Be the real and true sons of the mother (Dwarakamai) and fully stock your magazine. What is to become of us (i.e. this bodily life)? Earth will return to earth, and air (breath) will return to the air. This opportunity (human body) will not return.

Give up all desires and dwell in your mind upon God-in-all. If the mind is thus concentrated, the goal is achieved.

For dhyana, meditate on me as formless, mere ananda. If that is hard, then think of my form, just as you see it here. Think of it night and day. With such meditation, the mind dissolves into unity. The difference between subject, object and the act of contemplation will be lost. This results in chaitanya ghanatha i.e., Brahma samarasata. The guru's glance is bread and milk for the disciple.

If you make Me the sole object of your thoughts and aims, you will attain paramartha, the supreme goal. Look at me with undivided attention; so will I look at you. This is the only truth that my guru had taught me. The four sadhanas and the six sastras are not necessary. With entire confidence, trust your guru. That is enough.

Stick to your own guru with unabated faith, whatever the merits of other gurus and however little the merits of your own.

It is not guru that makes himself your guru. It is you who must regard him as your guru, i.e, place faith in him. Take a postherd and regard it as your guru and see if your goal or aim is reached or not!

My guru, after depriving me of everything, asked me for two paise. I gave them to him. He did not want metallic gifts. What he asked for was (I) faith (nishta) and (ii) saburi i.e, patience or cheerful endurance.

One should not stay in any place where saints (or one’s guru) are spoken ill of.

If anybody is angry with another, he wounds me to the quick. If anyone abuses another, I feel pain. If anyone bravely endures the abuse, I feel highly pleased.

If anybody comes and abuses you or punishes you, do not quarrel with him. If you cannot endure it, speak a simple word or two, or else leave the place. But do not battle with him and give tit for a tat. I feel sick and disgusted when you quarrel with others. Do not fight with any; nor scandalise any. When one talks ill of you, pass on unperturbed. His words cannot pierce your body. Others acts will affect them only and not you. It is only your acts that will affect you. If others hate us, let us take to namajapa and avoid them. Do not bark at people; do not be pugnacious. Bear with other’s reproach. This is the way to happiness. Let others and the world turn topsy-turvy, but do not mind that; keep on to your own straight course. The world maintains a wall between oneself and others, destroy this wall, God is the supreme Lord.

Have regard to rinanubandha. Whoever or whatever creature comes to you, do not drive it away but receive it with due consideration. Give food to the hungry, water to the thirsty and clothes to the naked. Then God will be pleased.

If anyone begs anything of you, if you can grant the request or get it granted, do so, don’t say ‘No’. If you have nothing to give, give a suave ‘no’; do not get angry with him. If you do not like to part with what you have, do not say falsely that you have nothing to give. Decline to give it in polite terms and say that circumstances or desires stand in the way.

Work, utter god’s name, read scriptures. If you avoid rivalries and bickerings, God will protect you.

If anyone talks ten words to us, let us answer with one word, if we reply at all. Do not battle with any. Who is whose enemy? Do not say of anyone that he is your enemy. All are one and the same.

Among the six vikaras (ill-feelings) jealousy is the easiest to conquer. In this vikara, there is no question of (actual) gain or loss to ourselves. Jealousy (matsara) is the inability to endure another’s profit and prosperity. If another gets fortune or power, we cannot put up with it; we scandalize him. When he meets with a loss, we rejoice. But is this good? When that man attains prosperity, what loss have we really suffered? But people do not consider this point. If he benefits, let us consider ourselves benefited; or let us strive to attain equal good. That should be our desire and determination. What has he taken away of ours? Nothing! He received the prosperity that is the result of his karma.

Never accept gratis the labour (or property) of others. This should be the rule of your life.

You must always adhere to truth and fulfill all the promises you make. Have faith and patience. Then I will be always with you wherever you are.

Whatever you do, do thoroughly, else do not undertake.

Adhere to vairagya (dispassion). Women are a great danger to an ascetic. Think of god and kill out the ego. A person that has not overcome lust cannot see god.

Do not borrow for celebrating a feast or festival, or for a piligrimage.

Athithi is whatever creature is hungry and comes to you at the lunch time, whether it is a human being or a bird, beast or insect. All these seek food. The real athithi that you get, you do not regard as such … At kakiabali (offering food to crows) time take plenty of cooked rice outside the house and leave it there. Do not shout or call for any creature nor drive any away. Whatever the creature that comes to eat, let not that disturb your mind. You get thus the merit of feeding lakhs of guests!

Eat very little. Do not go in for a variety of eatables. A single sort i.e., dish will suffice.

The earth bears seeds. Clouds rain on them. The sun sends his rays, and makes them sprout. When these sprout earth, clouds and sun keep on their happy course in all directions. They neither exult at the growth nor deject at the destruction of the sprouts. You should be unaffected like these. If you are, when can sorrow come to you? Mukti (or liberation) is this absence of sorrow.

We are not to bother ourselves about the beauty or ugliness of the person, but to concentrate solely on God underlying that form.

What God gives is never lost and what man gives never lasts.

People wrongly think they are different from one another. I am inside you and you are inside me. You continue to think in this way. Then you will realize it!

Allah is the protector of the poor. There is nothing besides Him.

Never argue. Reply to ten words with one.

Whenever ten persons join, there’s a rub.

Money says, “If you use me well, I shall serve you well.”

Meal (or food) says, “Cook me well and I shall serve you well.”

A yogi is always better than a bhogi.

He who, being a king, wears a beggar’s robe is good.

People have a house each; I have none.

The fruit of good is great; of evil, very little.

I have to go to thousands of kos (about 2 miles) to protect thousands of people.

This (i.e. I) is no servant of anyone; this is the slave of Allah only.

One should be content to remain as God keeps him.

One should know the Master. (Else) Why have you come? To collect dung cakes?

One should know the inmates of the wada.

The name of Allah is eternal: Allah is all-in-all.

Once the strings are entrusted to the sadguru there’s no cause for grief.

There’s a low-born one (mahar) in the body; he should be evicted.

Either we must resort to someone or we must show the path to others.

Excerpt from Book Sai Baba The Master By Acharya E. Bharadwaja