Book Notes
Prema Dhaara Part 2
A collection of messages to
His students, teachers and others
From the Preface:~
Prema Dhaara, meaning the Ever-flowing Stream of Love is
a collection of letters and messages from our beloved Bhagavan Sri Sathya
Sai Baba to His students, teachers and others. In these letters, Bhagavan
has conveyed His utmost concern in guiding them from the depths of worldly
life to the heaven of freedom through words of wisdom suffused with love
and messages of nectarine quality.
In Part I of this volume, we have published the letters from Bhagavan to His
students. In Part II, we have brought out a few more letters and messages from
Him. Though this collection of letters and messages was published earlier,
Sri Sathya Sai Books and Publications Trust has now felt that the student
community all over the world should have the benefit of their valuable
messages, and hence, this book ...
Prema Dhaara, Bhagavan's letters to his students, have been a source of inspiration to both students and millions of devotees world-wide. Perhaps it is best if we let Swami write himself:
My words have turned out to be objects of repulsion to you. Sai never likes to acquire fame through superficial means. The Sai principle is to express what is in the heart, and to give the heart. And now it is up to you. Had you been yearning and longing for Swami, you would have not lost Swami in the distance. It is now clear that you come to Sai Krishna in order to quench your loka trishna (worldly thirst) and not to quench Sai trishna (thirst for Sai Krishna).
Bygones are bygones. Mindful of the present, you may prepare yourself adequately for what is to come. I have decided to go to Prashanthi Nilayam. As such i had the desire to hand over the gems contained in this letter to you. Considering these words as sugar crystals, I am communicating them. Your welfare, your happiness, your noble qualities, this alone will please Sai and fill Sai with happiness ...
... When life flows clear and smooth with no hurdles to cross, to feel that it is all because of one's own choice and to forget God, and when that flow encounters obstacles and obstructions at every turn, to lament and lose heart—are these not signs of the intellectual frailty inherent in man? You too are human, dear One, therefore it is no wonder that you re overcome by depression and despair when troubles bother you at every step.
Bangaru, man only is the target of troubles; trees are not. Even when they are, they have no capacity to express how deeply they are hurt. Though the life to man is basically a manifestation of Immortality and an unbroken stream of bliss, he strays away from the awareness of the Atman, the spring of that bliss, slavishly yielding to the ravishing tactics of the mind, the reason, and the vagaries of the ego. Sinking and floating , rising and falling on the turbulent waves of the sea of delusion, he is tossed between anxiety and calm, grief and joy, pain and pleasure. He is afflicted with the evanescence of the world and the unreality of his passions ...
Dear Children
You are not just boy and girl meeting and mating. You are Siva-Sakthi hyphenated, as truly as I am, the right half and the left half of the same body. May you ever be in the shade of joy and contentment; may you both float as one on the wave of ecstatic love; may you sway merrily on the flower-decked swing of faith, held by the ropes of courage and confidence; may the boat which you are boarding this day be loaded with happy comradeship and festivity, health and wholesomeness; let it reach, safe and smooth, the Lotus Feet of the Lord. Row it forward, both of you, with the oars of surrender and service, let its sails be filled with the breeze of Grace."
Yours, Baba
Letters are drawn from many sources, and Swami's letter to his brother of 1947 where he announces His task, His work, His vow, His "reason to be proud" and His definition of the devotee he expects, is also included.
Attractive borders on each page, blue text, and overall pleasant presentation
would make this book a worthy addition to your collection or gift.
$3 from Sai Books, 24 Kenilworth Ave, Wonga Park, 3115,
Margaret and Randall McDonald
email books [at] saiaustralia.org.au
Phone (03)9722 1740