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Sathya Sai SatsangA Divine & Historic Spiritual Satsang in Fiji

25th to 28th September, 2015

Divine DiscoursesBy Bhagawan Sri Sathya Sai Baba

In the Subtle Body

COPYRIGHT

Copyright © Sri Sathya Sai Premamruta Prakashana ®, Sathya Sai Grama, Muddenahalli, Chikkaballapur Taluk and District – 562101, Karnataka, India.

This Booklet contains material protected under Union and International Copyright Laws and Treaties. Any unauthorised reprint or use of this material is prohibited. No part of this booklet may be reproduced or transmitted in any form, in the original language or by translation, by any means, electronic or mechanical, including photocopying, recording, or by any information storage and retrieval system without express written permission from the Publisher. Please contact bhagawanspeaks@gmail.com for more information.

All rights reserved.

March 2016.

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ContentsIntroduction 4

Public Satsang at Kshatriya Hall, Suva Saturday, 26th September, 2015

Speech by Sri Sumeet Tappoo 5

Speech by Mr. Isaac Tigrett 6

Speech by Sri C. Sreenivas 7

Speech by Sri B.N. Narasimha Murthy 8

Divine Discourse by Bhagawan Baba 9

Q & A Session with Bhagawan Baba 14

Public Satsang at Nanuku, Pacific Harbour Sunday, 27th September, 2015

Speech by Mr. Isaac Tigrett 21

Speech by Sri C. Sreenivas 22

Speech by Sri B.N. Narasimha Murthy 23

Divine Discourse by Bhagawan Baba 24

Q & A Session with Bhagawan Baba 31

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The well-known Tappoo family, which migrated to Fiji 100 years ago and had met Swami in 60s, hosted the Lord’s maiden visit to Fiji. “I will come to Fiji,” Swami had told them and now, He fulfilled His promise. Bhagawan and His entourage arrived on 25th September, 2015 and departed on the 27th.

On Saturday, 26th September, a public satsang was held in Suva, Fiji. 500+ people attended the evening programme. After bhajans, Sri Sumeet Tappoo, Mr. Isaac Tigrett, Sri C. Sreenivas and Sri B.N. Narasimha Murthy spoke. Swami then granted His divine discourse and a Q&A session. Prasadam was distributed to all, followed by dinner.

On Sunday, 27th September, a satsang was held in Pacific Harbour, an hour’s drive from Suva. Bhagawan was welcomed in the traditional Fijian style, normally performed to honour Chieftans. After songs by the church choir, talks were given by Mr. Tigrett, Sri C. Sreenivas and Sri Narasimha Murthy.

Sri Sumeet Tappoo then offered to Bhagawan, on behalf of all the youth in Fiji - a mobile medical van, which will serve the villages of Fiji. Beginning with dentristry, other facets like dermatology and ophthalmology will also be added. This mobile van, called “Health on Wheels” will go to the remotest areas and treat all, especially the children.

Finally, Swami gave His divine discourse, in which He declared that soon there will be an ashram in Fiji, and it will grow into a multi-faith spiritual centre. Everyone was overjoyed with this announcement! The programme concluded with divine melodies rendered by Sri Sumeet and Sri V. Kumar.

IntroductionSathya Sai Satsang - A Divine and Historical Spiritual Satsang in Fiji25th to 27th September, 2015

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In 1999, I had a dream where Swami took me to a place surrounded by hills. He said, “This place is 100 kms from Puttaparthi. I will build an ashram here and from here, the mission of Sai will accelerate and I will usher humanity into the Golden Age!” He then said, “This is a sacred place because 20,000 years ago, Lord Rama fought the demon Tataka and her two sons Maricha and Subahu.” He went on to say that the area around the hills was Sage Vishwamitra’s ashram where Lord Rama and Lakshmana came as young boys. He again passed by this area when He was in Vanavas,

along with Mother Sita and Lakshmana.

When I went to the Ashram in Muddenahalli, lo and behold, I realised it was the same place Swami showed me in a dream 16 years ago! Muddenahalli is the ashram from which Bhagawan Baba has chosen to guide humanity. The importance of what you learn and observe in these few days will define your life, your presence and your journey on this earth.

Excerpts of Speech by Sri Sumeet Tappoo Public Satsang at Kshatriya Hall, Suva 26th September, 2015

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Who would believe that a boy from Memphis Tennessee would discover, thousands of miles away in ancient India, a living Christ! He called me there when I was 24 years old and I recognised Him the second I saw Him. But He didn’t talk to me for 17 years! This was the most wonderful period of my evolution because what I discovered (after my ego got crushed by a couple of visits) was the formless nature of God! I read about all the Masters, and in everything in metaphysics, mysticism and everything that you can imagine, until I discovered and realised - through faith, not through the mind - that God exists in a formless nature, that He is Omniscient and Omnipresent. He had to appear to me 4 times in the flesh to save my life! He brought me back from death, He saved me from a car crash, He actually visited me in my office and told me where my partner was keeping the money he had stolen from me!

No one can tell you what to believe, and no one can tell you what not to believe. But I can tell you this, which he taught me. I believe in Love. I believe in serving other people. I believe that the only way that I can possibly conceive; this is written in the Vedas and everywhere actually; of myself as a divine being and to raise my consciousness and the only way you could do that is with selfless love and selfless service to others.

Excerpts of Speech by Mr. Isaac TigrettPublic Satsang at Kshatriya Hall, Suva 26th September, 2015

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Excerpts of Speech by Sri C. Sreenivas Public Satsang at Kshatriya Hall, Suva 26th September, 2015

For much of our lives, we have been educated and endoctorined in a temper of life which goes by ‘seeing is believing’. Nothing could be further than the truth. Some years ago, there was a worldwide enrolment of young men and women to climb Mount Everest. A gentleman aged 29 years gave his name. To his surprise he was enrolled. To everybody else’s surprise he undertook the climb and put his foot on the peak of Mt Everest. The only difference was, he was stark blind! He could not see the next step that he could put ever thus far in his life. Total blindness, total inability to see! Total non-knowingness of where he was at any given point of time. It took him to the highest point on planet earth.

It was then that he said, and I think that much of human of achievement, much of human progress and primarily all of human growth comes from his word, “Yes, seeing could be believing, but more importantly than this, believing is truly seeing!”

Every moment of our existence is truly a testimony of our believing. It could be first believing in ourselves; believing into what we are taught; believing what we are made to understand as to what comprises us; as to who we are; as to what our potential is; what our possibilities are - and from that comes the growth of every little child right from the mother’s womb because the mother first believes that the child will be born to good health; that the child will be born to the beauty of this world; to the beauty of human existence and possibly to the mergence with God. As is the journey is from the womb to the tomb. It is a journey truly of belief! And much of our lives are led that way.

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A hapless father in Nigeria had a 14-year-old son with a heart problem. There there was no facility to perform surgery on his son. By Bhagawan’s will, he came to Raipur, where Swami has established a super speciality hospital after He left the physical body, which is giving free cardiac treatment to children. His son was operated upon there and survived. He got back the gift of life from God Himself! The father went into Bhagawan’s temple and prayed with tears in his eyes. “Baba, I could afford to bring my son from Nigeria, but there are many poor people in my country who cannot. Can You not do

something for the helpless children there?”

On 13th July, we were in Nigeria where Bhagawan Baba inaugurated a church built by Father Charles Ogada where Jude Nam, the father, was seated. Baba said that not only the children of India, children everywhere belong to Him! All are His children! Some are grown up children. Some are tender children. Then Swami declared, “In answer to the prayer of this gentleman sitting in the audience, I would like to tell you, I have heard his prayers. I am going to start a hospital for carrying out heart surgeries in Nigeria.”

Excerpts of Speech by Sri B.N. Narasimha Murthy Public Satsang at Kshatriya Hall, Suva 26th September, 2015

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“God has no birth, no death, no beginning, no end, nothing in between, which you know as ‘life’. Neither born, nor dying, He pervades the whole universe as a resident in the hearts of every one of you as Atma.” (Telugu poem)

Embodiments of Divine Love! Devotees, men, women and children! God, who is formless and who has no name or a shape, often comes as a human being, as a Divine Incarnation or Avatar. Though He is timeless, immortal, birthless and deathless, when He comes down as a human being, He becomes subject to the limitations of space, time and causation.

Here is a small example: In India, when people drive their vehicles, they follow certain rules which are in force in India. When they

go to America, there is a different set of rules governing traffic, so that is what they follow whilst driving there. In one country, they drive on left and in another country they drive on the right. An Indian, when he goes to America, has to follow the traffic laws of America. Similarly, if an American comes to India, he has to follow the Indian traffic rules. If an Indian went to America and thought he could drive the way he wants, an accident would be unavoidable and he would never reach his destination. Therefore, depending on where you are, you must follow the limitations of space, time and causation.

In this material world, everything is transient. While in this world, you must follow its rules and regulations. The body that you are living in today is temporary. One day or another, you

Divine Discourse by Bhagawan BabaPublic Satsang at Kshatriya Hall, Suva 26th September, 2015

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have to lose it. You may take care of yourself with all kinds of medicine or surgery but, ultimately, the body will have to go. You live for a period of time and then have to leave the body and depart.

Similarly, when the omnipotent God comes down as a human being, He has to follow the rules that govern human life – even if He is God. He must follow the limitations of space, time and causation. After finishing His mission, He has to leave the body and go, whether Rama or Krishna, Jesus or the Buddha. When they incarnated, they lived in this world with the rules which govern it and, finally, their bodies disintegrated. They lost their bodies, but not their Divine Principle.

Even today, devotees build temples for Rama, adore Him, serve Him and worship Him. They do it because they have faith that Rama is still there - that is why they build temples and worship him. You believe that the phenomenon of Rama, which existed many thousands of years ago, still continues because He is God and, therefore, you worship Him. Even the master of the Bhagavad Gita, Sri Krishna, finally lost His life, shot by a hunter’s arrow. Can it be true that Krishna - such a glorious incarnation of God - lost His body because He was shot by an arrow? Yes, because for one reason or another, the body has to go.

When you come into this world in the body, one day or another you have to lose it. Whatever the level of incarnation, it is still a human body, made up of five elements. When Rama came, the Tretha Yuga started and Kritha Yuga ended. And when Krishna came, the Tretha Yuga ended and the Dwapara Yuga started. Krishna came in the Dwapara Yuga, but when His life on earth ended, Dwapara Yuga ended and the Kali Yuga began.

It is the same God who descended as Sai Baba, lived like a human being and taught

according to His times. It is now His decision, His will, that the Kali Yuga should end and a new age should start. For that to be unveiled, He will descend as Prema Sai Baba.

Many people all over the world are waiting for the Golden Age, and it will come. The Golden Age will not start at a particular moment in time. When your hearts turn golden, the age will turn golden. As is your vision, so will be the Creation. When all people live with noble sentiment and very meritorious, godly feelings, their lives will turn golden and the age also will turn golden.

In every age, there will be both positive and negative aspects. When Rama was born, Ravana was also there. When Krishna came, Kamsa was there. Even in this age, there are both positive and negative aspects. Only when the negative aspect goes on diminishing and the positive aspect goes on increasing, will the Golden Age come. ‘Positive’ means selfless feelings and ‘negative’ means selfish feelings. When selfish feelings diminish and selfless feelings increase, then the Golden Age will come.

How can you develop selfless feelings? When you follow the heart, you develop selfless feelings. When you follow the mind, selfish feelings will develop. The mind always thinks selfishly of ‘I’ and ‘mine,’ it never thinks selflessly. As long as mind rules over men, the Kali Yuga will continue. When men and women start following Hrudaya Dharma – the voice of the heart – then the Golden Age will begin. If you all aspire to see a Golden Age, you must lead divine and peaceful lives.

The first thing that has to happen is transformation of your own heart. When your heart becomes transformed, the world will also change. When you make a sacrifice, others will also be inspired to do so. However, what people are doing today is letting somebody else make the sacrifices,

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leaving others to act with love, and shower compassion rather than themselves doing so.

If somebody else eats, will your stomach be filled? If they sleep well, will you derive any rest? Not at all. You have to do everything yourself, not through others. You must fill your heart with selfless and noble feelings, then your vision will change accordingly – and the world will also change. Only when My devotees purify their hearts and make them sacred, will My vision and mission be complete. Until then, I will continue to come to inspire people so that the Golden Age can be ushered in. First, make your heart golden, then the Golden Age will begin.

Where there is rain, plants and trees grow and, wherever there are trees, clouds will come. Where clouds gather, there will be rain – thus, there is an inseparable relationship between the rain and the trees. Wherever there are devotees with purity of heart, God will manifest Himself. Wherever God manifests, the number of devotees will also

grow. When Rama was on earth, only a very few – a small number of sages – knew that He was God, but, today you find Rama temples everywhere.

When Krishna was on Earth, very few people knew that He was God and worshipped Him. Even after He left the world, many great things happened in His name. Today, there are many temples dedicated to Krishna where worship takes place.

When Jesus Christ came, even the first twelve disciples did not have complete faith. After He left the body, He returned to inspire His disciples and followers and many great things are happening today around the world. Jesus Christ was not born in Fiji but, today, you find many churches in Fiji. Though Rama was not born here, many Rama temples are also seen. This morning, when I visited the Tappoos’ office, there was a statue of the Buddha. The Buddha was never born in Fiji, never came to Fiji, never taught in Fiji.

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Similarly, Sai Baba was born in India, but His glory is being spread and many great things are happening in His name, all over the world. In times to come, you are going to see the glory of Sai spreading. My devotees will establish many ashrams and build temples and establish centres. When Shirdi Sai Baba came, His work was confined to the state of Maharashtra. When Sathya Sai Baba came, He went all around India to spread His teachings. When Prema Sai Baba comes, He will travel all over the world, propagating His teachings everywhere.

See to it that the whole world is flooded with spiritual feelings. If you want to see the Prema Sai Avatar and experience that joy, it is necessary to develop the merit and qualifications. Without good students, a good teacher cannot achieve anything. If good students do their homework properly and attend the classes, they will easily be able to follow the lessons given by the teacher. However good a teacher may be, if the students are lazy, nothing will happen. If you want to see and derive delight from the Prema Sai Avatar, you must make the effort, fill your heart with pure feelings and be ready.

There are only two things which are very important in the 18 Puranas of Vyasa: One is punya, or merit – helping others; the other is papa, or sin – harming others. There is no need to study any other scripture or tradition. If you learn just these two things, you can find fulfilment in your lives. If you love everybody and serve everybody, that is punya. If you hurt anybody, that is papa.

The whole world is nothing but reflection, reaction and resound. If you share your love, you will receive love. If you serve everybody, everybody will serve you – your own expression of love will be reflected. With love, Sreenivas said that I am going to help the children of Fiji. Your hearts, too, must be filled with love. Together, you have to develop

love and share it. The people of Fiji have very pure and simple thoughts; they are very simple people. They are not greedy. They lead their lives in happiness and contentment.

For many, it is not possible to come to India. I came here for their sake – they could go there, so I needed to come here and bless them. As long as I was in the body, it was not possible for Me to go around the world. Many people from many countries came to Puttaparthi and awaited My darshan. If, on any day, I was not in Puttaparthi, the thousands of people who came for darshan were disappointed. Even when the body became very weak, I made the great effort to grant darshan to the people who had gathered there. Everything I did was for the sake of My devotees, not for Myself. Even if I was absent from Puttaparthi for one day, the devotees would be disappointed. For their sake, I could not move out of Puttaparthi. Today, I do not have a physical body and there is no external sight or darshan – you have to develop inner vision. That is why now, wherever I go, I am not subject to any difficulty – neither is there is any difficulty for the devotees.

Whether you are in Puttaparthi or anywhere else, if you want to My darshan, you have to see Me in your own hearts. I made promises to people of many countries – in order to keep those promises, I am now travelling around the world and blessing them, and this will continue for a few more years. It is My desire that you all sanctify your bodies and purify your hearts, so that you all can enjoy the next incarnation.

It is very easy! Do not follow the selfish mind, follow the heart. It is only from the heart that selfless feelings emerge; selfish thoughts come from the mind. Human life is very holy and special - out of the 84 lakhs of living species, human life is the most noble. However, a life without spirituality is no life

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at all. Food, sleep, fear and procreation are common to both mankind and animals. One without dharma in his life is at the level of an animal.

What is dharma? It is not different religions like Hinduism or Christianity. Hrudaya Dharma – the duty of the heart – is the true dharma. What does your heart tell you? The heart always tells you, ‘Love all, Serve all’. You have to closely follow that dharma. If you want to cross over the ocean of samsara, the only way is by service, not by pilgrimage, study of scriptures, penance or meditation. You may do all those – there is nothing wrong in them – but it is not correct to think that you will attain Divinity through them alone. Ultimately, if you do not develop selfless love, everything else that you do is useless. Even when people approach God, they do so with many desires for relief from suffering, greater wealth, more and more position and authority – or even for wisdom. They are not doing it out of devotion. They are doing out because of their desires. Those devotees who come with desires are no devotees at all.

When you pray for everybody in every world to be happy, are you not one of them? If you pray for everybody, you will definitely be happy, because you are amongst them. Therefore, you should all pray, giving up the narrow thinking of ‘I’ and ‘mine’ and of your own family; you should pray for the welfare of everybody.

From morning until night, a fish will live in the waters of the Ganges, but it will never achieve salvation. A parrot may keep chanting the name of Rama, but it is not going to find salvation. Whatever service you do, without love, without understanding the inner meaning of love, it is all useless. Only when you take up service with selfless love, will you make progress.

Many people fill their minds with all kinds

of thoughts; somebody is saying one thing, somebody else is saying another. It is like the blind leading the blind. First, experience for yourself and derive joy. Nobody can eat for you, nobody can sleep for you, nobody can breathe for you. The darshan of God or grace of God you also have to attain yourself. Do not do service activities thinking that you are doing it for somebody else – know that you are doing it for your own good. Through service, you should get rid of ego and attain bliss. Some people do a little service, write a long report, send it here and there and keep on talking about it. They do less and talk more. That kind of service is no service at all. Don’t talk – work! You have to do, not simply talk. I constantly see people serve for ten minutes and talk about it for twenty minutes!

What they give in charity is one hundred rupees and what they get back as a garland is one thousand rupees. I don’t like that kind of service. You are not serving anybody else; you are doing it for yourself. When the hand puts a morsel of food in the mouth, you do not think that your hand is helping somebody else. The mouth chews the food and sends it to the stomach. It doesn’t mean the mouth is serving somebody else. Hands, mouth, stomach, limbs and organs are all part of the same body. When everybody is happy, you can be happy, too. Seeing God in everyone is the demonstration of this truth. When everybody is happy, God is also happy. If you truly want to attain bliss, selfless love is very important. If devotees want to give any service to God, the first thing they have to do is develop selfless love.

As you have some time today, if you have any doubts or questions, you can ask Me and I will answer them. It will be of no use if, instead of asking your questions, you go somewhere else later on and ask somebody else. It is like the blind leading the blind. Where will they go? They will all go and fall into a pit together.

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Q & A Session with Bhagawan BabaPublic Satsang at Kshatriya Hall, Suva 26th September, 2015

Question 1: Swami, could You please enlighten us as to why there is so much animosity and opposition towards Your Subtle Form?

Swami: When anything unique or different happens in the world, it evokes both kinds of responses, positive as well as negative. When Jesus Christ lived, He preached good things, but people whose self-interest was not being served, punished Him. Even after having been crucified and returning, being seen by many of his disciples, when the disciples had the courage to spread his message of love and peace, every one of them was crucified. Today, if you go to Rome, you will see statues of all the disciples on top of the churches and they are revered. Whenever there is something unique, something different, there will always be an action and a reaction.

Sometimes, when you are going along in the dark, without a light, you may see a rope and think it is a snake; because you think it is a snake, you become afraid and you try to kill it. What will you kill? The snake is not even there in the first place. It is the darkness which makes you afraid that there is a snake. However, if you use a torch and see it in the correct light, you will know that it is not a snake, but only a rope, and your fear will disappear.

In the same way, unless and until one lights the flame of love and sees everything in the light of pure love, which emanates from the heart, one will not see things in the right perspective. Unless you have developed pure, selfless love, how can you see unity in things? The one who is inebriated with the wine of ego and attachment, will always see two

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instead of one. Until the effect has diminished and he is no longer drunk, he will not be able to see the truth correctly.

It is your own self-interest, your own selfishness that makes you see differences where there is only one – but once you light the lamp of love and see things in the correct light of that love, then you will see that everything is one. You will know that it is only a rope, not a snake and that there is no need to be afraid and develop any kind of hatred or animosity.

Unfortunately, even though they all have torches in their hands, just because they have somehow come to believe that there is a snake, they do not even want to approach, switch on the torch and see things for themselves. They want to continue believing that it is a snake and go on telling others, too, that it is a snake – but soon the night will be over and it will be dawn. Then, whether you say anything or not, people will be able to see for themselves what is right. Even if you tell them it is a snake, in the bright daylight they will be able to see that it is not a snake, only a rope, and all their fears, all their hatred, all the divisions and differences, will disappear when the dawn comes.

You can either wait for the dawn to come and, until then, live in the fear of darkness - or have the courage to light the lamp of love and go and see for yourself what the truth is. It is up to you. I experience no differences; I experience no animosity; I experience no hatred. For Me, because I love, I only experience love. Everything is just reflection, reaction and resound.

When you are walking on the road and there is a dog at the roadside, the dog thinks that you are going to hurt it, so it starts barking. Though you have no intentions of hurting the dog, because the dog has imagined that you will hurt it, it starts barking. Next, because

the dog is barking, you think it is going to bite you and you really do go and hurt the dog. It is only the reflection of the dog’s fear in your heart and the reflection of your fear in the dog’s heart. The truth is, the dog was not intending to bite the man, nor the man to hurt the dog – it is all imagination.

As long as you are prey to your imagination and do not have the courage to go and find out the truth for yourselves, you will go on living in darkness and fear, imagining all kinds of things. The one who lights the lamp of love wherever he goes, sees everything in the light of love and learns the truth.

The light of love cannot be lit in the mind. The mind is like a bundle of wet sticks; however much you try, you cannot make it catch fire. People have been soaked in the water of worldliness, soaked in the water of desires, soaked in the water of ego and selfishness. They are never able to generate the light of that flame. The heart is full of love, and love is like the oil that is needed to light a lamp. Thus, mind and heart cannot mix; mind is water, heart is oil and oil and water cannot mix.

Follow the heart. See things in the light of love and you will see that there is no difference. Why even talk about it? So many wars have happened in the name of religion, so many in the name of God, from time immemorial. What was the reason for it all? It was only because people just followed the mind. If they truly followed their hearts, they would see the same God in everyone - that is spirituality.

I did not come here to start a new religion or promote or propagate a new religion. I only came to teach you spirituality – and spirituality has no religion – but all religions are inside the spirit. All rivers flow into the same ocean. In the same way, you must find the truth within for yourself. Only if you

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have the courage to know the truth will you be relieved of unnecessary imaginary fear. Standing in the dark and imagining a rope to be a snake and becoming afraid, developing all kinds of negative feelings, is foolishness. Have the courage to come forward, turn on the light, see things in the right perspective. Know the truth and be free of all the fear.

Question 2: There’s still a lot of confusion amongst Your devotees, Swami, about why You left Your physical form earlier than indicated and now You’re continuing the mission in Your light body. There have been many interpretations about that in the past and even some today. Once and for all, can You please remove this dilemma and enlighten us on why this happened?

Swami: Do you have a car? A car can only drive so far; a car can only last so long. If you overuse it, what will happen to it? The car that was supposed to serve for ten years will only serve for five years and then you cannot use it anymore and you will have to replace it.

My devotees came and prayed to Me all the time to help them, to heal them, to cure them and to save them. This world, as I said, is bound by certain rules – action and reaction, karma (action) and karmaphala (the fruit of action, or reaction). Whatever action you perform, you must experience its reaction. If you do not experience it , I have to experience the reaction. Therefore, My body took upon itself a lot of karma. All the great sages, saints and Avatars have suffered for the sake of others and the body deteriorated faster than intended. When the car becomes old and won’t move anymore, yet you still have a long distance to go; what would you do? Would you be attached to the same old broken car and continue sitting in it, saying that ‘because it is my dear car, I will not leave it’? Or would you get out, take another car and reach your destination?

For Me, the destination is more important than the vehicle that I use. A body is like a car; at some point of time, one has to give it up. An overused car will have a shorter life and that is exactly what happened. However, My work has not stopped. I continue to confer grace upon My devotees, I continue to bless them,

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I continue to inspire them. In fact, I do it in a far better way, for I have made those activities independent of all physical limitations. Now, they have no choice but to seek Me within. They must evolve spiritually now, in order to find Me within themselves and that is when the real transformation will begin. Most of them knew that they could just take a ticket, go all the way to Puttaparthi, have My darshan, be satisfied and then get back to their old ways. Whenever they are again restless, take another ticket, go to Puttaparthi, see Me and come back.

All of this is temporary pain relief. It only lasts so long. If you want a permanent cure for your disease, find Me within. How will you find Me within? I am nothing but love. Love is My form, truth is My breath, bliss is My food – so, My true form is love. If you feel that love within, you will feel Me everywhere, at every moment. It is time for My devotees to rise up from where they are, to this new phase of My mission, truly living My message and not just talking and hearing about it.

It would not have been better to make it compulsory for them to evolve. What would it have achieved? I have said the same things over and over, year after year; I have not said anything new. I have done the same thing over and over, for years; I have not done anything new. Any amount of My darshan is not going to redeem you. If you see Me once, twice, three times, ten times, it makes no difference if there is no transformation happening within.

The mosquitoes in My room, the cockroaches, the lizards – even if they stay with Me around the clock, they are not going to attain anything. Similarly, it is not the number of years that I was available to you, or the number of darshans you had, that was important. What you gained from that darshan is more important. I know that, in this very hall, there are devotees who had never come to see Me

physically – but they found Me in their heart miles away in this little country. That is real darshan and now it is mandatory for devotees to look for Me within.

If I had continued in that difficult phase, with the body suffering, what joy could I have given to either Myself or to others? My devotees would only have felt bad, that I was suffering so much. However, now they are full of courage and joy, for they know that I am far healthier, far happier and able to do My work much faster, for I have a faster car than before – one which has no speed limit!

It took sixty years for Me to build the first super specialty hospital. It took Me ten more years to build the second one. Yet, it just took one year to build the third one.

I cannot resist the temptation to tell you that I have already discussed with devotees that there will be a Sai Baba Ashram very close to this city; not too close, not too far. There will be education, healthcare and projects of community service. The next ten years will be absolutely transformational for this country and for the people of this country.

Question 3: Do You have a special message for the Sai Youth of Fiji?

Swami: All My messages are special – ‘Love all, Serve all’. Young people, when you have your hands, head and heart – all three faculties – intact, you should be able to do much more. In old age, your hands and legs will become weak. You will not be able to serve everybody and others will have to come and serve you. Before you reach such a helpless age, use all your faculties to serve others. Your intelligence is sharp; your hands are strong; your heart is pure. Use all three to serve humanity.

Rest assured that nothing can harm you and

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that what you need will come to you – that is My assurance. If you do My work, I will do your work. You may not do My work well, but I will definitely do your work much better than you could. Be assured, be courageous, be confident. Serve others, be selfless, be an example to others. You have been granted to be near Me – you are the fortunate ones. To you, much has been given; therefore much is expected. Now, I will be known through all of you. When people ask, “Where is Sai Baba?” They will say that Sai Baba lives in this youth, for he or she is a reflection of Sai Baba, so selfless, so courageous, so kind and compassionate. My children should be My reflection. A lion’s cub has to be a lion; it cannot be a cat. Therefore, My young people should be like Me: courageous, bold, fearless, confident, loving and compassionate. Become like that! That is My message.

Question 4: Bhagawan, You talked about the different Avatars of God: Rama, Krishna, Sathya Sai Baba, Shirdi Sai Baba and many more. I was just curious as to why God hasn’t come down in the form of a woman? You have said, “At the physical level, you see the difference as woman and men. At God’s level, it does not make any difference.”

Swami: While I have quoted Avatars who are better known, because men tend to speak a lot and they want to be known, there have been, very silently, women sages and saints, who have served society selflessly. These women have done so without the knowledge of the world. They have sacrificed themselves for the sake of the world.

Every woman is truly Divine for, she sacrifices herself as mother, sister, wife, and daughter. Therefore, to Me, every women is an incarnation in her own right, though

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unknown, though silent. ‘This is a male Avatar, this is a female Avatar,’ is narrow thinking. The truth is, they are all incarnations and I maintain this special honour – that even today, you celebrate Easwaramma Day but not Venkamma Raju Day.

Question 5: Swami, how would You achieve interfaith harmony in Fiji?

Swami: If you love, you will be loved; if you trust, you will be trusted. Therefore, it has to begin with you first, for nothing should stop you from going and participating in others’ joy; in going and helping when they need you; in going and loving them when they require your love. You begin the movement – to light a thousand lamps, first, one lamp has to be lit.

Have a deeper understanding of what I teach: ‘Love is the only religion’, ‘There is only one religion, the religion of love’. Take the first step and God will take a hundred steps. You begin, participate in their festivals, share their joy; help them selflessly and, after some time, they will learn from your conduct and everybody will change. Love alone can cure the problem of all such differences. If you love selflessly, everything will be solved. Whether you put sugar or salt into water, both are dissolved. In the same way, whether you give hatred or love, everything will be dissolved in love and it will become love. You begin and things will change.

Question 6: Thank you, Swami, for saving my life. When are you coming to the U.S.A?

Swami: I have just been to the U.S.A. but I am going again next year, very soon. However, this year, this will be the last trip abroad, because there is a lot of work to do back home and I am always free but these people (Swami’s travelling companions) are very busy people!

They have to get back to their schools and hospitals; they cannot leave them to carry on alone, so I will only go to America next year.

Question 7: Swamiji, a miracle was happening while I was seated here. Each time I formulated a question, I found You answering it in someone else’s question. Still, I also enjoy listening to my own voice, so I thought I would ask something.

Baba, I’m limited in this body; my mind is limited. I’m limited by the genes of my parents. I’m limited by the circumstances of this country. I’m limited by being born here in Fiji – and, as you said yourself, a limited body and mind can think only within limited framework. From that limited mind, I’m often very restless about the future of my country. I feel insecure, my people feel insecure. I know you have responded to this in various ways in other people’s questions but this limited mind always wants to be reassured that everything is safe and secure. Please assure us about this doubt.

Swami: Are you asking a question, or giving Me work? Of course I will protect you. For Me, you are all My own reflection. To a mother, all her children are equally dear. She has borne the same labour pains to deliver every single child. The whole Creation is Mine.

If children listen to the advice of their mother when she says, “Don’t put your hand in the fire, it will hurt,” they will be safe. If they put their hand in the fire despite their mother’s advice, they will be burned. Nevertheless, the mother, out of her compassion, would still apply ointment, bandage it and caress it. Similarly, you will always be safe in the end. In between, whether you are happy or not, depends on whether you follow Me or not. I will always protect you. If you listen to My advice, you will lead a happy life. However, if you don’t listen, you will have to face the

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consequences.

In the end, nobody will be destroyed, everybody will be protected by the mother, so Fiji has a great future. I was saying that it has a most important role to play here, more on the spiritual side than on the material and, if spirituality grows, everything else will follow.

God is reality, the world is just shadow. If you want a coconut, you have to climb a coconut tree, not its shadow. Just the same, if you want joy, follow Me, not the world, then there will be joy, there will be protection, there will be safety as My ashrams develop. This place will become a centre for much spiritual activity and people will come from all the other countries nearby – not to spend holidays but to spend ‘holy-days’.

I thought you would have all come with a big list of questions, but here is a little bit of advice from Me – the answers to all your questions lie within. You have, within you, the storehouse of all the knowledge and wisdom that exists and will ever exist. All you have to do is to seek the answers within.

Here is just a small example to show you that, what is accessible to one, is accessible to all: A rich man who hides his treasure in his backyard, forgets where he has hidden it

and thinks that he is poor because he cannot find it. Don’t be misled by the ignorance of your own Divinity. Everything you ever need lies within you. Seek Me within; but it is only possible to dig up this treasure, which lies deep within, by the labour of selfless love and service – then you will find your own Divinity. You don’t have to look anywhere outside, you don’t have to follow anything, you don’t have to go anywhere, to know Me, to see Me, to experience Me. You follow Me and I will follow you.

There is prasadam. I am very grateful that the Tappoo family has made so much effort to organise this satsang and to make arrangements for everybody’s dinner prasadam. On behalf of everyone, I convey My happiness and gratitude to the family for having taken pains to organise everything for Me and My devotees.

I give My blessing that you all lead pure, selfless, peaceful and divine lives and become an inspiration to others in Fiji. In fact there are no ‘others’ – everybody is My own – but be an inspiration to your own people in Fiji so that those not privileged to know Me will now come to know Me, through you all.

With blessings in abundance, I bring this evening programme to its conclusion.

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When Western people first started to go to Puttaparthi, we were not exactly welcomed by the local community. In those days, the local people felt Sai Baba belonged to the Indians; He was an Indian guru and Indian Master. Suddenly, people from around world started invading Puttaparthi. It took some time for the cultural changes to settle down and finally we were accepted as devotees of Sathya Sai Baba. Of course, one of Swami’s great signatures with his devotees is a one-on-one relationship with Him, which doesn’t make a difference where you sit or if you get to be near the form or you sit at the back. A poor villager will travel with great difficulty a thousand miles for one darshan and feel fulfilled the rest of their lives.

I had been always fascinated with the culture of Puttaparthi. The culture was not Bangalore or Bombay or Delhi, it was Andhra Pradesh. One of the poorest states in the south, and Swami’s first big movement in help and service was in His local community, setting up schools, feeding the poor, going out and helping and serving people.

The same way, Swami has asked you all to get involved with Seva - not just among your own community, but with the native people of this place, who have given you an incredible living. Why does God make strong ones? To take care of the weak ones. No other reason.

The people of Fiji are sweet, wonderful people, and this is their soil, this is their land and it’s their air that they share with you, with all of us. It’s time to give something back to them.

Excerpts of Speech by Mr. Isaac Tigrett Public Satsangh at Nanuku, Pacific Harbour 27th September, 2015

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What are we doing when we pursue our life? We want to make our own ends meet; we just want to do the things we expect, as young man or woman. But for the whole majestic beautiful world unknown, to begin to open up, you must embark on impacting service. A life first envisaged, thereafter envisioned and finally embarked upon. Leading a life of impacting service is the greatest blessing you can ever have in your life. It is not given by chance to anybody to embark on this life of wanting to serve.

What happens when you embark on this life of service, which Swami has lived all His life? It gives you the power of the one becoming the many. When you begin that, you begin to live in people’s shoes, you begin to understand them, you thereafter begin to empathise with them, your horizons widen, your perspectives widen, life assumes such a beautiful rich meaning and finally you will see that there is so much to do, before which there is so much to learn. There is so much in this world that, till this point in time, you have missed out. That is the beauty of a life of impacting service.

The take-home message for me, which I will now summarise for you is: live life with a continued attitude of prayer, a continued practice of love and kindness in our speech and embark on this leap of faith, which is the definition of you being available and chosen.

Excerpts of Speech by Sri C. Sreenivas Public Satsangh at Nanuku, Pacific Harbour 27th September, 2015

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Lord Rama, in the Tretha Yuga, declared, “Whether man or woman, a bird or a beast, whoever it is; if he says to Me, ‘Lord I belong to You,’ once and for all, I assure them abhaya - complete freedom from all fear.”

That is the kind of fearlessness which Swami is assuring us and asking us to exhibit and manifest it in our lives. How do we really manifest that kind of courage and fearlessness? Where does the courage come from? Courage comes from the most fundamental value of complete faith in God. Once we have complete faith in God, we are most courageous. There’s nothing to fear for us. That is what Swami wants us to cultivate and manifest it in our lives.

In these modern times, goodness is very rare to find. We can’t practice the values which Swami is asking us to follow. However, we must remember that He is not asking us to practice the divine values; He is asking us to practice the human values. The simple human values, which really make us human beings; without which we cannot be human.

The first thing is faith, the second is devotion, the third is love and the fourth is compassion. We need to practice these human values. Our lives should be founded on faith in God, devotion to God.

Many people have asked the question, “Is it possible to practice moral values without a spiritual foundation?” I would like to tell you on the basis of the experience of many men and women from all over the world and my own experience, that without complete faith in God, nobody can practice human values all the time.

Excerpts of Speech by Sri B.N. Narasimha Murthy Public Satsangh at Nanuku, Pacific Harbour 27th September, 2015

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“The divine Lord’s leelas are inscrutable; they are of the most beautiful kinds, beyond the comprehension of ordinary beings, enjoyed by the sages and saints. They add beauty to the world, unique and pleasing, giving joy to everyone.” (Telugu Poem)

A long time ago, it was the birthday of Lord Krishna. The wives of Lord Krishna, Rukmini and Sathyabama, wanted to do something unique. They thought, ‘How do you to celebrate Sri Krishna’s birthday?’ Sathyabama came up with the idea of weighing the Lord in gold and giving away the gold in alms to the poor. The Lord was made to sit on one side of the scales, and on the other side, they put a heap of gold that should have balanced

the weight of the Lord. Even after putting quite a bit of gold on the scales, they did not budge an inch. Sathyabama was surprised; she thought, ‘Krishna does not look so heavy. I have put in so much gold, yet the scales will not move.’

Nevertheless, they went and brought more gold from their treasure and put it on the other side of the scales. Again, the scales did not move; the pointer was just as it was. Again, they brought more and put it in the scale pan but, still, the weight of gold was not equal to that of the Lord. Finally, they had used up everything that they had, but Krishna could not be weighed in gold.

Divine Discourse by Bhagawan BabaPublic Satsang at Nanuku, Pacific Harbour 27th September, 2015

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Rukmini then prayed to the Lord in her heart and said, “This is extremely difficult. How do I weigh You? With what wealth? What is so precious that You can be weighed against it?” After her prayer, she realised that nothing could equal the Lord – only He could be equal to Himself. So, she took a small Tulsi leaf, wrote the name of Krishna on it, and placed the leaf on the other scale pan. The moment she placed the leaf on the scales, it exactly balanced Krishna’s weight! Everyone was surprised. Tons and tons of gold could not weigh Krishna, but one small Tulsi leaf did. How was it possible? Then Krishna revealed the truth – the Lord cannot be weighed in gold, attained by worldliness or bought by money. The Lord alone is equal to Himself. With devoted love, Rukmini had put a Tulsi leaf with Krishna’s name on it, and that name was equal to the form of Krishna. Wherever is the name, there is the form of the Lord – the form and the name are inseparable.

The Lord has declared, “Wherever My devotees sing My name, I install Myself there.” Therefore, be assured that every time you say ‘Sai’ I say ‘yes’ – I acknowledge and so, any time you chant My name, know for sure that I am by your side that very moment. Then why are you not able to see Me, why are you not able to touch Me, feel Me, or experience Me?

Air is all around you. People in every country breathe the same air, in order to survive. It is the same oxygen in the life- giving air that sustains all beings. You cannot see the air, you cannot touch the air, you cannot keep the air in your pocket, not can you bind it or lock it up in a safe. However much you try to hold the air, it still escapes. However, it is that air, invisible and intangible, which is the basic principle for the sustenance of life. Likewise, God is present everywhere. He is there in every atom of the universe and it is He who sustains all. Whether you see Him or not, He is there with you all the time. The Lord is the

proof of your existence; your very existence is proof of the presence of the Lord, just as the very fact that you are breathing and you are alive is proof of the presence of the air around you.

The entire world is just shadow – the Lord alone is real. If there is a shadow, it means that, somewhere, there must be an object. Whether seen or not, a shadow cannot be cast without an object. The very proof of the object’s presence is the shadow that you see. However, can you hold the shadow? Can you catch the shadow? Can you keep the shadow in your pocket? Can you lock it in your safe? It is not possible. However, if you hold the object, the shadow comes with it. It is the object that is needed – the shadow will follow of its own accord.

The entire world is nothing but the shadow of the Lord. The Lord alone is real. If you get the Lord, you get the whole world – but if you have the whole world, it still does not mean that you will get the Lord. The Lord alone is equal to Himself; the rest is merely a shadow.

Once, a prince was celebrating his birthday, just like Krishna in the earlier story. He invited all his people and told them, “Come to my palace. I have displayed all my valuables there and whatever you want, you can take away, as it is my birthday. I am ready to give anything that you want to take; whatever your hands can carry. Take as much as you can get on both your hands.”

The whole kingdom rushed to the palace and a great amount of valuable things was displayed. There were gemstones, jewellery, precious pearls, coins and other valuables. People went crazy looking at the display of wealth and greedily ran hither and thither, to grab as much as much as possible in both hands, to take home. Whilst all this mad rush was going on, the prince was watching a girl who did not pick anything

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up. She seemed to be a poor girl, yet was not tempted by the presence of all the valuables. The prince looked at the girl, walked up to her and asked her, “Young lady, is there nothing in this whole palace that interests you? Is there nothing that you want to take away with you?” The lady replied, “O prince you are very clever, you have placed all these valuables here to distract them from yourself. You have put them there to entice the people with whatever they have in their hands. I don’t need any of these things. She immediately grasped the hands of the prince in her hands and said, “I want you. I have taken you by both hands and now I want you. I want to take you.” The prince said, “You are indeed clever.” She said, “If I have you, I have the whole kingdom. Why should I be fooled by all these distractions that you have put on display? Become my husband, marry me and, when I become the queen, all the wealth will also come to me.” Thus she argued, married the prince and became the queen.

The Lord has kept on display, name, fame,

wealth, progeny – all of these – in this great palace of the universe. He lets you grab with both the hands whatever you want and take it away. Most people are distracted by this display of so-called valuables and forget to ask for the Lord Himself. With these same two hands, you can hold the hands of the Lord and ask Him to be with you all the time – and obtain the entire universe, which is nothing but His own creation, His own shadow, His own reflection.

Listen to what your heart says; the mind runs outward and is only interested in external things, whereas the heart knows the truth, it yearns only for the Lord. If you have God – His hands in your hands – there is nothing that you need to ask for; everything will come to you on its own.

The whole world is just an illusion. “God alone is the Truth,” say the scriptures. The Lord takes many forms, in many ages, in order to be closer to devotees. There are gods in different religions, in faiths of different

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kinds. However, they are all nothing but the representation of the same invisible, infinite Divine. If you go to a market and you want to buy a shirt, what do you do? You buy a piece of cloth and then go to a tailor and tell him to sew it up to your measurements. Some are tall, some are short, some are thin and some are fat, so everybody’s shirt will be of a different size.

The cloth is one and the same but, based on your size and shape, you get it altered to fit you correctly. The sweetness in sweets is one and the same; the sugar is the same, but it is used to make many different kind of sweets. Some children might like gulab jamun, some may like laddoos, some may like other kind of sweets, like Mysore pak. However, the basis of all these is the very same sugar.

In the same way, God takes different forms in order to become close to His devotees. Some people love Him as Rama, some as Krishna, some as Jesus, some as the Buddha, some as Shirdi Sai or Sathya Sai and so on. It is to suit the love and the expectations of His devotees that the Lord takes different forms and is worshipped by people all around the world.

Water vapour becomes clouds and the clouds turn into rain. Rain falls to earth and becomes the ocean. The ocean’s water, again, evaporates and returns to the clouds. What the human eye sees is the rain that falls from the clouds – but what it does not see is the same ocean returning again to the cloud to complete the cycle.

The descent of God in human form is seen by everyone, as is the rain, falling to form the ocean, but the ascent of the physical form of God into its Divine Invisible Self is not seen, just as the ocean becoming clouds again but it is not seen. Until now, over the last 90 years, what humanity has seen is the invisible, absolute divine reality, come down upon the earth and taking a physical form in order to

be with the people – taking on a physical form out of sheer love and to teach them the path of truth. What is happening now – and from now on – is that the ocean is again becoming cloud. The physical Lord has again assumed the non-physical form and therefore, He is not visible. That there are clouds in the sky is the very proof that water that has gone from the oceans to the sky and will come back as rain again, very soon, in another tangible form.

Unless I go, how can I come back again? In India, when someone leaves your home, you don’t say ‘Go’, you say ‘Go and return’ – go so that you may come again. I have gone from one form, only to return in another. Rest assured that, like other Avatars who were all here at certain points in time, but you still believe that they are around, I am always there within you, above you, around you, below you, beside you. If you truly believe that I am there, you will definitely see Me, feel Me and experience Me in every moment of your life.

Then what stops you from being with Me? The story of the prince – the distractions of the world draw your attention away from Me and attract your minds towards themselves. Therefore, you fail to notice that I am standing in the same room as all the wealth that is lying around. Your mind, which gives value to these worldly things, runs after them and forgets to notice My presence. If you sincerely yearn to see Me and Me alone, you will definitely find Me.

One who has sincerity or purity of intentions, will definitely achieve whatever he wants. If it was possible for monkeys to achieve Rama, if it was possible for the uneducated gopikas to attain Krishna, why it should not be possible, easy even, for people like you, who are neither monkeys nor uneducated? You should be able to achieve the Lord much more easily. All it needs is to ask for the Lord

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and not for other things. In your two hands, you can only hold one thing, you cannot hold two. Empty your hands of all the trinkets and seek to hold the hands of the Lord, then alone can you succeed in doing so.

I am always there to place My hands into yours, but when your hands are already full, where can I put My hands? Empty yourself of all that is not true, all that is not Divine and then Divinity will fill your palms with itself. A pot can be full of either air or water; if it is full of air, there is no room for water; if it is full of water, there is no room air. There can be either God or the world.

However, as I said, the world is merely a shadow, an illusion. Even if you think you have succeeded in grasping the shadow, it is only going to be temporary. Grasp the object and you will get the shadow along with it. God alone is real. Therefore, aim for God, not for illusory worldly things. If you have God, you have everything.

I have come to Fiji to share a lot of good things, a lot of good news, with you. I was just waiting to see whether the people of Fiji would respond to My call. I had made a passing remark that you should have a medical facility, a van that can travel to the corners of Fijian villages and bring seva, in the form of medical facilities, to the peoples’ doorsteps. I just mentioned it and I am very glad that My children, without hesitation, have responded and are willing to procure a van immediately; that many young doctors have volunteered to be a part of this service and spend time in providing medical help to the poor and the needy.

Truly, I am not satisfied with devotees just singing My glory, chanting My name or talking about Me. Whether you talk, sing or not, My glory will not diminish. Whether you call the sun a sun, or anything else, it will remain the sun and it will continue to shine. What will really please Me is if you realise My principal of love, selfless love, try to practise it in whatever capacity you can and

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bring that love and hope to those who are in need. Through your hands I shall work, through your eyes I shall see, through your mouths I shall speak, though your legs I shall walk, through you I shall live, through you I shall reach out to those who need Me. Your surrender, your willingness, your purity, are the proof of My presence still amongst you.

May you all resolve, from now on, to put every effort to practice what I have taught all these years. Do not let My Avatar go to waste, or all the efforts that I have made to bring harmony and peace, love and succour to the needy.

Talking about Me or My people and the seva that you have done, or you do now, is not going to help you in any way. Talking endlessly about food will not fill your stomach. It is only when you eat that you will be satisfied. It is only when you engage in selfless seva that you will derive benefit from it and then you will fill your lives with joy. Be assured that, whatever you need, I shall provide.

Look after Me, in the sense, My people, and I will look after you and your people. There is nothing to worry about. Give up all imaginary fears. Be confident and courageous, lead lives of selflessness, truth and devotion and help as many as you can. Now, I have faith that the devotees of Fiji will rise to the occasion and do whatever is needed to help others.

This morning, I mentioned that although most of you are of Indian origin, you have nonetheless lived your entire lives in Fiji and, therefore, you owe to Fiji. Just as Krishna was born to Devaki, but was brought up by Yashoda and, even now, you always remember Yashoda as the mother of Krishna – similarly, Fiji became your motherland because it is the one which has brought you up. All the people here are your brothers and sisters. Simply talking like brothers and sisters does not make you brothers and sisters – you must

really feel for the Fijian people, feel their pain and then do whatever is needed to remove that pain.

In a very short time, many wonderful things will happen in Fiji. On the way, as we were coming, Mahendra Tappoo, who was driving Me, asked, “Swami, ten years ago there was a political crisis and the people of Indian origin did not know whether they would get all their rights. Now it is fine, but will there be any problem like this in the future?”

I replied to him, “There will not be any political problems in terms of your rights in Fiji, but rights come only with responsibility.” If you conduct yourself responsibly, rights will automatically come to you. If you fulfil your responsibility towards this country, nobody can deny you your rights. You are responsible for this country and for its people. You must participate, involve yourself in activities to help the poor and the needy in this country of Fiji.

The whole world only takes from Fiji; they don’t give anything in return. You should not be the same; you should give more then you take. That is the true nature of the Lord and should be the nature of the devotee. You must promptly form groups, work together and achieve what is expected of you.

In times to come, this land will grow, in both material prosperity as well as spiritual prosperity. However, any material prosperity without a spiritual foundation cannot last long. You may build a tall building but, if it does have strong foundations, one day or another, it will crack and fall. In the same way, unless you build a spiritual foundation for this country and its land, unless there is morality in society, love for God and fear of sin, all the material prosperity will only destroy the fabric of the nation itself. Therefore, as you start on service projects for health, also

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talk to the children and people in the villages. Try to bring about a social transformation by inculcating devotion in the young hearts.

Devotion will protect them from all life’s troubles, just as a child is vaccinated to protect him from disease in the future. When you inculcate devotion in the little hearts, it will protect them forever in their lives. Along with healthcare and education, the teaching of human values must also begin shortly.

Fire cannot be called fire if it does not provide heat. Water cannot be called water if it does not have the intrinsic value of coolness. Likewise, human beings cannot be called human beings if they do not have the values of love, peace, truth, right conduct and non-violence. These values must be inculcated. Only when children develop character, will the country survive.

I bless this country with long-lasting prosperity, material as well as spiritual, but remember, material progress cannot be sustained without a spiritual foundation. As devotees, you have a role to play in the upkeep of the culture and spirituality in this country. Do not think that I have come all this way with My attendants without good reason. Every single thing that I do has a reason.

Very shortly, not very far from here, along the coast, a Sai ashram will be developed and will be a base for education, health and many spiritual and other community service activities. I did not want it to be too close to the city, nor too far away. When it is established, you should all participate. Do not let differentiations arrive, as to place, institution or organisation. I am for all. As the sun is for all, the breeze is for all, the rivers are for all, My love is for all, without any barriers of state, country, name, caste, religion, organisation or institution.

You must be open to all. Let it be a multi-faith prayer centre. Everybody should be allowed to come and worship the Lord in the form that they like. Let everybody join hands and participate in activities of education, health and other social-welfare programmes. Do not merely talk about it, welcome all with open arms as your own brothers and sisters. This is the time for action. Soon, all the faiths, all the religions here will become integrated because of you all. They will all work together in harmony and keep the nation peaceful and prosperous.

My blessings are there in abundance on the people of this country – all of you – and I wish you to pay heed to the advice and message that I have given. Take it seriously and put it into practice from this very moment. Again, I give My abundant blessings to all.

If you have three or four questions, you can ask them before you conclude the evening’s programme.

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Q & A Session with Bhagawan BabaPublic Satsang at Nanuku, Pacific Harbour 27th September, 2015

Question 1: Bhagawan, please tell us a sadhana that we can do individually or collectively, which will yield maximum good to the most number beings of all the fourteen lokas, including our planet Mother Earth, in the minimum time-frame, as soon as possible?

Swami: The only sadhana that can benefit everyone – including yourself – is you realising your own Divinity. If you become Divine, that itself is great seva for the rest of the world. Just imagine, if one Sai Baba came and did so much, what could happen in this world if all of you transformed into Sai Baba?

Start by constantly reminding yourself of your own Divinity. Keep telling yourself, ‘I am Divine, I am Divine.’ Every breath is telling you that you are Divine. Concentrate on your breath and remember that you are Divine.

When you continuously think you are Divine, you will definitely be able to change all your thoughts, words and actions into divine thoughts, words and actions. Everything you say, think and do will be Divine.

It is when the individual changes, that society changes and the nation changes. It is the change within you from human to Divine that is the greatest help that one can do. Begin with firmly believing that you are Divine; do not merely do it as a mental exercise. I have always called you ‘Divyatmaswaroopa’ – Embodiments of Divinity. Believe in My words and believe sincerely. If you believe strongly and meditate upon your true nature, very quickly it will energise you to think, speak and act in the way that is your true nature and you will thus help everyone who you come across. Your looks will become

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Divine, your smile, your touch, your acts; everything about you will become Divine.

So, believe in what have I said. The one who believes gets everything; one who does not believe attains nothing. Just believe in one word – that you are Divine; practise it throughout the day and night. Whatever change happens in you will immensely benefit the rest of the world. The sun does not have to do anything; it just has to just rise in the sky and it sustains the entire world. In the same manner, when your Divinity arises within you, it will help the entire universe. Even if one person transforms himself into the Divine, it will immensely benefit the entire universe. Do that.

Question 2: Swami, we are living here in Fiji, we are Indians, but the Fijians – well, Fiji is a Christian State – so I have a close connection with a friend who is a very good, spiritual Christian man. He knows all the Bible verses by heart, so he always shares with me. There is one thing that I thought – ‘if Swami was there in Puttaparthi, I would visit Him and ask Him why is it written in the Bible that Jesus said that He is the only God, and you must pray to Him, only then can you obtain salvation’. That’s the only thing that creates a gap between me and my friend and that doesn’t bode well, because he wants me to convert to Christianity just so that Jesus will save me and all of us. That is what he says. Why, Swami, did You say that when You came as Jesus?

Swami: Everything that you read and hear has to be understood in the context of the time, space and circumstances in which it has been spoken, written or conveyed. Quoting out of time and context will only lead to confusion.

During the time of Jesus, Him, first He said, “I am the messenger of God.” Next, He said,

“I am the son of God,” and finally, He said, “I and my Father are One.”

When He was in the frame of mind that He thought He was just a messenger of God, He never said that He was the only way and He alone could save; neither did He say it when He felt He was the son of God. He only spoke of His Father in heaven, because He thought He was just a son.

When Jesus truly realised his Divine Self as being one with His Father, that was when He said He was the way. He did not mean Jesus Christ – He identified Himself with Divinity.

I tell you that you are God, but if you go and tell your friend, “Do you know what – Sai Baba said that I am God, so worship me!” would he believe you? However, when you truly realise your own Divinity and feel one with your Divine Self and then speak words like ‘I am God’, your friend would definitely fall at your feet because he would feel the divine connection. People who quote Jesus must understand the inner meaning and in what context it has been quoted. Only when Jesus felt that He and His Father were one did He speak such words – and when He did speak them, He was referring to the Divine.

I, too, keep saying that the journey is from ‘I’ to ‘we’ to ‘He’. What does this mean? ‘I’ is the selfish, individual self, ‘we’, the selfless embracing of the entire world and ‘He’, the invisible Divine behind the entire Creation. Thinking of Jesus as the Divine, you speak no harm, it is the truth – but considering Jesus as just the individual speaking in that way is quoting Him out of context.

Once, a guru and shishya were sitting together and the guru said, “I am Guru Brahma.” As you know, the scriptures say ‘guru is God’. Next, he said, “Shishya Brahma”, that is, shishya is also God. Finally, he said, “Sarvam Brahma,”

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which means everything is God. When the lesson was over, as the guru was about to get up and leave, the shishya did not even get up to pay his respects. The guru asked what was the cause of his inappropriate behaviour. The shishya said, “You said, ‘Guru Brahma, Shishya Brahma’ – both are Brahma, so why should I respect you? We are equal.”

This is quoting without understanding. If you quote without understanding, it will lead to confusion. If they had really understood Jesus as the Divine, they would not be pestering you to become a Christian. They would let you follow the faith that you have, because they would know that the Divine Principle is the same – It came as Jesus, it came as Krishna, it came as Rama. Not understanding the truth completely and misquoting is what leads to confusion. Therefore, tell your friend that he has not understood Jesus correctly. Jesus has come for all; He loves everyone and He spoke the way that He did when He identified Himself with the Divine Self. Did God not say, “All are one, My dear son; be alike to everyone?” Everyone includes the entire universe, not merely Christians; it is for everyone. If you truly understand who Jesus was, then you would not misquote Him.

My biggest problem is people quoting and misquoting Me in various places, without understanding My meaning. They then use it to favour their arguments and to try to prove a point. That is not correct. You must understand the inner significance, the time, place and circumstances where it has occurred; then there will be no confusion. Tell him that you love Jesus just as you love your Baba, because for you they are all same.

Ultimately, all rivers have to flow into the ocean. It is the same ocean to which the rivers return. Different Avatars come in different places, just as different rivers flow through different areas in order to quench the thirst of the people of that area. If all rivers only

flowed in one place, then the whole world would be living in only one place.

Because there are many rivers, people are able to live by those rivers – but, ultimately, all rivers merge in the ocean. The most unfortunate thing is that even the ocean, which is actually just water, has been divided into various ‘oceans’ – look at the foolishness of mankind, as they fight for territorial rights over the ocean; that is all just selfishness. If you really understand who Jesus is, you will not misquote Him. It is not right. Explain to your friend with love, that you respect and love Jesus for all His sacrifices and the truth that He taught but, unfortunately, he has not understood the truth. If he understood the truth, his narrow mindedness would disappear. That is what you must convey.

Question 3: Swami, if You start an ashram here will people come for seva?

Swami: First you come for seva. Seva will make you humble. Don’t run after position and prestige. Even before an ashram starts, people decide who is going to be the chairman, who will be the secretary, who will be the treasurer. First let the ashram start.

Even before you buy the cow, you are already making the payasam (rice pudding), is it not true? You must be willing to say, “I want to be Swami’s best servant. Give me the most difficult job; give me the job that will make me most humble to kill my ego.” That is how you should fight for responsibility – the rights will follow. Do not create a bad example, like the boy quoted just now, of organisations that do not understand the inner significance of the teachings of their masters and misquote them and create differences. Understand everything in the right context and work together to bring about transformation in the people of this country – and, of course, the transformation begins with you.

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Swami blessed the home of Mahendra & Maya Tappoo and stayed there for the entire duration of His trip to Fiji. On Monday 28th September, at the conclusion of the trip, the dignitaries were dropped off to the airport. After returning home, members of the family felt a great void and were talking about the heavenly time spent with Him. They decided to go into the room in which Swami had stayed. To their great surprise, they saw that upon the foot cushion Swami had used for His interviews, He had left His divine footprints! Although appearing in the invisible, Subtle Form, Swami left a physical mark for the family, to show them that He had not gone anywhere, but is forever present not only at their home, but in the homes and hearts of all His children and all beings in the universe!

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