses. Make proper use of them and sanctify your lives.

Embodiments of Love!

Each one of you is endowed with hridaya (heart). That which is filled with daya (compassion) is hridaya. But today man has become stone-hearted. Truly speaking, man is not one of wicked qualities. He is one of virtues. It is said that human birth is the rarest, but if man indulges in bestial and demonic traits, how can we say that he is superior to other beings? He should utilize his education, wealth, and energy for the welfare of others. No doubt, money is essential, but one should not crave to amass wealth. One may build a hospital, spending crores of rupees, but one should not expect manifold returns. One should spend at least fifty per cent of the money earned on charity. Today, doctors do not give free medicine even to a single patient. The cost of medicines have gone up these days.

It is ten years since we constructed the Super Specialty Hospital in Puttaparthi. Believe it or not, so far we have conducted 70,000 operations free of cost. This hospital has completed one year, and here also we have performed thousands of open heart and bypass surgeries. Crores of rupees are being spent every month. Not many are aware of this. Even if I have to spend thousands of crores, I will not give up this sacred task. I want this hospital to grow further and serve the needy.

Our Chief Minister Krishna helped us to a great extent in the construction of this hospital. Besides other things, he gave us the land free of cost. His heart is filled with the spirit of sacrifice. Thyagenaikena amrutatth wamanasu (only through sacrifice can one attain immortality).

The Chief Minister of Maharashtra, who is with us here today, wants a similar hospital to be constructed in Mumbai. He is prepared to give the required land for it. In Mumbai, life is becoming increasingly difficult because of pollution. Health is very essential to achieve any task.

Human life is not meant to amass wealth. When you depart from the world, can you take even a naya paisa (a unit of currency in India) with you? Man cannot take even a fistful of sand when he leaves the world; otherwise, there would have been rationing for sand also. What you ultimately carry with you is only the results of your actions, merit or sin. Hence, do not indulge in sinful deeds. Undertake meritorious activities.

Paropakara punyaya, papaya parapeedanam (one attains merit by serving others and commits sin by hurting them). Help ever, Hurt never. To the extent possible, perform acts of charity and help everybody. Fill your hearts with love. We consider it our duty to treat the patients and alleviate their suffering. Duty is God. Work is worship. I am doing it with love. It is from the source, and not by force.

I want to make another point clear to you. People, including those who are sitting here, are indulging in wild imagination regarding the incident that occurred the day before yesterday. Actually, there is no truth in it. People may think whatever they want. Newspapers are mainly responsible for this restlessness. They are interested in publicizing only bad news items and not in sharing good news with others. What is the purpose of a newspaper? It has to collect NEWS from the four sides --North, East, West, and South-- and disseminate the same. Today, instead of gathering authentic information, newspapers .... However, there are some good newspapers like The Times of India and The Hindu, which give correct information. Newspapers should present the facts as they are. But they distort the truth and publicize it in a sensational manner only to make money.

Be it good or bad, report the incidents as they happen. Do not spread false news. What happened the day before yesterday was only a fraction of what has been magnified and reported by the print media and the television. Even the television doesn't seem to have any work other than spreading such false news. Now I am seventy-six years old. Till this day, I have not had any contact with people from either the print media or television. I have nothing to do with newspapers.

One can definitely develop friendship with those who report the truth. What is the use of talking to those who publicize untruth? Spreading untruth is a sin. If you speak untruth once, you will have to face its consequences in many births. Such being the case, you can very well imagine the fate of those who indulge in untruth hundreds of times every day. Newspapers should report events exactly as they happened. No one will have any objection to it. It is a sin to spread false news.

Actually, what had happened the day before yesterday was nothing. I went until the last row of the Hall, went near even those who were sitting outside, collected letters from them, and then sat on the dais for forty minutes. Nothing happened. After that, I went inside, had a little food, and visited the hospital to oversee the arrangements. By the time I returned to Brindavan from there, all sorts of false news had spread all over. I did not see anybody, nor did anyone come near Me. But the newspapers have reported that someone came near Me with a pistol. Is it not a blatant lie? Did any of the journalists see the incident with his own eyes? Why should they write untruth? After all, it was only an air pistol, which is used to shoot down birds. Such a minor incident was exaggerated. It is a great mistake. Let the journalists think what they want. I have nothing to do with newspapers.

My heart is filled with love and love alone. I share My love with one and all. All are Mine and I belong to all. I don't have hatred toward anybody. All love Me and I love all. Love is the intimate relationship that exists between you and Me. The newspapers made a mountain out of molehill and caused anxiety to many. What a sin they committed! There should be a limit to their jealousy. Devotees from various countries, like America, Japan, Germany, and England, sent telegrams to Me expressing their concern.

The President  of  America has said that the terrorists should be wiped out. Who are the terrorists? Anger and jealousy are the 'terrorists'. These wicked traits are present in every man. Man should make every effort to annihilate them. Only then can the world progress. One should not kill one's fellow human beings; instead, one should destroy the 'terrorists' within and cultivate virtues. This is what I desire from you. The country will attain plenty and prosperity and set an ideal to the rest of the world only when jealousy and anger are completely eradicated.

Embodiments of Love!

Today, we are celebrating the first anniversary of our hospital. I am not interested in such celebrations. I want each one of you to cultivate purity, love, and compassion. There is no human being in the world without love. Love is sacred, infinite, and most wonderful. Having been endowed with such divine love, why do you behave in a manner that is contrary to your true nature? I wish that you lead your lives with love and make this country an ideal one. With this, I bless you all and bring My Discourse to a close.